Bizarre foods
I observed tarantulas on every night hike I did last year in Costa Rica. Part of showing the secrets of the forest, the guide would pick up a branch and gently scrape it at the entrance of a hole at the base of a large tree. Inevitably, a tarantula would emerge. At that time, the thought of what a palm-sized, hairy arachnid would taste like deep fried in vegetable oil didn’t cross my mind ― I guess I just wasn’t hungry enough.
In Cambodia during Pol Pot’s violent and inhumane regime, millions were relocated and forced into slave labor in the countryside in an attempt to create an “agrarian utopia,” which consequently sparked widespread famine. This is when insects and arachnids entered the Cambodian diet. Today, fried crickets, beetles and tarantulas are sold in markets, on the street and in restaurants.
I’m pretty adventurous when it comes to trying new foods. The only thing that tends to make me queezy is a viscous texture. (Read my earlier post Snot Yam and Hairy Chicharrones.) So when I popped the large, pilose spider into my mouth, I just hoped the bulbous body did not explode with a mucilaginous surprise. Check out our bizarre foods audition by ContemporaryNomad.com:
Beverly, I cannot believe you ate a tarantula! how very brave of you!