Tuesday, May 29 - You want me to eat what??

Lamai and her mom dig for beetles under what was once just a pile of manure. Don't worry though - they were washed!!!
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This morning I went out with Lamai, her mom, and Noi (who sometimes helps serve breakfast) to "hunt" for my dinner! We went to the rice fields behind Lamai's mom's house, taking a couple digging tools and a bucket with us.

Day-old cow manure seemed to be the place to dig for beetles, since that's where the beetles start their colonies - in the ground under the manure. First we pushed aside the manure with the digger, and then we started digging, layer by layer, looking for beetles through each layer. The beetles were pretty easy to find because of their iridescent shells, much like those of so many other beetles.

Enjoying the fruits of our labor!
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We also dug into several crab and scorpion holes! At first I couldn't tell how the women decided which holes to dig into (there were dozens in every rice paddy), but Lamai told me they choose the holes that look more fresh; otherwise, they're likely to be dried out and abandoned already.

Lamai also explained to me how to tell the difference between crab holes and scorpion holes: crab holes are round, while scorpion holes are flatter. I suppose it takes a trained eye to see the difference; I couldn't see it!

Sure looks tasty, doesn't it?? This is some of that deeelicious fermented fish sauce I wrote about. I didn't try it.
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Scorpions, I might add, are very exciting to catch, since they've got that tail to sting you with and all. We made a good team though! Noi was really good at finding the scorpions, and then I would hold the bucket while Lamai or her mom would use the trowel to push them into the bucket. One hole had seven adult scorpions and about a dozen babies!

I was surprised, though, that all the ladies wore flip-flops to go on this bug-foraging trip. I guess they really know how to anticipate what the bugs will do. I'd be afraid of getting stung by a scorpion if I were wearing flip-flops! Not that my Crocs were much better...

Don't like 'em scrambled? How 'bout grilled? I have yet to figure out how they keep the insides from spilling out!
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While we were out, I asked Lamai what the Isan (northeast Thailand) people don't eat, but she told me they eat everything - if it moves, it's edible! That's because they're so poor, and there's often nothing else to eat.

Right now it's the dry season, so no rice is growing in the northeast, yet some people are still throwing rice seed in hopes of some return - some rain has been falling lately, but it's just a tease. The ground will soon dry up again, and that rice seed will have been wasted. I don't fault them for trying, though you'd think they'd know their climate by now!

Couldn't find any of your own ants? You can buy them at the market, which is exactly what Lamai did. I'm glad she didn't give me any at dinner...
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After our hunt, we went into Bua Yai to check out the market. They had all kinds of interesting foods there - live frogs and turtles and eels, dried frogs and fish, that lovely mix of ants and ant eggs, cooked silk grubs, fish, squid, duck (all the parts!), pig (even a whole head!), tons of chillies and garlic, fermented frog and fish sauce, and lots of local fruits and vegetables, most of which I've seen in Malaysia. There were even a couple women with their massage tables!

Lamai also took me through this area where we could buy dried bark and betel nuts (the seed of the betel palm) for chewing. An older woman selling it showed me how they wrap the bark chunks, shredded bark, sliced betel nut, and powdered lime in a leaf and then bite off a chunk to chew on. Then she put the remaining wrapped leaf behind her ear for later! (I'm not exactly sure if she was kidding about that part or not!)

I asked why they do it, and Lamai said it helps relieve pain, but then it's also addictive, so they can't stop - like many other natural "medicines," it has a narcotic quality. You can read more about this Asian tradition at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betel_nut.

For dinner, I "got to" eat some of the bugs we caught! I believe Lamai stir-fried them in soy sauce and probably some kind of oil. The scorpions weren't bad, though I wouldn't say they were great! I had to take off the claws and tail first, and then they were safe to eat. The insides were gray and kind of gross-looking, like what you would expect bug guts to look like - mush.

The beetles were okay, with a texture comparable to caramel corn. I took off the head, wings, and legs, but only on the bigger ones. The little ones I could eat as is. They're barely a bite each, mostly about the size of a fingernail. I did have some other food too - pork satay (kebabs), stir-fried chicken with veggies, and fruit. Even without the other food, though, it was a filling meal!

I spent the evening playing with seven-year-old Lizzie, helping her make a pond scene using construction paper and tape. We had a really fun time, though I wish I would've had Lamai take a picture of us playing together!!