Northeastern Thai street vendors or restaurants are in every corner of Thailand. The food of Isan is very hot and flavored with pungent herbs and seasonings. I finished the usual orders and my stomach was not satisfied so I looked for more food in the menu. The eggs of red ants are good material to cook. They are clean and high of protein nutrients. I talked to my friend who is from Kalasin province in the Northeast. A big smile was suddenly shown on her face when talking about it.
We need a basket tied to one end of a long stick and a bucket full of water. We poke the ant nest until the eggs fall into the basket. We put the whole basket into a large bucket of water and use the stick to stir the water, the eggs sink down to the bottom and the ants climb up on the stick and we just shake them off. I was afraid to eat it, my brain was imagining all sorts of unusual stuff, but I closed my eyes and had one bite because I wanted to know what it tasted like.
Ant Eggs are seasonal food. They are available only in summer, from the end of February until June. I am sure they are available at other restaurants that serve Isan dishes as well.
Knead all ingredients together gently. Put the seasoning. Then add the remaining vegetables, stir until well combined. Serve with fresh vegetables. Have you tried ant eegs or other exotic Thai dishes? I tried a dish somewhere in Nakornpathom, the main ingredient is the red ant eggs soup cook with herbs.
Taste really good. I finished few bowls. Sawatdee ka Tony, thank you for reading my post. You should go to this place when you are in town again. I was offered some fried grasshoppers taktaeng or crickets once when sitting in a bar in Jomtien. Not much different from fried potato chips: fatty and crunchy. I think they did it only to gross me out as no one there really ate much of it either.
