“Don’t be afraid of what I eat — be afraid of what I won’t eat.” Of course eating cockroaches is not quite as delicious as you might think. (And this is coming from someone who has eaten bull penis, raw cobra hearts and goat brain, among other things.)
Why did you eat cockroach?
Why not? My friend’s wife’s Thai family was coming in from Isan (the most rural and non-touristy province in Thailand) and they brought with them a bunch of fresh bugs from the village.
Remember: eat village bugs, not city bugs. Big difference.
Same goes when eating rat. (But I’ll save that video for next week.) 😉 City bugs and rats live off trash and shit, whereas villages critters are all natural. Just think of village bugs and rats as the upscale organic version.
How do you cook cockroaches?
We pan-fried them using a little bit of vegetable. Just a quick light fry to give them more of a crunch. Simple as that.
What do cockroaches taste like?
First off, the head and body have two completely different tastes. The head is surprisingly hard and difficult to chew/swallow. The body is filled with a little bit of stuffing (cockroach guts I hope — would rather not think about all the worse things the alternatives could be) and is much chewier. Dare I even say more tasty than the top half of the body?
(Unfortunately this is about as descriptive as my culinary writing gets — there is a reason I’m not a food blogger) 😉
Would you eat cockroach again?
Short answer: no with a ‘but’. Long answer: yes with an ‘if’.
Maybe somebody out there knows of a better way to prepare cockroach — or of a more delicious cockroach species then whatever is found in the forests of Isan.
And now finally…..the video. Enjoy!
Just don’t blame me if you lose your appetite after watching it 😉
Top work mate. If there’s one thing that I am really not sure I could handle it’s been roaches but thanks for the tip to start with the back end should I ever have to try them. Respect
Yeah who would’ve thought lol
An Egyptian friend was telling me yesterday that the reason why she is afraid of them is that when she was a kid she once woke up with one that had crawled into her mouth!
Heard horror stories like…mouth…ear…if it happens just hope I sleep through it ????
I had termites yesterday.
How were they? Where?
South Sudan. Kind of creamy and earthy, almost nutty.
Wow those actually sound really good now. Assuming if they were African termites they must have been some big f’n termites, eh?
I took on to the face when they were still alive. MOTHER FUCKER!
oh my!
Considering I’m afraid of roaches this was a tough one
I’ve seen that kind of delicacy also here in Cambodia but I’m not sure if I’m that adventurous with that kind of food. what’s the verdict?
Back end tastes better than the head (which is probably even more disgusting when you think about it) but still not delicious enough for me to ever need to eat again. One cockroach was enough.
hahaha! just for the experience 🙂 I remember when one of my friends visited Phnom Penh he wanted to try the tarantula and he had the same verdict you had with that cockroach 😛
what did it taste like?
The head was tough and rough, hard to chew….the back half was filled with mushed stuff. Unsure how to describe the taste but the mush was slightly less disgusting than the head
“Don’t be scared of what I eat. Be scared of what I don’t eat.”
Classic
What can I say, every once in a while I come up with some good lines 😉
i thought you had it alive for a second there! ????
Ewwwww no that would be too much! Uggghhhh
lol ????
Derek you are next Jungle Survivor Man ???? for NatGeo
Where do I sign up?
“Only eat village cockroaches (not city roaches)” = Best Line of The Year
Where can I accept my award? ????
Derek Freal NYC, Bangkok, Pokhara, let’s see what comes up…
nextime eat spider , like fear factor lol
As long as it’s not tarantula….don’t think I could do that one, even if it was dead!
yes lol tarantula , but if can change my life , i still ready for it lol
Deeeeeeerek! Ewww!
I’ve had goats brain in soup, crocodile meat, and snake, snake blood, horse meat, and porcupine.
I tried to have scorpions and insects in Thailand, but I just couldn’t. You looked as if you were just about to vomit though but kudos to you for trying. I don’t blame you. It’s the head and the feelers, and the bony legs. Your face was pretty epic. Thank goodness you could pick the legs off! Aaaaah!
Oh so you are an adventurous eater, that is great to hear 😀 Was crocodile in the Philippines? How was porcupine? And where was it? Never encountered that before.
Everything else you named is delicious. Except scorpions, those aren’t that tasty. You didn’t miss much except a good photo opp 😉 Other bugs are more delicious, especially grasshoppers. Eating bugs is certainly taboo in the western world but they’re a good source of protein and could be used to fight global hunger. Just avoid the cockroaches.
Hey want to know a secret? This was filmed on Christmas Eve 2016 but I only just now was able to watch it without gagging. Six months later. In fact the first few months after that I had horrible flashbacks any time I saw a cockroach on the street at night. It was terrible. Hard to get past. Not recommended.
it’s kinda like…
“Derek eats bugs so you don’t have to. Ever.”
and I’m comfortable in your sacrifice for that end! 🙂
Best. Comment. Ever. Happy to sacrifice myself. Just won’t be helping you with your cockroach problem back home
Damn derek!!! I was cringing when I was watching you eat that cockroach!!! My friends was concerned when they saw my face and they thought I was watching an horror movie but they all laughed at me when I told them it was just you eating a “regular” cockroach. Anyways, thanks for informing this to us? (I guess. Lol) looking forward to more of your “extreme” culinary adventures!!!
Want to know something crazy? That video was filmed on Christmas Eve…it took me 6 months to be able to watch/edit it without cringing haha 😉