"Buyers say spiders are good and they say that they can cure diseases" - street vendor Chin Sarath Tue Jul 4 2006
ITV (UK)
All across Cambodia people are tucking into the seasonal snack of fried local tarantulas.
The town of Skuon, located 50 miles northeast of the capital Phnom Penh, is particularly famous for the spiders. Street vendors there carry plates piled high with arachnids flavoured with garlic, salt and chillies.
Connoisseurs say the best spiders are plucked from their underground burrow in the jungle and pan-fried over a wood fire until the skin of the hairy, venomous spider turns red-brown.
"Buyers say spiders are good and they say that they can cure diseases. Some people buy up to a hundred of them, even the whole tray," said 20-year-old Chin Sarath, who has been selling spiders for the past seven years.
The spiders sell for a few hundred riels each or less than 5p. On a good day Sarath can earn more than £50 which is a good income for a country where nearly a third of the population lives below a poverty line of around 50p a day.
In addition to munching them on the spot, some customers like to buy live spiders which they put into their rice wine.
"I often buy them here and I even buy them alive to put in my wine which I drink at meal times," said Cheah Vanich, 37, who bought a sack full of spiders while passing through the town.
"I'm not scared of eating them. I believe it can cure some kinds of illnesses," added 55-year-old Chin Mun, who, like many swear that spiders cure ailments ranging from back aches to respiratory problems.
The dish is not just a delicacy. To many, it is also a reminder of Cambodia's bloody Khmer Rouge regime where more than a million people were killed through torture, execution or starvation.
Due to the lack of food, many were forced to forage for spiders, crickets and water beetles to feed themselves, and discovered that insects were tasty.
The town of Skuon, located 50 miles northeast of the capital Phnom Penh, is particularly famous for the spiders. Street vendors there carry plates piled high with arachnids flavoured with garlic, salt and chillies.
Connoisseurs say the best spiders are plucked from their underground burrow in the jungle and pan-fried over a wood fire until the skin of the hairy, venomous spider turns red-brown.
"Buyers say spiders are good and they say that they can cure diseases. Some people buy up to a hundred of them, even the whole tray," said 20-year-old Chin Sarath, who has been selling spiders for the past seven years.
The spiders sell for a few hundred riels each or less than 5p. On a good day Sarath can earn more than £50 which is a good income for a country where nearly a third of the population lives below a poverty line of around 50p a day.
In addition to munching them on the spot, some customers like to buy live spiders which they put into their rice wine.
"I often buy them here and I even buy them alive to put in my wine which I drink at meal times," said Cheah Vanich, 37, who bought a sack full of spiders while passing through the town.
"I'm not scared of eating them. I believe it can cure some kinds of illnesses," added 55-year-old Chin Mun, who, like many swear that spiders cure ailments ranging from back aches to respiratory problems.
The dish is not just a delicacy. To many, it is also a reminder of Cambodia's bloody Khmer Rouge regime where more than a million people were killed through torture, execution or starvation.
Due to the lack of food, many were forced to forage for spiders, crickets and water beetles to feed themselves, and discovered that insects were tasty.
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