There is no crunch or crackle, but crickets are on the menu at one Bangkok pop-up serving fusion bug burgers, demonstrating the latest way to incorporate the protein-rich meat into food — direct from Thailand’s farms.
Already catching headlines as a meat alternative, the edible insect market is expected to grow into a billion-dollar global industry with many adopting creepy-crawlies into their diets as a result of climate damage.
Thailand’s Bounce Burger is the newest cricket kid on the block with its cricket-beef burgers, sausages, cricket balls and even power bars and cookies.
Photo: AFP
“Crickets don’t have to be on street vendor’s stalls that are served only with soy sauce,” said Poopipat Thiapairat, co-owner of Bounce Burger Restaurant. “They can be burgers, bakery, soft cookies or even paprika seasoning used to flavor french fries — these are all possible.”
Crickets are a source of protein, as well as containing a host of beneficial vitamins, and are among the most commonly eaten insects by humans globally.
Despite this, Poopipat said the spindly arthropods were in need of an image makeover as they were “not really consumer-friendly.”
Photo: AFP
“If we open a restaurant and serve cricket-based food that doesn’t look like crickets then the consumers might be more open to trying,” he said.
“The problem with crickets is that they get stuck in your throat,” he said, adding that his firm removes the “hard” parts of the insect — like the wings and legs — leaving the fleshy body.
“It’s the same concept as beef or pork where we don’t eat the bones,” he said.
While Thais have long eaten bugs as a tasty snack, Pawan Thedthong — nibbling on a bug at a Bangkok fried stall — said that others might be put off.
“You can see foreigners walking past and they wouldn’t dare try the insects,” the 24-year-old said. “If they are processed into something more appealing then people could eat them more.”
Among the biggest appeals of cricket farming is that its environmental impact is far less than rearing cows or pigs.
One 2017 study suggested that chicken production in Thailand was responsible for 89 percent more carbon emissions than insect industries.
While some parts of the world are only now discovering the benefits, Thailand already has thousands of insect farms.
Many of those farms cater to animal feed needs, but some are focused on edible insects for humans — such as Bricket R&D Cricket Farm, established in 2019.
On the outskirts of Bangkok, the farm supplies 160kg of crickets monthly direct to the Bounce kitchens.
The process is carefully controlled, with the insects chilled to sleep, washed and then harvested for meal prep, managing director Thanaphum Muang-Ieam said.
While for the burgers, the crickets are laid on top, for sweeter items the Bounce chefs use a powder taken from the insects and baked into the goods — from power-bars to biscuits.
As for the customers?
“The taste is good. The sauce blends over the smell of the crickets,” 53-year-old customer Anut Sottthibandhu said as he munched.
“I don’t feel like there are insects in my burger,” he added with a grin.
FLYBY: The object, appears to be traveling more than 60 kilometers per second, meaning it is not bound by the sun’s orbit, astronomers studying 3I/Atlas said Astronomers on Wednesday confirmed the discovery of an interstellar object racing through the solar system — only the third-ever spotted, although scientists suspect many more might slip past unnoticed. The visitor from the stars, designated 3I/Atlas, is likely the largest yet detected, and has been classified as a comet, or cosmic snowball. “It looks kind of fuzzy,” said Peter Veres, an astronomer with the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center, which was responsible for the official confirmation. “It seems that there is some gas around it, and I think one or two telescopes reported a very short tail.” Originally known as A11pl3Z before
Hundreds of protesters marched through the Mexican capital on Friday denouncing gentrification caused by foreigners, with some vandalizing businesses and shouting “gringos out!” The demonstration in the capital’s central area turned violent when hooded individuals smashed windows, damaged restaurant furniture and looted a clothing store. Mexico City Government Secretary Cesar Cravioto said 15 businesses and public facilities were damaged in what he called “xenophobic expressions” similar to what Mexican migrants have suffered in other countries. “We are a city of open arms... there are always ways to negotiate, to sit at the table,” Cravioto told Milenio television. Neighborhoods like Roma-Condesa
‘CONTINUE TO SERVE’: The 90-year-old Dalai Lama said he hoped to be able to continue serving ‘sentient beings and the Buddha Dharma’ for decades to come The Dalai Lama yesterday said he dreamed of living for decades more, as the Buddhist spiritual leader prayed with thousands of exiled Tibetans on the eve of his 90th birthday. Thumping drums and deep horns reverberated from the Indian hilltop temple, as a chanting chorus of red-robed monks and nuns offered long-life prayers for Tenzin Gyatso, who followers believe is the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. Looking in good health, dressed in traditional maroon monk robes and a flowing yellow wrap, he led prayers — days after confirming that the 600-year-old Tibetan Buddhist institution would continue after his death. Many exiled Tibetans
Dozens of residents have evacuated remote islands in southern Japan that have been shaken by nearly 1,600 earthquakes in recent weeks, the local mayor said yesterday. There has been no major physical damage on hardest-hit Akuseki island, even after a magnitude 5.1 quake that struck overnight, said Toshima Mayor Genichiro Kubo, who is based on another island. However, the almost nonstop jolts since June 21 have caused severe stress to area residents, many of whom have been deprived of sleep. Of the 89 residents of Akuseki, 44 had evacuated to the regional hub of Kagoshima by Sunday, while 15 others also left another