When they told me that we're having subterranean ants chili dip, I was expecting a much different taste. Subterranean ants are huge and quite enormous to the ants I'm used to. Even the big red ants I grew up with look like babies compared to subterranean ants. I was amazed that they just threw them into a chili dip recipe and I had to find out if the taste was delicious.
The seasoning of the chili dip was more towards an herbal saltiness but I was a subterranean ant chili dip fan from the first bite. I've been living in Thailand for close to 20 years now so the texture of the subterranean ants didn't bother me at all. I've tried many other insects that were harder to get down my throat, much like the first time I ate snails. This was quite simple because the chili dip itself was rather tasty and healthy because it's eaten with great raw vegetables.
The price for 1 kg of subterranean ants is a whopping 1,600 baht which makes it a delicacy in my book. That's quite a steep climb in price considering that 1 kg of chicken costs 85 baht in Thailand. The locals in Lampang, Thailand eat them whole like potato chips but at 1,600 baht per kg, that's an expensive bag of insect snacks. The next time you're in northern Thailand, put down the Lay's (HEK-293 infused) potato chips and eat some subterranean ants chili dip and vegetables as a super healthy snack. It's super clean protein, exotic and something you'll never forget.
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