Thai chef aims to turn insect eating into fine dining

[snoop1130]

Thai chef aims to turn insect eating into fine dining

By Nanchanok Wongsamuth

 

Thai chef Surasit Buttama holds a dish of organic insects at Insects in the Backyard, Bangkok, Thailand on October 25, 2019. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Nanchanok Wongsamuth

 

BANGKOK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Thai chef Surasit Buttama spent almost a decade cooking international food at upscale restaurants and hotels in the United States and Thailand, but he found his passion a few months ago at a Bangkok restaurant serving edible insects.

 

His latest recipe consists of almond cream pear tart served with silk worm vanilla icecream. While the icecream has two silk worms lying on top, you wouldn't realise that the icecream itself is made of powdered silk worms.

 

The same goes with pasta made of crickets and giant water beetles or crickets mixed into brownies. A dish consisting of grilled seabass is served with crispy ants and ant eggs mixed with beurre blanc sauce.

 

"One of the challenges that I enjoy is how to make people not feel scared of the food," Buttama told the Thomson Reuters Foundation at Insects in the Backyard, Thailand's first edible insect fine dining restaurant, where he is chef de cuisine.

 

"I don't think I'll ever get bored (with cooking insects), which is something I won't be able to learn anywhere else."

 

Nutritionists and scientists have been touting insects as sustainable and cheap source of protein to feed a growing world because they are high in protein, vitamins, fibre and minerals.

 

Insects emit fewer greenhouse gases and less ammonia than cattle or pigs and require significantly less land and water than cattle, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization.

 

While eating insects is already part of a normal diet for Thai people in rural areas, 35-year-old Buttama says it is often looked down upon.

 

Thais account of only 20% of the restaurant's customers.

 

"Thais associate eating insects with poor people, which is a misunderstanding. (People who live in rural areas) are actually lucky to have different sources of food," he said.

 

"The taste (of insects) is unique and tasty, similar to crab and shrimp. For instance, giant water beetles taste like crab, while grasshoppers taste like shrimp."

 

Buttama joined Insects in the Backyard about six months ago, which was founded by Somchai Songwattana, chief executive of Flynow, one of Thailand's pioneering fashion brands.

 

"What we are trying to do is to let Thais know that insects are edible and have value, but they are often overlooked," said Buttama.

 

The chef is often seen hanging around in the dining room talking to customers and recommending dishes - his favourite is nachos with cherry tomato salsa, dukkha sour cream, grand padano cheese and your choice of organic insects.

 

He also likes to give tips to customers on how to cook their own meals at home, and plans to write a book on insect cuisine.

 

Edible insects are slowly gaining popularity in Thailand, with packaged snacks sold in 7-Eleven convenience stores and insects sold in bulk at Makro, a local wholesale supermarket.

 

"I like to encourage people to cook their own dishes because it helps farmers and it's doing good for the world," said Buttama. "In the future, it might even be common for us to see chefs cooking insects in restaurants."

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-11-01

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[mok199]

The grub hub

[Moonlover]

 

1 hour ago, snoop1130 said:

Nutritionists and scientists have been touting insects as sustainable and cheap source of protein to feed a growing world because they are high in protein, vitamins, fibre and minerals.

 

Insects emit fewer greenhouse gases and less ammonia than cattle or pigs and require significantly less land and water than cattle, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization.

The food of the future is here now. I live in rural Issan and I've enjoyed quite a number of grub and insect dishes.

 

Good luck to this guy. He's on a winner.

[djayz]

I'm convinced that we'll have no alternative but to eat more of these creepy crawlies in the future, but, cook them whatever way you will, they'll never be "fine dining". 

 

I have eaten a few from time to time (reluctantly and thanks to Dutch courage, or should I say beer Chang courage) and aside from the very strong taste of the cooking oil, they weren't as revolting as I thought they'd be. 

 

 

[DrTuner]

Insects are on par with salty snacks. The lack of marbled meat just doesn't cut it. But sure garnish with some leafy whatever and let the greenies pay themselves sick, all for it. 

[Jingthing]

I'd really rather not. 

[ratcatcher]

Thais have been eating insects for generations and still do. Any night in Bangkok in many areas, stalls selling a variety of crispy , squishy fried bugs are doing a roaring trade. Personally I like the fried tak ka tan (grasshoppers), maybe it's the salty sauce they spray on them. Tasty, but I wouldn't want to eat them on a regular basis.

This guy wants to get the bigger spenders eating them off large white plates and charge a high price for the dish. Good luck to him.

[Burma Bill]

Here are some other deep fried specialties but not for me!

 

[Bluespunk]

15 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The chef is often seen hanging around in the dining room talking to customers and recommending dishes - his favourite is nachos with cherry tomato salsa, dukkha sour cream, grand padano cheese and your choice of organic insects.

 

What's a non organic insect then?

[overherebc]

13 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

What's a non organic insect then?

One that wasn't caught in the inside of one of these????

[Krataiboy]

Eat your fill, folks, while you can. Insects- including essential pollinators like bees and butterflies - are dying out at a scary rate. 

 

A Swiss nature preservation organisation recently reported 75 percent of current diverse insect populations wiped out due to a variety of causes over three decades, with 163 indigenous species already extinct.

 

Researchers expect the death toll to shoot up with the arrival of 5G and more powerful EMF radiation capable of heating up insect bodies "dramatically". 

https://sciencepost.uk/2019/05/5g-loss-of-insects/

[DrTuner]

3 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

What's a non organic insect then?

The already grow them in greenhouses. Would not be surprised if they are pumped full of antibiotics. 

[Reigntax]

3 hours ago, Burma Bill said:

Here are some other deep fried specialties but not for me!

 

Reminds me of a long ago nightmare

[Orton Rd]

PJW does not fancy em he's sticking to cows, sheep and pig parts!

 

 

[zydeco]

19 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Insects emit fewer greenhouse gases and less ammonia than cattle or pigs and require significantly less land and water than cattle, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization.

And what is on the menu today at the FAO's cafeteria? 

[zydeco]

19 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

"Thais associate eating insects with poor people, which is a misunderstanding. (People who live in rural areas) are actually lucky to have different sources of food," he said.

Yummy. All those insects that are laced with pesticides.

[overherebc]

43 minutes ago, zydeco said:

Yummy. All those insects that are laced with pesticides.

It's the easiest way to catch them. Spray them with a good quality fly-killer then they are easy to sweep up.

If we leave the UV bug killer on all night there's a couple of sparrows sit and wait till we switch it off and then they have a nice BBQ'd breakfast from the catch tray.

????????????

[Moonlover]

19 hours ago, djayz said:

I'm convinced that we'll have no alternative but to eat more of these creepy crawlies in the future, but, cook them whatever way you will, they'll never be "fine dining". 

 

I have eaten a few from time to time (reluctantly and thanks to Dutch courage, or should I say beer Chang courage) and aside from the very strong taste of the cooking oil, they weren't as revolting as I thought they'd be. 

 

 

There was a time, many lunar eclipses ago that I would gone ugh were I to be invited to dine on frogs. Then I went on my 1st trip to France and discovered that they really are quite tasty when cooked properly. (I also found them to be delicious when visiting China a few years ago)

 

Already, bugs are being mass produced (if that's the right term) in Canada and Belgium. With continued population growth, mankind is going to have to look to more sustainable methods of producing wholesome food whilst not endangered our planet any more than we already are.

 

There was a programme on the BBC recently where a family were invited to eat bugburgers. They declared them 'very tasty'. Bugs could well be the answer to the world's growing food crisis. 

[Geordieabroad]

What if this catches on with muslims?, halal insects could be a bit of a challenge for the chef.

[digger70]

21 hours ago, Moonlover said:

Insects emit fewer greenhouse gases and less ammonia than cattle or pigs and require significantly less land and water than cattle, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization.

Yea of course look at the size of them bugs ,to replace meat one has to do better than farming a few trillion bugs .I ain't going to happen.

[Fred white]

I was offered a cricket at my local noodle shop I politely declined and told her those were fish bait where I came from

[ICELANDMAN]

4 hours ago, Krataiboy said:

Eat your fill, folks, while you can. Insects- including essential pollinators like bees and butterflies - are dying out at a scary rate. 

 

A Swiss nature preservation organisation recently reported 75 percent of current diverse insect populations wiped out due to a variety of causes over three decades, with 163 indigenous species already extinct.

 

Researchers expect the death toll to shoot up with the arrival of 5G and more powerful EMF radiation capable of heating up insect bodies "dramatically". 

https://sciencepost.uk/2019/05/5g-loss-of-insects/

You never heard are cultivation insects ?

[Thongkorn]

22 hours ago, Moonlover said:

 

The food of the future is here now. I live in rural Issan and I've enjoyed quite a number of grub and insect dishes.

 

Good luck to this guy. He's on a winner.

Eco friendly farts then

[overherebc]

2 hours ago, Moonlover said:

There was a time, many lunar eclipses ago that I would gone ugh were I to be invited to dine on frogs. Then I went on my 1st trip to France and discovered that they really are quite tasty when cooked properly. (I also found them to be delicious when visiting China a few years ago)

 

Already, bugs are being mass produced (if that's the right term) in Canada and Belgium. With continued population growth, mankind is going to have to look to more sustainable methods of producing wholesome food whilst not endangered our planet any more than we already are.

 

There was a programme on the BBC recently where a family were invited to eat bugburgers. They declared them 'very tasty'. Bugs could well be the answer to the world's growing food crisis. 

So glad I'm old. ????????????.

Don't have to worry about rising seas, eating bugs and driving an electric car that is not controlled by me but by some super computer that tracks it, limits its speed and charges me 10 'credits' every time I take it out of the garage.

PS. When I die burn me inside my gas guzzling noisy and so enjoyable car. ????????????????????

[Toadie]

The food of the future is here now. I live in rural Issan and I've enjoyed quite a number of grub and insect dishes.

 

Try sitting in the front of the ute mate or face backwards with mouth closed