February 20, 2024
BANGKOK – A fried silkworm vendor in the southern province of Satun considers the rating of her dish as the world’s second-worst deep-fried dish to be a blessing, not a curse.
Patcharee Thongprasom, who sells fried silkworms, at the Saturday night market in Tambon Phiman in Satun’s Muang district, said that after the rating by the tasteatlas website made headlines in the country, more patrons came to buy it.
Patcharee said she earlier sold about 2 kilogrammes of fried silkworms per night, but the sales doubled to 4 kgs after the rating was widely picked up by Thai media.
She sells the fried worms at the rate of 20 baht per spoonful and a patron affirmed that they were crispy and tasty, as well as having a good smell.
On February 8, the tasteatlat published a list of “70 worst rated deep-fried dishes in the world”.
It rated fried spider (A-ping) of Cambodia as the world’s worst deep-fried dish, with Thailand’s deep-fried silkworms coming second.
“Once fried, the silk worms turn crunchy and greasy, while the flavor is sometimes described as slightly bitter. Hon mhai silk worms are prized because they’re rich in protein and some believe that they have medicinal properties,” the website said.