From the fourth to the 10th month of the lunar calendar is the time when ethnic Khmer in An Giang hunt for crickets.

In the past, crickets were popular only among ordinary people, but now they are a specialty of southern provinces such as An Giang and Dong Nai. 

Crickets sell for VND350,000-400,000 per kilogram, and are more valuable than meat and fish.  Cricket hunters must be very experienced to discover their deep underground burrows.

Previously, crickets were fried and eaten with rice and other food. But now, crickets are used to create attractive dishes such as crispy fried crickets and fried crickets with fish sauce. They can be cooked with brine and stir-fried with lemongrass. In An Giang, the most popular dish is fried rice crickets with fish sauce.

Nguyen Phung Truc Giang, the owner of an eatery in Soai Check in TriTon district in An Giang, said that in high season, crickets sell for VND200,000 per kilogram, but at the beginning or the end of the season, they are 50 percent more expensive.

To cook them, crickets are first washed and gutted, and their wings, tail and hind legs are removed. They are fried in hot vegetable oil and then put in a second pan for a stir-fry with onions, garlic, cracklings and pepper until they become firm. Some fish sauce is poured into the mixture for a stronger flavor.

One of the materials that must be used when making the dish is chuc (Citrus hystrix) leaves. At first glance, chuc leaves look similar to lemon leaves, but they are actually quite different. Chuc leaves look like the number 8 as they are narrow in the middle, and the scent is much stronger than that of lemon leaves.

Chuc trees, which are grown by Khmer families, have leaves that can help eliminate the smell of meat and fish.

Giang said that many diners, when seeing the fried insects, refuse to sample the dish, but later find it delicious. Fried crickets are often purchased as gifts for relatives.

Linh Trang