Red Ant Eggs (khai mot daeng)
Ants are very common in rural Thailand. The jungle is teeming with ant colonies of different varieties. Most varieties of ants are a nuisance, tiny ants will get into everything that is editable in a home unless the food is well sealed. I end up keeping many food items in the refrigerator that don't need refrigeration just to keep the ants out! Prepared food left to cool is put in a container surrounded by water to keep the ever-present ants away.
Fire Ants, (mod-kun-fai), are a different story. Fire ants are large red ants that are quite aggressive with a painful bite that causes swelling that can last for days. The best revenge is to eat them. Or at least their eggs.
Red Ant eggs are found in the trees. The ants make nests in the branches of jungle trees. Some are quite high up, and others are just a few feet overhead in the jungle.
Red ant eggs are used in salads, soups, and also fried.
Bags can be purchased at local farm supply stores or hand-made and attached to long bamboo poles to harvest the ant eggs.
Obviously, great care must be taken to avoid getting ant bites. However, a few painful bites are just part of the process. It's the price paid for eating this delicacy of rural Thailand.
If you find yourself with "ants in your pants" a shower is about the quickest remedy. This I know, unfortunately, from experience.
