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Monday, September 2, 2002. Feature: Spiderwomen serve up Cambodia's creepy caviar
First unearthed by starving Cambodians in the dark days of the Khmer Rouge "killing fields" rule, Skuon's spiders have transformed from the vital sustenance of desperate refugees into a choice national delicacy.
Travellers from the capital, 60 km (38 miles) to the southwest, often buy dozens of the spiders at a time, fresh from the soil around Skuon, rather than wait for what might be inferior produce in the Phnom Penh markets. Conservationists and vegetarians might blanche at the relentless pursuit of so many spiders for the sake of a snack, but locals are confident the arachnid population will hold up. Indeed, the only time a crisis threatened was around the Millennium when an extra-large number of spider-eaters passed through Skuon on their way to celebrate the New Year at Angkor, the stunning 1000-year-old temple complex in the northwest. Say goodbye to backache According to aficionado Tum Neang, the best spider is one plucked straight from its burrow and pan fried with lashings of garlic and salt over a traditional wood fire until its skin goes a deep red-brown colour. Crispy on the outside, gooey on the inside, it should then be served piping hot. But the spider's remarkable popularity does not stop with its taste. Like many of her fellow Cambodians, Chor Rin, a 40-year-old market stall trader, swears by its medicinal properties - especially when mushed up in a rice wine cocktail. "It's particularly good for back ache and children with breathing problems," she said, dipping a glass into a jar of murky brown liquid, at the bottom of which sits a rotting mass of hairy black legs and bloated spider bellies. "People could not afford medicine under the Khmer Rouge so they had to use traditional medicines. "They drank it and it made them feel stronger. "With the wine, it's very important they still have their fangs or the medicine loses its power," she said.
For truckers making the long trip up to Cambodia's northern reaches, a bracing slug of the liquor is an obligatory tonic, and a litre of top grade spider wine can fetch as much as $2, a huge sum in local terms. Prices of fried spiders in Phnom Penh are also on the rise as supply struggles to keep pace with demand - although it looks as though it will be some time before non-Cambodians cotton on. "They are becoming more and more popular, but I don't think there's much demand from Europeans yet," said spider-trader Chea Khan.
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