Red Ants

The fluorescent bulb flickers back to life revealing four home-made Cambodian dishes. Each plate of food is covered in ants. This is not a mistake, ants are the main ingredient.

In the province of Kampong Thom, some 200 kilometres north of Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, lies the rustic village of Anteakoma, and the birthplace of our guide, and local Cambodian chef, Noeur Noun; Nal, for short.

With the help of his brother Hong, and Hong’s extended family, Nal takes us through the humid jungle to find red tree ants, or angrorng in Khmer. Literally just shaking them from their nests in the trees, the ants are collected in buckets of salty water, to kill and preserve them. 

Unlike spiders and crickets, which are now sold commercially in Cambodia, red tree ants are mainly collected by families for personal use. 

Nal, however, has incorporated them into at least two dishes on the menu at Phnom Penh restaurant, Eleven One Kitchen, where he is head chef.

“Red tree ants are very important for Khmer people to make a lot of food and medicine,” Nal says. “Cambodians eat angrorng because it is original Khmer food from the time of Angkor.”

With a taste like tamarind or lime, and a rich history of collection, it is a shame that ants are relatively unknown as a traditional Cambodian ingredient, outside the Kingdom. A recent UN report, which has documented the nutritional benefits and sustainability of consuming insects in Southeast Asia, mentions spiders, but not ants.

Perhaps it is up to innovative locals like Nal, to bring ants to the forefront of international cuisine.

story by Jessica Tana