Fried spiders

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A fried spider is a regional delicacy of Cambodia. In the small Cambodian town of Skun, locals eat fried spiders as a snack. Spiders are also available elsewhere in Cambodia, in Phnom Penh for instance, but the village of Skun, a stopover on the road 90 kilometers northeast of the capital, is the centre of their popularity. The spiders are bred in holes in the ground in villages north of Skun, or foraged for in nearby forestland, and fried in oil. It is not clear how this practice started, but some have suggested that they gained popularity after first being eaten out of desperation during the years of Khmer Rouge rule, when food was in short supply.

Source for information about the object depicted in the image: Freeman, Michael. Cambodia. London: Reaktion Books, 2004.

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