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Insects from Thailand

Nam phrik maeng da (giant water bug chilli sauce)น้ำพริกแมงดา

Nam phrik maeng da is a Thai nam phrik (chilli sauce) that includes roasted, pounded giant water bug (maeng da, Lethocerus indicus). Nam phrik sauces often contain a fish or shrimp paste such as kapi, a fermented shrimp paste. The sources we read do not list the ingredients of this one.

A short entry: the sources we found record only what is said here about Nam phrik maeng da itself.

Short entryInsects

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedWhat goes in. No source gives amounts for this ferment.
giant water bug (Lethocerus indicus), roasted
chilli
Start
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What changes: Starting material: a roasted giant water bug

Step 1 of 3
Roast the giant water bug
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Output: roasted bug.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Nam phrik maeng da is a Thai nam phrik (chilli sauce) that includes roasted, pounded giant water bug (maeng da, Lethocerus indicus). Nam phrik sauces often contain a fish or shrimp paste such as kapi, a fermented shrimp paste. The sources we read do not list the ingredients of this one. Lentibacillus, the most abundant genus in some samples of kapi does most of the fermenting.

What makes this one different

Unlike the fermented insect pastes, the sources we read describe this sauce as pounded, not fermented. Any fermented part would come from shrimp paste such as kapi.

Related ferments

Safety

Kapi quality depends on hygiene and salt; a Thai study found Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus and Clostridium perfringens in some market kapi and proposed 25 % (w/w) salt as a standard. It also says 25 % salt alone cannot make kapi safe without good hygiene and control of temperature and humidity.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

  1. [wp-nam-phrik] Wikipedia, Nam phrik and Shrimp paste (outline only)wiki
  2. [kiatbenjakul2015] Kiatbenjakul P., Intarapichet K.O., Cadwallader K.R. 2015, Characterization of potent odorants in male giant water bug (Lethocerus indicus Lep. and Serv.), an important edible insect of Southeast Asia, Food Chemistry 168:639–647 (abstract)paper
  3. [kapi2026] Mahidsanan T., Srinamngoen P., Sittisart P. 2026, Unraveling microbial diversity and physicochemical hazard level in Thai traditional fermented shrimp paste (Kapi), PeerJ 14:e20864paper