Nakhon Phanom – Residents at this northeastern province are rejoicing these days despite the lingering gloom of the Covid-19 outbreak as they are able to collect puffball mushrooms and lychee giant stink bugs from the jungles and sell them at a good price with the latter going for as much as 2,000 baht a kilogramme, PostToday reported this afternoon.
Vendors at a wet market in Na Kae district are racking in up to 5,000 baht a day selling these jungle products which they collect during the dry season and are in great demand.
Mrs Chaweewan Phongpanya, 47, a vendor at this market said the coronavirus had led to a lot of problems with many people having lost their jobs but those who know how to hunt in the forests are making money.
Every year during the dry season people here are able to get extra income by searching the jungle for edibles for sale and aside from puffball mushrooms and lychee giant stink bugs, red ant eggs too are popular.
Puffball mushrooms are hard to find and very tasty, they can be roasted, steamed or turned into a curry. The price right now is 500 to 800 baht a kilogramme. At restaurants they charge 200 to 300 baht for a serving of these mushrooms.
It is the lychee giant stink bugs that are being sold for 2,000 baht a kilogramme. These bugs are small and it takes a long time to collect a kilogramme of them. They have a pungent smell and can be roasted or turned into a curry but a lot of cooks like to pound them and make a dip.
CAPTION:
The mushrooms and bugs being sold at the Na Kae district wet market. Photos: PostToday
