Skun, Cambodia's Famous Fried Spider Town!
In Skun, northeast of Phnom Penh, the insect market intrigues as much as it unsettles. Fried spiders, survival cuisine, and an unusual stopover compose a unique experience in Cambodge.
Located in the Cheung Prey district, in the heart of Kampong Cham Province, the town of Skun has built its reputation around a cuisine… based on insects! Spiders in large part. These arachnids are sold in the market, offered in restaurants and street food stalls, and always present a difficult choice for travelers. Look at them or eat them? Many try it and report an aftertaste similar to chicken that emerges after chewing the grilled, crispy skin.
The first stalls of Skun's traditional market set the tone. Heaps of fried, grilled spiders lie on platters like symbols of this town. This is not a key stop on a trip to Cambodge but can appeal to certain travelers seeking new gastronomic experiences and thus become an interesting stop. Located 70 kilometers northeast of the capital Phnom Penh, it represents a crossroads toward Siem Reap to the north, or Kratié and particularly Mondulkiri Province to the east. A stopover on your vacation route is therefore quite possible, and a few guesthouses and hotels are also available, allowing you to spend a night and deepen the experience.
A recent history
Spiders and various insects from Cambodian countryside are well represented in the stalls and plates of Skun. But this is not an ancestral or century-old culture, no. It developed during the dictatorial period of the Khmer Rouge regime between 1975 and 1979. Cambodians were sent like convicts to work in the country's various countryside regions. Harvesting, building, notably unnecessary irrigation systems that sometimes served as mass graves, and doing so incessantly throughout the day. The workers, a large part of the population, were extremely underfed. A bowl of rice per day, if they were lucky. The inhabitants of the Skun region thus attempted to manage to fight hunger. Spiders, very present on these lands, therefore allowed many to fill their bellies occasionally and survive. As time passed, this practice remained, and the "Skun" cuisine of fried spiders became very famous in Cambodge, attracting many travelers coming from the capital Phnom Penh.
An orderly preparation
Suppliers of grilled spiders today master the process of preparing this dish in Skun. Some insects are raised in the town, while others are directly hunted in burrows in the surrounding countryside. The venom is removed from the arachnid's body before it is killed. The spiders are then distributed to the kitchen and fried with salt and garlic.
Frequently asked questions
Skun is located in the Cheung Prey district, Kampong Cham Province, 70 kilometers northeast of Phnom Penh.
According to traveler accounts, grilled spiders have an aftertaste similar to chicken, with a grilled and crispy skin.
This culinary tradition developed during the Khmer Rouge period (1975-1979), when starving inhabitants began hunting spiders to survive.
Yes, a few guesthouses and hotels are available in Skun for those who wish to spend a night and deepen the experience.
Images restored from the source website — reposition manually if necessary.
