Goon Ten, or Dancing Shrimp, is a popular Thai street food made with live freshwater shrimp that jumps off the plate when marinated alive.

A bunch of small, translucent shrimp trying to wiggle their way out of being eaten alive doesn’t sound like the most appetizing meal, but in Northern Thailand, it’s actually all the rage. Usually sold from double-basket carts, goon ten consists of live freshwater shrimp wriggling in a spicy marinade of ground chili, lime juice, fish sauce, mint, sliced shallots, and lemongrass. It is most often served with a variety of sticky rice. Often described as one of the freshest foods money can buy, dancing shrimp salad will literally jump off the plate, as the live critters try to escape the spicy marinade. It sounds barbaric to eat such a dish in this day and age, but most of those who have tried it were blown away by its texture and complex flavor combination.

“My first bite was that of sheer pleasure, the kind of incredible flavor that paralyzes your body and puts you into a state of flavor overjoy,” popular food blogger Mark Wiens once wrote on his blog. Each individual shrimp was a little burst of brine that merged with the other contrasting parts of the dressing and the herbs to create a remarkable taste.

“Although this may sound barbaric to some, the experience was actually surprisingly enlightening,” Kasma Loha-unchit described the experience of eating dancing shrimp salad. “We felt the shrimp become us – we were the vehicle through which their spirit would carry on in the world. We didn’t feel that we were eating them alive, taking away their life. Instead, we felt their life continuing on within us, that they happily became part of us. They danced in us and made us dance with life. I was reminded of the teaching that “energy never dies; it is only transformed,” and, because something must die (whether this be animal or vegetable) in order that we may live, may we be worthy to carry on the spirit that has sacrificed its life for our nourishment at every meal.”

 

Fresh and crunchy as it may be, dancing shrimp isn’t really my cup of tea, but then again, I’ve never been one to eat live animals, especially after marinating them in a spicy sauce. But that’s just me!