Viva Les Grenouilles

[Toknarok]

At LAST, after a month of temperatures in the 38-40C range with it threatening to rain every day and just pushing the humidity into the unbearable range this evening the heavens opened. Blessed relief, the temperature dropped to 25c.Two wonderful hours of heavy downpour with lots of crashing and banging.

And as a bonus out came the FROGS. Thousands of them, croaking, honking, and squealing. Even before the the rain stopped the locals were out with their torches grabbing them. The woman next door ventured out into storm and twenty minutes later came back with a bucket that must have had a couple of kilos.

I love frogs, their meat is one of the sweetest and tender imaginable. It's not comparable to chicken or other light white meat. If you haven't tried it do so, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Long live frogs (grenouilles)

[SunsetT]

How do you cook them? I've only seen them for sale in the night markets cremated and stuffed with spicey <deleted>.

[pgs]

Ingredients
2 frogs, cleaned, butterflied
5 tbsp vegetable oil
3 garlic cloves, smashed
2 snake beans, roughly chopped
3 wing beans, sliced
10 pea eggplants
1 handful ivy gourd leaves
4 betel leaves, torn
4 sasbania flowers, stamen removed, plus 2 extra, to garnish
4 kaffir lime leaves, torn
5 bird’s eye chilli, smashed
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp sliced spring onion, to garnish
1 tbsp sliced coriander, to garnish

Chilli paste
¼ cup finely chopped lemongrass
¼ cup finely chopped galangal
4 kaffir lime leaves, finely sliced
⅓ cup finely chopped garlic
⅓ cup finely chopped red Asian shallots
13 dried chillies, finely chopped
1 tbsp fermented shrimp paste
2 tbsp fermented fish paste


Instructions

Chargrill the frogs over medium heat for 10 minutes each side. Remove and discard the feet and hands. Divide each frog into 8 pieces.

To prepare the chilli paste, in a mortar and pestle, add each ingredient, one at a time, and pound well. Add the shrimp and fish pastes, and stir to incorporate. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Add a few tablespoons of water to the mortar, cleaning both mortar and pestle with the water. Reserve the liquid for later.

Add the vegetable oil to a hot wok, followed by the garlic and chilli paste. Sauté for 3 minutes until fragrant. Add the frog and stir-fry for 2 minutes.

Add the snake beans, wing beans and pea eggplant, and stir-fry for a further 2 minutes.

Add the ivy gourd leaves, betel leaves, sasbania flowers and reserved chilli paste water. Mix well and cook for 2 minutes. Add the kaffir lime leaves, bird’s eye chilli and fish sauce.

Stir-fry for a further minute and transfer to a serving platter.

Garnish with spring onion, coriander and extra sasbania flowers.

[pgs]

Original recipe makes 6 servings Change Servings

24 frog's legs, skin removed
1 (4 ounce) packet saltine crackers, crushed
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon minced onion
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 cups vegetable oil for frying
1 cup peanut oil for frying

Instructions
Rinse the frog's legs and pat dry; set aside. In a large resealable bag, combine the saltine cracker crumbs, flour, cornmeal, onion, salt and pepper. Shake to mix. In a shallow bowl, whisk together eggs and milk.
Heat the vegetable oil and peanut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. The oil should be about 1/2 inch deep.
Dip the frog's legs into the milk and egg, then dip into the cracker mixture until evenly coated. Carefully place them in the hot oil. Cook until golden brown on each side, about 5 minutes per side. If the legs start to brown too quickly, reduce the heat to medium. Drain on paper towels before serving.