Eat frogs, anyone?

Have you eaten frogs, I mean frogs legs? Well, I have :-( Accidentally. My late father did me in. That was way back. I was about 9 years old. And we were spending our summer vacation in Nueva Ecija, his hometown.

It was cooked "tinolang manok" style. Something like an American chicken soup. Strictly, Asian and Filipino in flavor, it is 'light and refreshing. A simple broth with chicken, sauteed in ginger, shallots, garlic, with green papaya', and chili leaves added near the end of cooking time. At that moment, I thought that was a good dish. Eaten with a hot and generous serving of very white rice, broiled milkfish, red eggs with green mangoes.. on a hot summer lunch.

And I thought it was chicken I was devouring. Afterall, it did taste very much like chicken. Aarrgghh!

Wikipedia says that:

Frogs' legs are one of the better-known delicacies of French and Chinese cuisine. They are also eaten in other regions, such as the Caribbean, the region of Alentejo, in Portugal, northwest Greece, Spain and the Midwest southern regions of the United States. A type of frog called the edible frog is most often used for this dish. They are often said to taste like chicken[1] because of their mild flavor, with a texture most similar to chicken wings[2]. Frogs are raised commercially in certain countries, e.g. Vietnam. Frog muscle does not resolve rigor mortis as quickly as warm-blooded muscle (chicken, for example), so heat from cooking can cause fresh frog legs to twitch.

The frog legs are particularly traditional in the region of the Dombes (département of Ain) and in the region of Lyon, where they are traditionally prepared with butter, garlic and parsley sauce and often served only with a salad or steamed rice.

The dish is common as well in French speaking parts of Louisiana, particularly the Cajun areas of Southwest Louisiana as well as New Orleans. They were introduced to New Orleans by Donat Pucheu.

Only the upper joint of the hind leg is served, which has a single bone similar to the upper joint of a chicken or turkey wing. They are commonly prepared by frying or deep-frying, sometimes breaded and sometimes unbreaded.

In Chinese cuisine, they are usually stir fried and mixed with other light spices, stewed, fried, or made into congee, which is a famous dish in Cantonese cuisine. They are eaten off the bone.

In Indonesian cuisine, frog-leg soup is known as swikee or sweekee, most probably brought by the Chinese community in Indonesia. Swikee is mainly frog-leg soup with strong taste of garlic, gingers, and fermented soya beans, accompanied with celery or parsley leaves. Swikee is a typical dish from Purwodadi Grobogan, in Central Java province. We can also find grilled frog-legs or frog eggs in banana leaves. The Javanese also eat the dried and crispily fried frog skin. The taste is close to the fried fish skin.

Indonesia is one of the biggest exporter frog legs. Most of the supply in western Europe comes from frog farms in Indonesia.

Now this seems like bad news for Kermit [the frog :-)]

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