Garlic butter fried frog is a favorite because the smell fills the kitchen the moment the butter hits the pan. The pieces come out crisp outside and still soft and sweet inside. The difficulty is that frog has very little fat, so a few minutes too long in the oil leaves it dry.
Before the pieces go into the pan, the marinade clinging to the surface has to be scraped off, or the lemongrass and garlic burn black in the oil. The final step is exactly 30 seconds of tossing so the butter sauce coats everything.
This batch weighs about 1.3kg, at roughly 134 calories per 100g.
Method
Rub 1kg frog meat with coarse salt and ginger wine to remove the slime and any off smell, rinse thoroughly, drain and cut into bite sized pieces, leaving the legs whole if you like.
Pound the lemongrass, ginger, garlic, dried shallots, chilies and turmeric for the marinade. Set aside 2 lemongrass stalks and a few minced garlic cloves for frying with the butter.
Marinate the frog with 1/2 teaspoon MSG, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon seasoning powder, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce, 1/2 tablespoon fish sauce, 1/2 tablespoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 2 tablespoons annatto oil, 2 tablespoons cooking oil, 1/2 teaspoon five spice powder and 1 teaspoon cooking wine, then mix in the pounded aromatics and leave for 20 to 30 minutes.
Mix the dipping sauce: stir 3 tablespoons chili sauce with 1/3 tablespoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and 1 tablespoon lime juice until dissolved.
Heat a pan with plenty of oil, scrape the clinging marinade off the pieces and fry them over medium heat, turning until golden with slightly charred edges, then lift them out to drain.
Put 3 tablespoons oil in a pan, fry the reserved lemongrass and minced garlic until fragrant, add 1 tablespoon annatto oil, then add 3 tablespoons margarine and melt it over low heat before seasoning with 1/2 tablespoon oyster sauce.
When the sauce bubbles, return the frog to the pan, raise the heat and toss for about 30 seconds until coated, then turn off the heat. Arrange on a plate lined with la lot leaves and serve hot with cucumber.
Tips
Frying without a batter calls for a light hand, since frog meat dries out very quickly.
Scraping the surface marinade off before the pieces hit the pan keeps them from burning black.
Rub the frog legs with coarse salt and ginger wine until the slime is gone, as any left keeps the raw smell through frying.
Exactly 30 seconds of tossing over high heat is right, as longer scorches the butter and turns it bitter.
Reserved lemongrass and garlic fry cleanly in the butter, while the pounded mixture carries turmeric and clouds the sauce.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.