How to Make Vietnamese Crispy Fried Frog

Name: Ếch chiên giòn
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: Việt Nam
Ingredients: 500g thịt ếch; Rượu gừng; Muối hạt; Bột chiên giòn; Lá lốt (chiên giòn ăn kèm); Gia vị: Nước mắm, hạt tiêu; Muối tiêu chanh hoặc tương ớt chấm ăn kèm

27 Tháng 09, 2024 • 4 minute read

Ingredients Instruction Tips

Crispy fried frog is easy to make, delicious, and good for health. However, you should keep in mind certain things during preparation to ensure the dish is clean and safe.

Frog meat purchased in supermarkets usually comes without skin. If you want to make crispy fried frog with skin, you need to buy live frogs from the market and prepare them yourself. Pay close attention to the legs and spine, as these parts often contain small parasites.

Servings: 2

Prep Time: 20 phút

Cook Time: 15 phút

Ingredients

500g frog meat
Ginger wine
Coarse salt
Crispy frying batter
Wild betel leaf (fried for serving)
Seasonings: fish sauce, ground pepper
Lime pepper salt or chili sauce for dipping

nguyên liệu làm ếch chiên giòn — Ingredients

Instructions

Prepare the Frog

Cleaning the frog properly to remove any odor:

cleaning frog meat — To make the frog meat cleaner and more fragrant, rub it with some salt and ginger wine after rinsing.

Rinse again, cut into bite-sized pieces, and coat with a little turmeric powder.

blanching frog meat in boiling water — Blanch the frog meat in boiling water, then rinse again.

To season the frog meat, after cleaning, marinate with 1 teaspoon of fish sauce, 1 teaspoon of ground pepper, and 1 teaspoon of MSG.

marinating frog meat — Mix well and let the frog meat marinate for about 15 minutes.

Once the frog is seasoned, coat it with crispy frying batter.

coating frog with crispy batter — Shake to evenly coat the frog meat with the batter.

There are different types of crispy frying batter. For a stronger flavor, choose a savory batter, and for a lighter taste, opt for vegetable batter.

If using savory batter, reduce the amount of fish sauce during marination to avoid making the frog meat too salty.

Prepare Other Ingredients

Wash the wild betel leaves, drain, and slice them into strips about the width of a finger. Avoid cutting the leaves too finely, as they will become crumbly when fried.

Fry the Frog

Heat a generous amount of oil in a pan, enough to fully submerge the frog meat. This allows for quick frying and ensures the frog becomes evenly crispy.

When the oil is hot, carefully place each piece of frog into the pan. Turn the pieces regularly to prevent burning.

crispy fried frog — Fry until the frog meat is golden brown, then transfer to a paper towel to drain the oil.

fried wild betel leaves — Fry the wild betel leaves until crispy, then transfer to a paper towel to drain the oil.

crispy fried frog dish — Serve with chili sauce. Arrange the fried frog and wild betel leaves on a plate and enjoy while hot.

crispy fried frog with wild betel leaves

Tips & Notes

Frogs live in fields, so they often carry parasites, particularly gnathostomiasis larvae. These larvae are white, making them hard to distinguish from frog meat. Therefore, when cleaning frog meat, it is important to carefully remove any visible tendons in the legs. Additionally, there are three parts of the frog that must be discarded during cleaning: the spine, intestines, and skin.