Frog legs

Swikee Kodok Oh, frog legs in tauco soup served with rice at a Chinese Indonesian restaurant in Jakarta

Frog legs are one of the better-known delicacies of French and Chinese cuisine. The legs of edible frogs are also consumed in other parts of the world, including Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, the Alentejo region of Portugal, Spain, Albania, Slovenia, the northwest Greece and the Southern regions of the United States. As of 2014, the world's largest exporter of frogs is Indonesia, also a large consumer. In such regions as Brazil, Mexico and the Caribbean, many frogs are still caught wild.

Frog legs are rich in protein, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin A, and potassium.^[1] They are often said to taste like chicken^[2] because of their mild flavor, with a texture most similar to chicken wings.^[3] The taste and texture of frog meat is approximately between chicken and fish.^[4] Frogs are raised commercially in certain countries, e.g. Vietnam. Frog muscles do not resolve rigor mortis as quickly as muscles from warm-blooded animals (chicken, for example) do, so heat from cooking can cause fresh frog legs to twitch.

Issues

A vacuumed bag of frozen frog legs imported from Vietnam

Trade

Each year about US$40 million worth of frog legs are traded internationally, with most countries in the world participating in this trade.^[5] The world's top importers of frogs legs are France, Belgium and the United States, while the biggest international exporters are Indonesia and China.^[5] While these figures do not account for domestic consumption, when production from frog farms is taken into account, it is conservatively estimated that humans consume up to 3.2 billion frogs for food around the world every year.^[5]

Health

Movement of live or unfrozen, unskinned amphibians is a potential way for deadly amphibian diseases such as Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and Ranavirus to be transported around the world, and despite recommendations on preventing disease spread from the OIE, which regulates the international spread of epizootic diseases,^[6] few countries have adopted these recommendations as law.

Environment

Many environmentalists urge the restriction of frog consumption—especially those harvested from the wild—because amphibian populations are declining and frogs are an essential element of ecosystems. Conservationists warn that gastronomic demand for frogs is seriously depleting regional populations.^[7] Frogs are sensitive to environmental changes, disease, habitat degradation, and pollution.

Religious

According to Jewish dietary laws all reptiles and amphibians are considered unclean animals. Therefore, frog legs are not kosher, and are forbidden to observant Jews.

Frog meat is considered as haraam (non-halal) according to mainstream Islamic dietary laws. Frog meat is not halal for two reasons: the meat to be consumed should not be considered disgusting, and frogs, together with ants, bees, and seabirds, are animals that should not be killed by Muslims. This haraam status has caused controversy in Demak, Indonesia, where the authorities urged the swikee restaurant owners not to associate swikee with Demak city, since it would tarnish Demak's image as the first Islamic city in Java, and also opposed by its inhabitants that mainly follow Shafi'i school that forbids the consumption of frogs.^[8] Within Islamic dietary law there are some debates and differences about the consumption of frog legs. The mainstream Islamic madhhab (school) of Shafi'i, Hanafi and Hanbali strictly forbids the consumption of frogs, but according to the Maliki school only on certain type of frogs may be eaten;^[9] the green frog commonly found in ricefields, while other species especially those with blistered skin are considered poisonous and unclean, thus should not be consumed.

In world cuisines

Frog legs with garlic, ready to eat

French cuisine

In the English-speaking world, the dish is most often associated with French cuisine, hence the derogatory nickname for French people of the Frogs.

Frog's legs or cuisses de grenouille are a traditional dish particularly found in the region of the Dombes (département of Ain). Widespread consumption of frog's legs is relatively recent, occurring within the last two hundred years.

The dish is also common in French-speaking parts of Louisiana, particularly the Cajun areas of Southern Louisiana and 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 being breaded prior.

Chinese cuisine

Fresh frog meat in a market in Haikou, China

Bullfrogs and pig frogs are farmed on a large scale in some areas of China, such as Sichuan.^[10]

In Chinese cuisine, frog legs are usually stir fried and mixed with light spices, stewed, fried, or made into congee; a popular dish in Cantonese cuisine.

Indonesian cuisine

Battered deep fried frog legs with spicy mayonnaise

In Indonesian cuisine, frog-leg soup is known as swikee or swike, most probably brought by the Chinese community in Indonesia and popular in Chinese Indonesian cuisine. Swikee is mainly frog-leg soup with a strong taste of garlic, gingers, and fermented soya beans (tauco), accompanied with celery or parsley leaves. Swikee is a typical dish from Purwodadi Grobogan, in Central Java province. There are also frog-legs fried in margarine and sweet soy sauce or tomato sauce, battered and deep fried, grilled, or frog eggs served in banana leaves (pepes telur kodok). The Javanese also eat dried and crisply fried frog skin. The taste is similar to fried fish skin.

Indonesia is the world's largest exporter of frog meat, exporting more than 5,000 tonnes of frog meat each year, mostly to France, Belgium and Luxembourg.^[7] Most supply of frog legs in western Europe originate from frog farms in Indonesia; however, there is concern that frog legs from Indonesia are poached from wild frog populations that may be endangering wild amphibians.

Slovenia

Frog legs (žabji kraki) are a popular dish in Slovenian cuisine, especially in areas of eastern Slovenia (Prekmurje and north-eastern Styria).^[11] They are also quite popular in the country's capital, Ljubljana, and have been considered as the "basis of the traditional city cuisine of Ljubljana".^[12][13] Up to modern times, they have been traditionally considered Lent food, and were especially popular in spring.^[12] They are also a popular traditional dish in the Vipava Valley in western Slovenia and are served in numerous restaurants in the Slovenian Littoral.^[13]

Croatia

Frog legs are popular in some parts of Croatia, especially in the Gorski kotar region in the northwest of the country. They are considered a specialty in the Lokve municipality, where they are served cooked, fried or in a stew, sometimes with polenta on the side.

Spain

In the western part of Spain, Extremadura and Castilla y Leon, frog legs are served deep fried. They are a delicacy among its citizens. Frog legs also have great culinary value on the sides of the Ebro.

Albania

In Albania, frog legs are regarded as a very delicious food. Frogs are mostly collected from the wild.^[14]

Greece

In Greece, eating frogs’ legs is particularly associated with the city of Ioannina and its adjacent lake Pamvotida.

United States

Frog legs are eaten in parts of the Southern United States, particularly in the Deep South and Gulf states where French influence is more prominent, including South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. They are also eaten in Eastern states, but not as commonly. The most common kinds of frogs eaten are bullfrogs and leopard frogs, as these are abundant in most of the country, including the South. Although the consumption of wild native frogs is generally discouraged, the harvest and cooking of invasive bullfrogs, especially in the Western US, has been encouraged as a form of control and to promote local cuisine.^[15]

Some methods of cooking include egg/cracker crumb breading or battered. They are either fried or grilled. Deep fried frog legs can also be found at fairs.

Caribbean

Mountain chicken (Leptodactylus fallax) are frogs named for their habitat and flavor which are eaten in Montserrat and Dominica. The frogs are now critically endangered.

India

In many parts of Kerala, especially Central Kerala, frog legs are a delicacy. They are generally served fried (usually in local liquor shops known as toddy shops).

Britain

Cooked bones of frogs’ legs have been discovered in an archaeological dig in Amesbury Wiltshire, dating back to between 7596BC and 6250BC, evidence that indicates that they were part of the local diet. Some view this as evidence that Britons started eating them before the French.^[16]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Anca de rana.