How to Make Stir-fried Frog with Loofah

Prepare the Frog Meat

If you're unsure how to clean frog meat, ask the seller to help by removing the skin, head, intestines, and feet. When you bring it home, clean it again to save time.

To remove any fishy smell from the frog meat, rub it with coarse salt and ginger wine. If you don't have ginger wine, crush fresh ginger and rub the meat with coarse salt.

Since frogs live in damp environments, they often carry parasites, particularly gnathostomes, which are white and tend to gather in the thighs. Be mindful of this when preparing the meat.

After rubbing with salt and wine, rinse the frog meat clean and let it drain. Then, chop it into bite-sized pieces. You can leave the thighs whole if you prefer.

Next, marinate the frog meat with the following seasonings to enhance its flavor:

• 1/2 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon MSG
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon seasoning powder

Crush some fresh ginger and turmeric (or use turmeric powder), and if you like it spicy, add a chili pepper. Mix this with the frog meat. Marinating like this will enhance the flavor, eliminate any fishy smell, and make the dish more warming when eaten.

Prepare the Other Ingredients

Choose young loofah gourds with a bright green color. They should be tender when pinched and free of bruises. Older gourds are tough and stringy.

Peel the loofah, trim off the ends, rinse, and slice into pieces about the width of a finger.

Mince the shallots and garlic for stir-frying with the frog meat.

Chop the betel leaves finely and cut the green onions into 2-3 cm sections.

Stir-fry the Frog with Loofah

Heat 3 tablespoons of cooking oil in a pan. When the oil is hot, add the minced shallots and garlic, and sauté until fragrant. You can add a splash of fish sauce to enhance the aroma. Then, add the frog meat, and increase the heat slightly to sear the meat until it turns golden and aromatic.

Stir gently but evenly until the frog meat firms up and turns golden.

Frog meat can easily fall apart during stir-frying, so avoid stirring too vigorously. Instead, try tossing the pan to move the meat around.

After about 2 minutes, add the loofah and stir-fry together. Stir well to coat the loofah with oil and add a splash of water to help the loofah cook through and stay green.

Season to taste with the following:

• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoon seasoning powder
• 1/2 teaspoon MSG

Adjust the seasonings to your taste. Stir-fry on high heat so the loofah cooks quickly and retains its moisture. After about 30-40 seconds, the loofah will turn translucent, indicating it's cooked through. At this point, add the betel leaves and green onions, sprinkle with ground pepper, stir for another 10 seconds, then turn off the heat and transfer to a serving dish. If you prefer softer loofah with more liquid, stir-fry for a longer time over lower heat.

The stir-fried frog with loofah has a delightful aroma, with tender, flavorful frog meat and crunchy, sweet loofah. This is a delicious dish that Cookbeo highly recommends you try for your family.