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By
: May Titthara, Picture by : Sem Vannjohn & Titthara.
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Take a ride along Phnom
Penh's Russian Confederation Boulevard on an evening
and you will see stall after stall displaying delicious
curry-fried frogs for sale.
During the rainy season there are a lot of frogs
in Cambodia, which is why people like to catch and
eat them. This kind of food is a favorite of people
who like drinking beer, wine or palm wine - the
crispy, spicy amphibians are served as a snack to
accompany an evening's drinking.
Sok Nary, 18, is a curry-fried frog seller near
Brampi Makara Bridge in Phnom Penh. "I'm very
happy when the rainy season arrives because there
are a lot of frogs at night, so I can catch them
and cook them as curry-fried frogs," she said.
"Frogs normally live in ponds and rice fields.
They come out to find food at night, when it is
dark and cool. Its easy for me to catch them. When
you shine a torch in their eyes, the frogs can't
move - that's when I get them," Sok Nary explained.
"People who enjoy curry-fried frogs often come
here with their friends to drink palm wine. Some
bring their girlfriends with them, too. I sell a
lot of frogs in the evening here, especially at
the weekends," she said. "Not only Khmer
people like and can eat curry-fried frogs - foreigners
can try them too, if they want," Sok Nary added.
Khem Sarik, 48, also sells fried frogs. "Foreigners
who have no idea about curry-fried frogs might wonder
what kind of food it is. The stomachs of the cooked
frogs are filled with pork. |
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And the
cooked frogs are colored red, which makes them more
attractive for people to eat."
"During the planting rice season," she
continued, "there are a lot of frogs, because
frogs stay close to stalk of rice and at night when
it rains, frogs come out to find food. But when
the rainy season ends, it is very difficult for
us to find frogs. This is what makes this business
a struggle," Khem Sarik added.
Khem Sarik explained how she makes the curry-fried
frogs. First, she cuts the frogs' heads off, then
she takes off their skin and cleans it. Next, she
takes citronella, saffron, peanuts, coconut, pork
and frog-meat, mixes it all together and then chops
them all up. When the blend of spice is just right,
she stuffs the mixture into the frogs' stomachs
until they look really fat. Finally, she dries the
frogs in the sunshine for about 15 minutes and then
grills them for about half an hour- although some
people prefer to fry them.
Khem Sarik sells one dish of curry-fried frogs for
between 2000 and 2500 riel. "Curry-fried frogs
look quite scary, because their arms and legs are
really short and their stomach is round and full
of pork," she laughed.
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Condiments for making
that delicious Kang Kep Baob Frog Dish.
Lemongrass; kaffir lime; turmeric; galangal;
garlic cloves; shallots; fried chilli; cubanelle
pepper; roasted peanut; sugar; salt &
fish sauce.
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The stuffed frogs are
always served with a plate of vegetables
on the side.
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Curry-fried frog is the
best food for people who like drinking wine, and
it's good for women as well. People who live in
the countryside are particularly fond of the dish,
because a lot of frogs live in among rice plants,
so they're very common in rural rice-growing villages.
When villagers have finished working in the rice
fields, they like to catch a few frogs to eat with
a glass of cold beer after work.
Sao Sophany, 15, sell frogs in Ang Kasom market
in Takeo province. "I sell curry-fried frogs
every day during the rice-planting season because
my father finds a lot of frogs when he's working
in the fields, and my mother cooks them for me to
sell," she said. "Sometimes I earn nearly
10.000 riels a day," she added, while carrying
a tray of curry-fried frogs on her head. "I
don't know what I am doing wrong, but when the foreigners
get out of their cars and see me, they look at my
frogs, laugh and ask, what’s that???,"
Sao Sophany said."All the same, I think they
are strange too." |
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