How to Skin the Famous Specialty Aquatic Product Bullfrog? Parasite Concerns and Cooking Methods Explained

Bullfrog, also known as vegetable frog, is one of the important famous specialty aquatic products in China's aquaculture. So how do you skin it? Does it have parasites? What cooking methods are there? According to animal encyclopedia data, wild ones generally have parasites, but the bullfrogs sold for meat on the market today are basically all farmed. Choosing bullfrogs that have undergone qualified freezing treatment and thoroughly cooking them at high heat can ensure that you can eat frog meat without worrying about parasites. It should be noted that when eating, you must make sure the meat you scoop out is cooked through, so that parasites can be avoided from harming us.

How do you skin a bullfrog?

1. First remove the bullfrog's head.

2. Use a kitchen knife to make a cut from the bullfrog's back down to the rump (just cut through the skin).

3. Peel the skin open from the cut on the back, hold the bullfrog's spine with your right hand, and with your left hand pull the skin on the bullfrog's back downward with force.

4. When the skin is pulled down to the bullfrog's front and hind legs, remove the toes, then remove the innards and wash clean.

What cooking methods are there for bullfrog?

1. Pickled Pepper Bullfrog

Ingredients: 500 g bullfrog, 150 g large scallion, 200 g salad oil, 10 g cooking wine, 10 g pickled ginger, 1 g refined salt, 150 g large scallion, 2 g monosodium glutamate, 150 g pickled red chili, 1 g pepper powder, 20 g dry bean starch. Method:

1. Slaughter the bullfrog, remove the head, skin, and innards, wash clean, chop into pieces, and use salt, pepper powder, dry bean starch, and cooking wine to coat and season. Remove the stems and seeds from the pickled red chilies and cut into sections, wash the large scallion and cut into sections, and cut the pickled ginger into minced ginger.

2. Heat oil in a wok to 70% hot, slide the bullfrog in the wok until just cooked and remove. Put a little oil in the wok and heat, add minced pickled ginger and pickled pepper sections and stir-fry until fragrant, add the bullfrog, splash in cooking wine, add monosodium glutamate and scallion sections, toss to mix, and transfer to a plate.

2. Garlic-Flavored Bullfrog

Ingredients

500 g bullfrog, 1 scallion, 1 small piece ginger, 10 cloves garlic, 30 g cooking oil, 1 tsp olive oil, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp cooking wine, 1 tsp pepper powder, 1 tsp refined salt, 1 tsp white sugar, 0.5 tsp monosodium glutamate

Method

1. Wash the bullfrogs, cut each into 8 pieces, put into a bowl, add sugar, olive oil, soy sauce, salt, and cooking wine, mix well, and marinate for 30 minutes for later use;

2. Peel the garlic, fry in hot oil until light yellow, and set aside; wash the ginger and slice; wash the scallion and cut into sections;

3. Pour oil into the wok, heat it, add ginger slices and stir-fry until fragrant, add the bullfrog and stir-fry evenly, then add garlic, pepper powder, water, and monosodium glutamate, bring to a boil over high heat, turn to low heat, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes, then sprinkle with scallion and serve.

3. Braised Bullfrog

Ingredients

2 jin bullfrog, 5 long pickled peppers, 1 pickled ginger, 8 garlic cloves, red oil doubanjiang, green Sichuan pepper, cooking wine, a little dark soy sauce, bean starch, large scallion sections, monosodium glutamate

Method

1. Have the bullfrog cleaned when you buy it, bring it home and wash it clean, drain the water, use cooking wine and bean starch to season together for 10 minutes, then blanch in boiling water, remove and drain for later use. (This makes the bean starch set on the bullfrog, keeping it tender, and prevents it from sticking to the wok during cooking.)

2. Cut the pickled ginger into fine granules, and cut the pickled peppers and large scallion into sections.

3. Heat the oil in the wok and add a bit more oil, first stir-fry the doubanjiang, Sichuan pepper, pickled ginger, pickled peppers, garlic cloves, and cooking wine together until fragrant, then add the bullfrog and stir-fry together for a moment, add water just enough to cover the bullfrog.

4. Simmer for a few minutes until the broth is reduced, then add scallion sections and monosodium glutamate, and you can also add a little fragrant vinegar.

4. Steamed Bullfrog with Taro

Ingredients

350 g bullfrog, 200 g peeled taro (small taro). Seasonings: 30 g red rice pepper sections, 40 g Shalixiang brand perfume fermented black beans, 15 g each minced ginger and minced garlic, 35 g dry starch, 20 g spicy sauce, 50 g red oil, 5 g each chicken powder, pepper powder, Huadiao wine, cilantro leaves, and monosodium glutamate, 8 g refined salt, 10 g Sichuan pepper oil, 3 g white sugar.

Method

1. Peel and wash the bullfrog, cut into pieces weighing about 3 g, mix in Huadiao wine, minced ginger, minced garlic, spicy sauce, pepper powder, white sugar, chicken powder, and 3 g refined salt to season, and marinate for 15 minutes for later use; coat the marinated bullfrog with dry starch, and mix with perfume fermented black beans, 20 g red oil, and Sichuan pepper oil for later use.

2. Wash the taro, add 5 g salt for seasoning, put into a boiling water pot and cook over high heat for 5 minutes, remove and drain the water, then mix in monosodium glutamate for seasoning and set aside.

3. Arrange the marinated and flavored bullfrog on a plate, place the cooked taro around it, sprinkle with red rice pepper sections, mix in 30 g red oil, steam over high heat for 6 minutes, remove and top with cilantro leaves.