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Published: June 26th 2010
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frog and ja-kaan wood
Frog chopped for cooking with aromatic wood pieces for flavour Grilled frog stewed with betel leaves, galangal flower and aromatic wood
This is a very different and delicious North Thai recipe for frog.
Serves 4, memorably The meat: Two whole plump barbequed frogs, with skin on. They look and smell grim. Never fear. Don’t be a ‘doubting Thomas’ like I was ;-)
The veg: Hung wai - the white things in the bowl that look like a cross between palm heart and bamboo. They have a painful prickly covered stem as their defence mechanism. Like an apprentice cactus.
Betel leaves - “bai chorpoo” (Pepper leaf)
Kaffir lime leaf
Thai Eggplant - apple and pea egg plant - as used in Thai curries
Pak tam leung - a type of creeping morning glory (sounds rude, doesn’t it?)
Ja-kaan - aromatic wood.
Dok kha - galangal flower
Cilantro - flat leaf or sawtooth coriander
Cha-om, Acacia pennata (edible shoots & tender young leaves of the Thai wattle or Acacia tree) ชะอม Also used in curry, soup, Thai omelettes, and wok fried foods
The rest of the magic
1-2 tbsp roasted dry red chilli flakes (See tom saap recipe for method)
100g / ½ cup ground roasted dry sticky rice (See tom Frog and ingredients
Fresh Ingredients for the frog dish saap recipe for method)
25g - 2 tbsp fresh garlic, peeled & crushed
750ml - 3 cups Water
30ml / 2 tbsp Cooking oil
Chop the frogs into large chunks
Cut the Ja-kaan wood into small pieces then split into quarters. Mix the wood with the chunks of frog.
Get your greens ready - like in the photo.
Heat a wok or frying pan and sauté garlic and roasted chilli for 1-2 minutes until it smells great
Add the frog and chunks of ja-kaan wood. Add a little water to the wok and stir with wooden spoon (to stir any tasty garlic and roasted chilli that sticks to the pan into the ‘sauce’
Put the 750ml water in a saucepan.
Move the frog, wood and ‘sauce’ from the wok/pan into the potful of water
Add the slower cooking ingredients (hung wai, thai eggplants, andf also the kaffir lime leaves) - simmer 5-10 minutes gently
Next add the betel leaves, galangal flowers, and quick cooking greens
Stir in the ground roasted rice. Thickens the gravy and gives an awesome flavour
You are ready to eat.
First, it is essential to look at this, inhale, and savour the incomparable aroma. Revel in
Galangal flower & cha om
Galangal flower (centre), cha-om (right) and betel leaves (left) its awesomeness.
Secondly, have a towel handy. It is possible that this dish could induce orgasm in the gourmet, Thai food aficionado or chef.
Thirdly, get it “IN YER BELLY” - it’s a taste sensation.
The galangal flowers are spicy and delicious, the betel leaves give a peppery depth, the roasted chilli is just wonderful in most Northern dishes, -
and the ground roasted rice gives a rich texture to the gravy, thickening it and providing a deep homely aroma.
In the North this is eaten with white sticky rice, rolled into balls and dipped into the gravy.
I have not got so local as to eat totally with the fingers yet, so I am still very much “The foreigner”.
I still get my own plate, spoon and fork and a wee bowl, and I sit a tad strangely on the floor.
The family are very welcoming and understanding - we all sat around the table the first few days for my benefit but it became a bit too much effort, and ‘When in Rome”.......
About the frogs - they smelled bloody horrible, semi barbequed from the market. It’s ok -they don’t get eaten like that.
The skin is
adding the greens
Adding the delicate greens and flowers last a great feature and it is barbequed to enhance the aroma.
The fetid smell and warty appearance should not put you off. After the cooking these have the texture of chicken, and being large, they are quite meaty.
To replicate this dish back home outside Thailand:
• Go for some frog legs, or fresh chicken.
• You’ll need some soft vegetables - I ‘d try broccoli, Chinese broccoli, bok choy, snow peas, spinach, silverbeet. Try to get some aromatic leaves that add your favourite strong tastes but keep them in harmony.
• Also some firm vegetables: Substitute: baby corn, eggplant, palm heart, bamboo, potato, mushrooms or any similar combination
• Finish with your favourite aromatic herbs - probably basil or coriander
The roasted chilli and ground roasted rice is essential, as is the garlic.
The aromatic wood can be eaten - not all of it, but the soft pulp can be sucked off. (lucky soft pulp, I say!). It cannot really be substituted. Cinnamon etc is too strong, but could be fun to experiment with.
For me, the combination of the betel leaf and galangal flower combined with the ja-kaan wood defines this dish. Galangal flower is very different from
Almost finished
The completed dish just before service the root and leaf - it’s quite spicy and peppery.
I’ll definitely be cooking this dish around Asia - albeit more tidily.
It will be easy to upgrade to a culinary masterpiece, worthy of a knife, fork and a well-set table, but I have to say if I ever enjoyed sucking my fingers clean, it was while eating this.
If you can find the ingredients, jump on it right away. It is a dish that you have to try before you croak.
I love documenting authentic local recipes that you normally can't find in English. If you want to see more, visit me at
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