Curried Frog's Legs - Recipes - The Intrepid Eater

Curried Frog’s Legs

Being an intrepid eater and eating such a wide variety of things sometimes means you eat things without being aware of issues surrounding that specific food.

Recently I posted a frog legs recipe and a few followers pointed out that frog harvesting and farming had a pretty hefty ecological cost.

Completely unaware of this, I researched the issues and discovered that countries like Indonesia and China are responsible for supplying most of the world with their frog legs (barring those few who gather them sustainably in the wild). Lax wild-harvesting rules and bad farming practices mean that the international frog leg supply is having a deleterious effect on amphibian populations around the world.

Beyond the likely extinction or extirpation of wild frog populations in these countries (this has happened to every other wild frog supplying country before China and Indonesia took over) farming practices easily spread around diseases that can wipe out amphibian populations in countries importing frogs.

All of this to say… maybe we (I) shouldn’t be eating so many frog legs.

Although it is a pretty rare treat for me (once a year tops), I don’t enjoy taking part in such harmful practices. Turns out though, that I already had a bag of frog legs in the freezer, which I wasn’t about to waste.

I decided to do something a little different than the regular butter and garlic sauté that usually gets applied to frog legs. I made a sauce out of curry powder, coconut cream, flour, and butter, broiled the legs, then tossed them in the sauce. It made for an incredible supper.

Now, I don’t recommend everyone going out and buying frog legs. Keep them as a very rare treat, find a sustainable source (there’s a few out there), or hunt for invasive frog species in your area (with a license of course) and collect them yourself.

If you want to avoid eating them altogether? Replace the frog legs with chicken wings in this recipe and it’ll be just as delicious and enjoyable!

Prep Time20 min
Cook Time10 min
Total Time30 min
Yield2 large servings, or serve as an appetizer

Cuisine
- American
- Asian
Course
- Appetizer
- Main Course
Cooking Method
- Roasting

Ingredients

10-15 frog legs
Kosher salt
1/4 cup (56g) butter
1 tablespoon (8g) flour
2 tablespoons (12g) curry powder
1 teaspoon (2g) turmeric (optional)
1 can coconut milk
Cilantro to garnish

Preparation

Turn on broiler in oven and set rack 8 inches below top of oven.

Lay out frog legs onto a tray so that none are touching.

Season lightly with salt.

Broil until cooked through and lightly browned, about 5 minutes per side.

If replacing the frog legs with chicken wings, you’ll have to broil for longer.

Meanwhile, melt butter in large pot.

Add the flour and whisk well.

Add curry powder and turmeric and mix well.

Open can of coconut milk and spoon off the coconut cream that’s separated from the water (if separation hasn’t occurred, just add half the can); add it to the pot and whisk it in well. Whisk in 2 tablespoons (30ml) of the coconut water from the can. Save or discard the rest.

Keep pot warm. If sauce separates or curdles, simply whisk in an ice cube and it should become whole again.

Toss the broiled legs into the curry sauce gently, garnish with cilantro, and serve. Enjoy!