Screaming Bullfrog (Sichuan Pickled-Chili Bullfrog)
Cuisine: Chinese
Bullfrog meat is what defines Screaming Bullfrog (Sichuan Pickled-Chili Bullfrog), a home meat dish.
Difficulty
4 / 5
★★★★☆
Estimated Calories
1643 kcal
Ingredients
- Bullfrog meat
- Pickled ginger
- Pickled chilies
- Pickled wild mountain peppers (dried red chilies also work)
- Green and red chilies
- Garlic
- Doubanjiang (Pixian broad bean paste recommended)
- Salt
- Pepper
- Cornstarch (any dry starch works)
- Beer (Snow beer recommended)
- Cooking wine
- Green Sichuan pepper oil (optional)
- Lard (optional)
- Chopped scallion
Steps
- Wash the bullfrog meat and drain, add at least 10 g of salt and at least 50 ml of beer, and massage by hand for 5 minutes to remove the gamy smell
- Then rinse under running water until no more blood or impurities come out, drain, and put in a suitable container ready to marinate
- Add 5 g salt, 30 g cornstarch, 10 ml cooking wine and 5 g pepper, mix evenly by hand and marinate for 5-10 minutes
- Cut the pickled ginger, pickled chilies and wild mountain peppers into shreds or slices (depending on your knife skills), cut the green and red chilies into rings, and simply peel the garlic
- Heat the wok, add 200 ml cooking oil (add another 100 ml if your wok has a flat bottom), heat to about 60% (small bubbles appear), add the marinated bullfrog and quickly fry it, removing it after 10 seconds (don't go much longer or the meat will become tough)
- After removing the frog meat, drain it, pour the hot oil from the wok into a bowl, keeping 30 ml in the wok, and add 20 ml lard (if you have none, keep a total of 50 ml cooking oil in the wok)
- When the oil is about 60% hot, add the pickled ginger, pickled chilies, wild mountain peppers and garlic and fry until fragrant, add 20 g doubanjiang and stir-fry over medium heat until the oil turns red (about 30 seconds), then pour in 400 ml beer,
- Then add the fried bullfrog and gently push it around with a ladle without stirring hard, add 5 g pepper and 5 ml green Sichuan pepper oil, and simmer over medium heat for 3 minutes
- Turn the heat up and reduce the sauce over high heat for half a minute, add the green and red chili rings and cook for another 10 seconds, ready to serve
- Transfer to a bowl, sprinkle with chopped scallion, and dig in!
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Notes
This dish is fresh, spicy and appetizing, with silky, springy frog meat—a classic Sichuan home-style dish. Bullfrog is high in protein and low in fat, and pairing it with fermented ingredients like pickled ginger and pickled chilies helps whet the appetite. The method is fairly straightforward, but the oil temperature and seasoning ratios need a bit of attention; most beginners can finish it within 1 to 2 hours.
Estimated difficulty: ★★★★
Estimated calories: 1643 kcal
Group: Screaming Bullfrog
Calculation:
1 serving
Per serving:
- Bullfrog pieces 800 g (buy 1.5 kg of live frogs; smaller ones are recommended for more tender meat)
- Pickled ginger 20-30 g (to taste; add more if you like it bold)
- Pickled chilies 5-10 g (depending on your spice tolerance; if you can't handle heat, halve it to 2.5 g for a mild kick)
- Wild mountain peppers 10 g
- Green and red chilies 20 g
- Garlic 30-50 g (adjust to taste, ideally no less than 30 g)
- Doubanjiang 20-30 g (30 for bold flavor, 20 for lighter. PS: this dish can't really be light, haha)
- Salt 15 g
- Pepper 10 g
- Beer 400-500 ml
- Cooking wine 10 ml
- Green Sichuan pepper oil 5-10 ml
- Cornstarch 30 g (dry starch is a fine substitute)
- Lard 20 ml (cooking oil can be used if you have no lard)
- Cooking oil 200 ml
- Chopped scallion 5 g
- When draining, you can press the meat with a slotted spoon
- When massaging with cornstarch, make sure the frog meat is evenly coated