FROG, FRog, FROG, and FROG....

Gold Arawana try to introduce you to the most ugly amphibian, the Frog....

In our recent history of country’s politics, frog has become a popular subject. If there is any award for the Most Popular Actor for animals category, than the amphibian will take the honor. The stories are spreading here and there, the frogs are jumping here and there, and some are too small to jump and hide at their own comfort. For the bigger frogs, the dare to jump higher, becoming the hot issue to the national media.

Than, what is frog actually? Gold Arawana is sympathy to them; they are one of the silence amphibians, not even enemy to human. For those who like the exotic foods, frogs are a special dish and you had to pay more money to eat them. For the hunter, frogs are not easy to catch, they hiding on very isolated area in the jungles. To catch them is a sacrifice on times.



I went to Kapit recently, walking through the famous wet market where you can find and buy almost everything on jungle products. That is the most special about Kapit Wet Market. Remember, to visit them if you have chance to go to Kapit. Almost everything and trade openly! One of them is frogs! Five frogs could easily cost about RM 30.00, which is about one kilo. What a good price to trade the frog. For the exotic food lovers, they would not mind to pay this anyway.





Frog has an ugly face, two long legs and a couple of thin hands and measured to be as long as their leg. A real ugly amphibian, indeed! In addition, it has big mouth and long tongue, no ears but big eyes, lazy but bless with big stomach. Normally it is brown color, with black dotted throughout their body. It just likes the uniform of prisoners in my favorite cartoon series, Mr. Bean.



In jungles, they like to stay at cold and dry area, even though they needs water most of their life. It’s hard to find them, as they are silence and most of the time making a mistake is almost impossible. In other words, making a mistake means death for them. They live in very isolated area, normally almost impossible to be reach by his hunter. Unless he is hunter for foods, they normally hiding and hiding. They will normally hunted by his big enemies, the snake and eagles during hunting for foods. Insects are their favorite, normally taking the opportunities using their long tongue. Again it is an ugly amphibian, indeed.

The females lay their eggs in the stagnant dirty water; a female can lay hundreds or millions of eggs which later will become a fish alike and known by us as berudu (tadpole). The mother will disappear, leaving their baby growing as what they like. They don’t care on the dangerous and the dirt that surround their babies, because the mother again has to hide. In conclusion, frog is coward.

Not really, they like to sing too. They really enjoy the rainfall and floods. This is the time where their enemies are weak and they can show their strength. I wonder if they have their own karaoke sets in their community. He he he…

Growing bigger and bigger one frog could easily reach one kilo, as told by one of the frog trader in Kapit. Nowadays, the eatable frogs for human normally range 200 grams to 500 grams (if lucky). Most of their meats are on their legs, other abdomens are normally useless. I use to bring by a friend to take lunch at Pakan, a small town in Sarawak. He ordered a plate of frogs. Wowww…my friends really enjoy their foods. Looking on the frog legs, is haunted me. Its look like the human hands. Even in the plate, cooked well with special ingredients, it is still an ugly amphibian. At last, I have to order a can of chicken curry for my lunch.

As we having the lunch, my friend told me that the frog meat is delicious, much much more delicious than the chicken. It is so special, as it is not easy to catch and preparation is even not an easy task too. Once they get the frogs from their supplier, the first thing to do skinning it. Frog skins are dirty as it live in dirt, I guess. Than the internal part have to taken out left only the legs and hands for the foods. Ha ha…of course, their internal parts are the dirtiest part. It’s really an ugly amphibian.

And one more things that I almost forget to tell here, frogs are smelly, the smell that I myself cannot describe it here.

Nowadays, frogs had been commercialized as one of livestock in Sarawak. I am not very sure on other parts of this world, anyway. One kilo is about RM 30.00 which no doubt will give good return to the farmers. Last warning; do not put them too near to your house as they like singing and singing. As they are coward species, it has to be properly fence up, pond is compulsory needed and fence shall be high so that it will not jump to your neighbor’s farms. Your neighbors might have more foods and more secure for them!

That’s it! A short article about frog, it might not really informative as you can read more in the encyclopedias. Gold Arawana wish to have them for his foods, unfortunately he could not. However, its nice to help others for skinning process, at least we could downscale the populations.

For conclusions, frog is a real ugly amphibian, cowards, dirty, but delicious and good for business. If you disbelieve, try to go to the exotic restaurant and order for the dish. One last final warning, ask the price first before you make your order!