🇵🇭 VIGAN • Exotic Vigan Food: Edmar is Certified Frog-Eater in 15 minutes

"If you don't have a strong stomach, tasting it would let you vomit. But I must, say, it is all in the mind. It is 'safe' to eat anyway."

WARNING: This post might not be suitable for everyone, this blog and/or the author of this blog has no intention to offend people. The goal of this blog is to discover and share the "deeper" perspective of traveling.

They look shiny with skin that also looks like a snake. With bulging abdomen, these frogs store air in that space so that they can create annoying sounds during the first onset of the rain. They literally pop out like a mushroom during rainy seasons. They are just everywhere but they don't know that the people of Vigan (where I always eat this) loves eating them. Poor amphibians, they will end up in my stomach.

Don't panic! This amphibian is edible.

Yes! In Vigan, they (we) eat frog. It is a food that a few Ilocanos love to eat. It looks disgusting but believe me, this frog tastes like chicken. The only difference is that chicken has softer meat. Frog meat is a bit harder to chew.

My friend Gene Rose, another Frog-eater

This frog I am featuring right now is locally known as tokak bat-og. It is actually a kind of frog that loves staying on ponds usually created by rain water.

These amphibians are nocturnal. They come out during the night under the rain. If there is no rain, they usually hide. So harvesting these frogs for food from the ponds requires that there must be an on going rain.

Ok now, the dish that is being cooked is Ginataang Palaka. It is a frog dish added with coconut milk. The coconut milk is being extracted from the grated coconut meat.

Before cooking the frogs, there is a process of course. Like chicken, you have to "dress" it first. Expert Ilocano cooks who prepare this kind of food remove the skin first (but some just keep the skin). So like a dressed chicken, the dressed frog is now ready to be cooked.

Ginataang Palaka

At first, eating a frog was absolutely a disgusting thing because I am so much preoccupied by how it looks. If you don't have a strong stomach, tasting it would let you vomit. But I must, say, it is all in the mind. It is "safe" to eat anyway.

We might just be disgusted by how it looks, it doesn't look pleasing I know so it turns to be repulsive.

I was actually thinking that the repulsive appearance of these edible frogs is the "defense" that that nature has given them so that their species would not lead to extinction.

Just imagine if this frog looks appetizing given the fact that it tastes really delicious especially when fried, they might lead to extinction due to over-harvesting.

So I understand why God just designed every creature in different forms and that is to somehow regulate and maintain a balance in ecosystem.

For these frogs, I am however happy that not eveyone appreciates it so that frog-eaters like me and for frog-eaters in the future will still enjoy this great food without facing their extinction.

Ok, it took me 15 minutes to eat what was placed on my plate :)