Roasted Cherry
A Shanghai-style frog leg dish named for the curled leg meat resembling cherries. Golden in color and delicately savory.
Ingredients
Frog legs (take two hind legs from a live frog, break the leg bones)
400g
Scallion segments
13g
Finely minced ginger
6.5g
Five-spice powder
A pinch
Shaoxing wine
As needed
White sugar
As needed
Caramel coloring
A pinch
Soy sauce
As needed
Sesame oil
13g
Clear broth
175g
Lard (for heating the wok)
As needed
Instructions
1
Preparing the frog legs
Take 1100g of live frog, cut through the nape at the back of the neck (note that the skin on the back of the nape must remain attached). Hold the frog's neck with your left hand and its head with your right hand, then pull downward toward the back so that the skin peels off. Cut off the feet and other parts, keeping only the two hind legs, about 400g. Use a knife to gently break each leg bone one by one.
2
Braising
Heat the wok with lard, scallions, and ginger, then add the frog legs. Add white sugar, Shaoxing wine, and soy sauce to bring out the aroma, then pour in the clear broth and caramel coloring. Roast over gentle heat until the leg meat curls up, sprinkle with five-spice powder, drizzle with sesame oil, and it is ready.
