Main Ingredients:

See below ingredients and instructions of the recipe

Cooking Preparation of the Recipe:

Stephen Ceideburg
4 Pairs of jumbo frog's legs
1 Stalk fresh lemon grass, or
1 tb Dried lemon grass
2 Fresh red chilies, seeded
-and sliced
2 Shallots, sliced
2 Garlic cloves, crushed
1 1/2 ts Sugar
1 ts Curry paste
2 ts Curry powder
1/4 ts Salt
2 tb Nuoc mam (fish sauce)
2 oz Cellophane noodles
2 tb Vegetable oil
1 sm Onion, chopped
1 c Chicken broth or water
1/2 c Coconut milk or heavy cream
1 ts Cornstarch
Fresh ground black pepper
Coriander sprigs for garnish

This delicious lemon grass and coconut-laced curry comes from southern
Vietnam. If you prefer a very hot curry, simply use more chile
peppers.

Cut the frogs' legs into bite-size pieces. Rinse with cold water to
remove any chipped bones. Pat dry and refrigerate.

If you are using fresh lemon grass, discard the outer leaves and
upper half of the stalk. Cut into thin slices and finely chop. If you
are using dried lemon grass, soak it in warm water for 1 hour. Drain
and finely chop.

In a blender, combine the lemon grass with the chiles, shallots,
garlic, sugar, curry paste, curry powder, salt and 1 tablespoon of
the fish sauce. Process to a very fine paste. Rub the paste over the
frogs' legs. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, soak the cellophane noodles in warm water for 30 minutes.
Drain. Cut into 2-inch sections.

Heat the oil in a saucepan over moderate heat. Add the onion and saute
until translucent. Add the frogs' legs and brown well on all sides,
about 3 minutes. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce
the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Uncover the pan and add the coconut milk, the cornstarch diluted in 1
tablespoon of cold water and the remaining 1 table- spoon fish sauce.
Cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens, about 15 minutes.

Add the cellophane noodles and bring the mixture to a boil. Remove
from the heat.

Sprinkle with black pepper and garnish with coriander sprigs.

Serve immediately with rice, French bread or over rice noodles.

Note: Instead of discarding the upper half of the lemon grass, crush
it and cook it with the frogs' legs for extra flavor. Remove the
stalk before serving.

Yield: 4 servings.

From "The Foods of Vietnam" by Nicole Rauthier. Stewart, Tabori
Chang. 1989.

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