First, You need to search intently and thoroughly, use your full focus on finding these frog from the mud or behind the rice plant or grass, try to move your flash light 180 degrees for higher chances of finding one

If you found one, don't let it get away, stay with it, focus the light to it. slowly approach the frog

As I've said earlier, the light coming from the flashlight will block the Frog's eyesight making them to freeze and stay on their feet. It's your best chance catch them with your bare hands. Remember to stay low, raise your hands 60-90 degree and then make sure to calculate the moment you put down your palms it will reach and caught your target. Because it's more effective if the action is done from above because it lessens the anticipation of the from to react. Just make a quick move and don't panic

So I hope you already get that illustrations, lets move on, and now, I've tried my best to document or at least show you the process I've made in hunting and catching a farm frogs through series of photos. And this is ain't an easy task for me, I hope you will all enjoy it!

First I've prepared the two most essential tools in catching the frogs, first I've charge my flashlight and my phone (for documenting)

Then I've used the old 1 plastic water gallon, this will serve as a container of captured frogs. (Recycling baby!)

together with my cousin we've walked around a 150 meter to reach the rice field ( it's not hat far away from our home)

After a semi-long walk we've reach the rice field. Take a look at these, just bare with my blur shots it's really heard to make a clear shot on my phone this time, I don't have much fixing the focus of my camera.

check this muddy pathway right here

and there's also a dried one, we call this way "Kahon", it's where the farmers, pass when cultivating their lands

then, I've walked out of the pathway and start to set my feet on ground, on the muddy ground and start searching

Let the search begin!

Upon searching there are also times that you can encounter different things living in this ecosystem like, shells, beetles, lots of insects, and etc. And the most hated thing I don't want to encounter is a snake also looking for a catch, big frogs! ohhh! Someone's hungry too!

And sometimes I get too excited but end up being disappointed because there are also some frogs here, another kind of species, which is not edible and not the one we're looking for. These frogs are common everywhere here in the Philippines

This quest is also very exhausting, because you are walking in the mud, meaning you need to exert more effort in lifting your knees and feet on this muddy ground. Check this GIF right here to give you a clearer vision of how we are doing it.

That is my cousin on the left and we met another "Frog hunter" (right) that night, we just greet each other and asked how many did we caught. Too bad, the guy we've met along the way told us that we're quite late and many had passed and caught lots of frogs on that area we are searching. But still we're still hopeful to find some at least.

After 30 minute of searching I finally found one! I mean not my soulmate, a frog! yeah a frog. I caught him hiding on grass! Check this fella out here, in catching these frogs, you need also to really be vigilant and using the ears intently to here the possible splash of frogs when they take the leap/hop getting away from you. Another thing/tip that can help your eyesight in finding one, is checking for the reflection of light made by their eyes when you point the flash light.

Then Opened my container and put the frog on it

You won't be alone soon buddy

As much as I've wanted to, I can't show you the whole and live process of doing it, since no one will hold my phone and document everything, another things is, it's little bit rainy that time, it's so slippery, I just can't take the risk of loosing my phone, slipping with my hands and fall from that muddy ground. I'ts really hard to have a phone nowadays haha. I hope you'll visualize everything with the explanation and illustration I've showed you earlier. After 5 min, I've caught another one.

And another one

After almost three hours of find and searching, we decided to go home, and I have the same number of catch the same as my cousin. This is not the expected catch, we expected that we will be filling the plastic container, but time is not on our hands but still we're happy, at least we caught some.

Take a look at it, sorry if I can't document everything because its easy to document this thing we are having, especially when you're alone, I'm with my cousin but he also had his own business and I can't just ask him to film me till the end. And there are chances that my catch will slip away if won't hurry I hope you get my point guys.

This one is my cousin's quest's reesult haha

and this one is mine

after that, I start to skin the "farm frogs", and I won't be sharing the process of it to all of you, because some can't take it. In skinning the frogs you need knife and wood ash, or anything that can prevent things from being slippery. And the one I'm using a wood ash.

in doing it, you should make a clean nice cut on frogs back (near from the head). Then dip your index and thumb finger on the ashes so that the moment you touch the frog's skin it won't be that slippery. After that, try to pull the skin from the cut you make behind his head, until you pull everything until is feet. I hope you get that one. then remove the internal organs and fingers on it's hands and feet.

Then make sure to rinse and wash it with clean water

With this one, I think I've washed like ten times, continue to wash it thoroughly until water becomes crystal clear together with the frog meat, like this one.

After that, it's ready to be placed on the fridge, or you can cook it directly. In my case, everyone on our home is already done eating so I've decided to marinate this one and prepare it for tomorrow morning. So I've chopped some wild garlic, these one's are small and contains more aroma than the usual garlic, then add some laurel leaves, poured right amount of soy sauce and lastly poured** some vinegar **

Then I've placed it on the fridge

Btw, just to share someting, Ice cream packaging here from the Philippines is quite good, the plastic container of those yummy ice cream is quite durable. I don't know if other household are doing this, but on our house, we don't just throw away those Ice cream plastic container. We wash them let it dry and used them again as a container when there's a food, meat, fish, and etc, that will be placed on the fridge, our own way of recycling things. just our own little own way to contribute to our environment. Check this Ice cream containers haha!




Image Source

I got lazy, I've planned to cook it for lunch, but ended up cooking it on dinner.

Here's the process of how I cook the frog meat. Btw there's a lot of style and recipe that you can do with the frog meat, the most famous way of cooking it here on Philippines is "Adobo" (more like kind of stake), then "Ginataan", Next "Piniritong Palakang Bukid" fried farm frog, which I'll be doing

First is, I get the breading mix and place it on a plater

Then one by one, dipped the frog meat, make sure to dip all the meat areas, (those are burns on my hand right there, when I fried pork chop yesterday)

After you're done with adding breading, let the oil get warmed for 3-5 minutes on the frying pan, I want have a deep fry but we don't have much cooking oil. haha

Then checking the oil temp, Start to drop 'em all baby!

since I'm not having a deep fry, I just flipped the frog meat to the other side.

Make sure to achieve the golden brownlook before flipping

Check out this solid meaty and tasty legs!

After frying them all, I've sliced and chopped some tomatoes and white onions perfect for the Fried Farm Frog Meat

Then I've made a hot sauce to match the dish, I sliced a red onions, garlic, tomato, and a chili. Then I put them all together to small plater, and added some Vinegar and a little bit sugar and mixed them all together. Achiecing the sweet spicy sour sauce.

Lastly I've placed everything on right place for it to look presentable and pleasing.

And there you are! the product of my 3 hour farm frog hunting adventure.

"Marinated Fried Farm Frog Meat"

"Mangan Tayon Kabsat!" -Lets eat bro and sis!

If you ask what do it tastes like, well It takes more like of a chicken but there's a unique and distinctive taste that this Frog meat had than other meats. Trust me its really good!

Everybody on our house enjoyed eating, sad things is, there's not a lot for all of us.

This is Matthea, 1 and 8 month old, the youngest member of our family, it's her first time taking a bite and taste to a Farm Frog meat! and she likes it

And right here! is my beautiful big sis

my younger sister, she first picked the fried frog meat above anything else on her plate. haha

And my another younger sister together with my pretty mom! Seems like they are enjoying it! Pops is camera shy, but silently ate at the corner.

Catching Farm Frogs is always, and will be always a special moment to everyone of us, especially to every settlers here on my hometown. I know everyone is also doing this on the neighboring town, mostly and particularly on Rural Areas. What I'm after here is, I want here is to share and introduce this rich culture and tradition that had been passed from generation to generation to people that who don't have an idea what it is all about, and is new to this kind of exotic delicacy. Because recently, I've posted some of my pictures on other social media account of me catching these frogs. And the response is quite amazing because mostly of my friends that lived on the cities and is not familiar of this culture send some message and asked me questions like, like "Really? all those frogs are edible?", "how do you catch that? What does it tastes like, questions like that. That's what led me in creating this blog, I'm not that very good writer, English is not my mother tongue, but I did try my best to explain everything I can for you to know and explore our rich and amazing culture. As long as we have these healthy and well cultivated land, their will be always a place for this amazing "Farm Frogs" to grow and multiply.

Just me asking my younger sister to take a photo of me after going to the farm, haha

btw here's the process of the illustrations I've made, done in Adobe Illustrator

And that's it! thanks for checking my blog, and being with me till the end of this post, hope you've learned something, feel free to leave some comment below, I'll be waiting for that! thanks again! Godspeed!