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Fried Green Amphibians
Saturday, July 9, 2005-9:53 PM
It took only three days for Natasha's parents to find a place to buy frogs in Guangzhou. I've lived here since August, and I've never seen them for sale.
But, then again, I haven't been looking.
Natasha's brother and I took them to one of the huge western-style supermarkets in the area.
I usually don't spend too much time in the live animal department of the grocery store. In that part of the store, there are live turtles, fish, various other forms of aquatic life, and, apparently, frogs.
The frogs are all piled up on top of each other, jumping around in their aquarium. Sometimes it looks like one is on the verge of liberating itself, but none of them ever do.
I don't think frogs bite, but I'd still be nervous about sticking my hand down there and grabbing one.
Natasha's mother isn't shy though. She's been cooking frog for a long time.
While other customers bided their time trying to figure out what color was the best, Natasha's mother grabbed two frogs and threw them into a plastic bag.
Natasha's mother was probably surprised by what happened next. Usually, in Nanfeng, she takes the frogs home alive and slaughters them herself.
But this is Guangzhou. When Natasha's brother took the frogs to be weighed, the butcher slaughtered them for us.
The frog tastes fine. My only objection to eating them is that I'm not always sure what part of the frog I'm eating.
In order to complete the culture exchange, I got some western food for Natasha's parents: Cambell's Soup, Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer, instant pudding, and Kellog's Raisin Bran. Everything I gave them to eat came out of a box or a can.
It really doesn't matter anways. Natasha's mother doesn't drink milk, so she couldn't try much of the food.
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