Dominican Mountain Chicken is a traditional Dominican (from the island of Dominica) recipe for a dish of fried frogs' legs served in gravy with starchy staples that used to be the island's national dish. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Dominican version of: Dominican Mountain Chicken.
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This dish of frog's legs used to be Dominica's national dish, but the frog species that used to be employed in the recipe is now endangered so it's no longer prepared. However, outside Dominica you may be able to get farmed frog legs if you want to prepare the dish yourselves. So, I present the recipe for historical reasons and to appease the tastes of the curious. Here it's served with a sauce and with provisions (starchy staples)
Ingredients:
8 Farm-raised frogs' legs
3 tbsp Lime or Lemon juice
2 tsp Salt
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1/2 habanero chilli, minced
1 tsp ground black (or white) Pepper
1 tsp Vinegar
1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 Green bell Pepper, de-seeded and sliced
120g plain Flour
250ml Vegetable oil, for frying Mountain Chicken
For the sauce:
1 tbsp Butter
1 small Onion, sliced
250ml Water
1 tbsp plain Flour
For the provisions:
2 Green bananas/plantains, peeled and sliced
2 Taro corns (peeled and cut into 4 pieces)
2 small yams, peeled and cut into 4 pieces
diced red bell pepper, to garnish
coriander leaves, to garnish
Method:
Pat the frog legs dry then add to a bowl and season with salt, garlic, habanero chilli, pepper, vinegar and thyme thyme. Set aside to marinate for 1- 2 hours.
Pat the frogs' legs dry with paper towels then dust with the flour to coat.
Place a wok or deep frying pan over high heat. Add the oil and heat until very hot. At this point add in the frogs' legs and fry until golden brown all over, turning as necessary.
For the provisions: Bring a pan of salted water to a boil, add the provisions and cook for 25 to 30 minutes until all the provisions are tender.
For the gravy, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. add the onion and fry for about 90 seconds then scatter over the flour and stir to combine. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute until the flour is no longer raw.
Beating constantly with a spoon, slowly add in the water until it's all incorporated. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, again beating all the while with a spoon. Continue cooking for 5 minutes then add in the fried frogs' legs. Return to a simmer and cook for 2 minutes more.
Serve the frog legs in their gravy accompanied by the boiled provisions and a papaya salad. Garnish with diced red bell pepper and coriander seeds then serve.
