October 13, 2013

betute tugac

A freshly fried betute tugac. I got this on the sneak preview of MarQuee Mall's 'Big Bite' The Northern Food Festival in Angeles City, Pampanga in October 2013.

 

betute tugac - /ba-tú-tè tu-gák/ (Capampangan delicacy) [n.] stuffed frog; a fried stuffed edible frog.

 

Other local names: 

  • a.k.a. batute or batute tugak in Capampangan 
  • also spelled as betute tugak in Capampangan


A Capampangan dish made with whole tugac (farm frog) caught from the river or from rice paddies of Pampanga.

Skinned ricefield frog sold in the public market of  Cabanatuan City January last year. There are ingenious  and Novo Ecijanos would tan the skin into leather and made into taxodermy-like coin purse attached with keychain holder.

The frog is skinned and all its entrails are removed. The feet are cut off, its head decapitated and thrown away. The cleaned hollowed body is then stuffed compactly with minced meat of another frog, or added with ground pork or finely chopped chicken meat or their combination as stuffing. 

The stuffing is seasoned with finely chopped fresh herbs and spices that include leaves of tangle, a fragrant premma tree (Premna odorata) an aromatic leaf of the tree also known as alagaw in Tagalog. Other seasonings may include other locally available herbs and spices (i.e. garlic, red onions, ginger, tomatoes, kuse, kulitis, etc.) - all minced or chopped into small pieces.

When I came back to Cabanatuan City last June 2012, I brought home and cooked these skinned frogs.

The internal organs of the frog have to be removed and the hollowed cavity has to be filled with ground meat mixed with seasonings and minced tangle leaves if you are going to make a betute tugac.

The stuffed frogs are fried like a relleno. It is deep fried until brownish red or darker and crisp.

The host was trying to impress us with a serving of betute tugac during the sneak preview of MarQuee Mall's 'Big Bite' The Northern Food Festival in Angeles City, Pampanga.

Capampangan betute actually means butete in Tagalog or puffer fish in English.

The stuffed frog is called betute because the bulging-filled belly of the frog makes the frog look like a pufferfish.

This one is filled with ground meat and minced vegetables. The tangle leaves in it added the aromatic flavor.

Betute tugac is served and eaten with a dipping of spiced-up vinegar, chili sauce, or toyomansi. Without the dip, the fried frog would taste flavorless, and its two spreading legs are just pieces of tough meat.  The fillings are made tastier if added with ground pork or beef with all the seasonings and herbs mentioned earlier (above).

Dipping the betute tugac in spiced up vinegar (or any Pinoy dipping sauce) would bring out the taste and enhance the flavor of the frog.

 
All photos by Edgie Polistico are copyrighted. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.



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3 comments:

  1. its not just kapampangan dish or novocijanos!!! its for the whole Central Luzon!! Bulacan, Tarlac, Bataan and the rest of central Luzon!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Agreed with you Jesse. However, can you help us identify the local names of this dish in Tarlac, Bataan, and the rest of central Luzon if you know. How do you call it also in your own place? Salamat.

      Delete
    2. they call it the same as betute and yes you are correct Jesse na meron din yan sa Bulcan, Tarlac, Bataan and the rest of Central Luzon not only in Pampanga. But as the historical Geography of Central Luzon the Whole Pampanga Provice is compose of Bataan, Zambales, Tarlac, Bulacan noo pero dahil naging syudad na hiwalay sila sa pampanga naging independent at maging probisnya nang ibang lalawigan kaya panigurado na meron talaga sa mga bayan na yan ang betute

      Delete

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