ADVERTISEMENT

    Unusual Eats: Stir Fried Frog with Chili Oil

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Helen’s Asian Kitchen has been a great spot to score dumplings and a little Beef with Broccoli. The Columbus Underground review a few months ago celebrated those things.

    But the review missed a giant opportunity to score points with the Bourdain crew: Helen’s has a whole special translated Sichuan menu that went uninvestigated.

    It’s time to make that right. It’s time to eat “authentic” offerings from the Sichuan menu. It’s time to eat a little Stir Fried Frog with Chili Oil.

    From the looks of the dish, it’s actually several frogs, or several frogs’ parts, in chili oil. But hold that thought for a minute.

    Frog certainly isn’t unique to Asian culture. Plenty of red-white-and-blue blooded Americans enjoy a little frog-gigging or frog legs. This particular American, however, has not ever gone the amphibian route. At least, not until Helen’s.

    Frog is served a couple of ways there. The frog in Red Chili Sauce seemed like the most promising. Dry Fried Frog is also an option, it just didn’t happen to… jump off of the menu.

    The dish is pretty. It’s an innocent looking collection of breaded meat with a spicy sauce plus bonus green shoots and slices of hot peppers.

    Frog does not taste like chicken. No matter what anyone says. It doesn’t taste like organic chicken, it doesn’t taste like the soul-less flavorless monster bird bits they churn out at factory farms.

    Frog does have chickeny texture, maybe a little stringier and dryer. The flavor is more fishy. While lots of fried foods are addictive, fried frog is not – even with the delicious sauce and lovely presentation. Pass the rice.

    You can find Helen’s 1070 E. Dublin-Granville Road. You can find the frog on the Sichuan menu. You can find dumplings and crab rangoon and a whole bunch of other wonderful things, on the regular menu.

    More information can be found online at www.helenasiankitchen.com.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Subscribe

    More to Explore:

    French Bistro Slated for Prominent Downtown Corner

    Another new restaurant is coming to the corner of...

    Cheap Eats: 6 Breakfasts on a Budget

    What’s the old saying? Breakfast is the most important...

    Treat to Try: Cake From a Vending Machine?!

    When you’re a kid, vending machines have a certain...

    14 Easter Brunches in Columbus

    No holiday calls for a big, fancy brunch quite...
    Miriam Bowers Abbott
    Miriam Bowers Abbotthttps://columbusunderground.com
    Miriam Bowers Abbott is a freelancer contributor to Columbus Underground who reviews restaurants, writes food-centric featurettes and occasionally pens other community journalism pieces.
    ADVERTISEMENT