Lushan Rock Frog 庐山石鸡

The frog

The Jiujiang city government identifies the animal as the spiny-chested frog (刺胸蛙), which lives in water-filled hollows in rocky streams. It clings to rock faces, hides in holes during the day and comes out at night to feed. It is large and meaty, usually three or four liang (150 to 200 grams), with big ones reaching about one jin (500 grams).

The Lushan city government describes it as a rough-skinned frog of rock-face caves in shaded ravines, also called the red frog (赤蛙) or spiny-breasted frog (棘胸蛙). Its body is ochre, with small front legs and strong hind legs.

Flavour and texture

The flesh is fine and tender and tastes as fresh as chicken; the Lushan government says the name comes from meat as tender and rich as a young chicken's. As a well-known local dish, it is cooked with chilli and other seasonings, and the Lushan government lists four marks of a good plate: a deep yellow colour, tender flesh, a strong aroma and a mellow flavour.

Where it comes from

The frog is one of the "three stones of Lushan" (庐山三石), which the Lushan city government presents as foods a visitor to the mountain should try. The other two are the Lushan stone fish (庐山石鱼), a small, translucent, scaleless fish that nests in rock cracks where the mountain's springs and waterfalls flow, and the Lushan stone ear (石耳), a flat, ear-shaped growth that clings to rock on remote cliffs.

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