A SINGAPORE PRESS HOLDINGS WEBSITE
Japan, June 6, 2012
In an online video sent to citizen journalism website Stomp, a live frog is seen stabbed alive, stripped clean of its skin, and its inedible innards removed to be served as fresh 'sashimi' on an iced platter.
The frog, which was first kept alive in a kitchen, was prepared in front of the customer after an order was placed.
After it was sliced up with much precision only a sashimi chef could have and had its skin ripped from its body, the frog can be seen twitching and its eyes were blinking while it was served fresh on the cold platter.
The rest of the frog is simmered to make a soup after the sashimi bits are taken off.
According to Stomp, the frogs used in this dish are bullfrogs raised specifically for cooking and are therefore safe and delicious. The restaurant reportedly ships in about five frogs per day.
The Stomp reader condemned the act, saying that it was 'an extreme act of cruelty to animals'.
"I feel sick watching how the woman could still smile and eat sashimi while the frog was looking at her.
"I love to eat frog porridge, especially frog legs! I'm fine with eating raw food but I definitely wouldn't want to see the frogs still twitching around on my plate and eventually die before my eyes.
"The poor frog in the video is being tortured alive and made to watch its own innards get ripped and placed on a serving platter. How cruel is that?"
Bullfrogs as food are not uncommon and are considered as a delicacy in Namibia, Africa, where it is eaten in its entirety except for its internal organs. Bullfrogs are eaten as well as in the United States, where they are cooked. However, eating it alive and fresh as seen here is rare and not common in Japan.
According to television show Ripley's Believe It or Not , American bullfrogs are invasive species in several places across the Pacific, including Japan, Korea and Taiwan.
They are known to be voracious eaters and have an impact on places where there are no natural predators.
In a twisted way, bullfrog sashimi is culinary revenge.
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