Perfume frog is considered a specialty only found in the Mau Son mountain region of Lang Son province. A limited quantity is difficult to catch, so the price is 10 times higher than normal frogs.
The frog is one of the amphibians. This type of frog also has many other names such as king frog, princess frog, king frog, or “big frog”. The local Red Dao people often call it “Tong Keng”, which in the national language means big frog. This type of frog is so called because they live completely in the wild on Mau Son mountain, so the meat is very fragrant, tough, and not fishy like a copper frog.
However, the source of incense frogs in the wild is currently very rare and is a high-value specialty. In the northern provinces, only in Lang Son can people find this frog. The breeding season of the Huong frog is around May, June, and September to October, which is the time when the adults reach the best weight and quality. Therefore, many consumers look to buy this type of frog.
However, because the current number of Huong frogs is very small because they cannot be raised and propagated, the price of this specialty becomes 10 times more expensive than ordinary frogs.
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A buyer of Huong frogs in Hanoi shared: ” If you follow cars from the lowlands to the mountains, copper frogs are sold for 70,000 VND/kg, you can buy as much as you want. I may have to wait a whole month without it, luckily 1-2 pounds.
Huong frog has very own characteristics, completely different from farmed frog because it has a dark brown color similar to stone color, the male has spines under the neck, and the largest weight is only about 400 grams / head. The price I bought most recently was also 500 thousand VND/kg. At a time of scarcity of goods, sellers can “scream prices” from 700 thousand VND to 1 million VND/kg. Compared to the price of copper frogs, it is many times more expensive. However, Huong frog meat after processing has a sweet, aromatic taste, like fighting chicken, not fishy like a copper frog, so every gourmet wants to enjoy it when the season comes “.
Many customers in Hanoi who want to buy Perfume frogs have to order weeks or months in advance. Each time there is an item, you can buy a few pounds at once to eat gradually because it is not always available.
Photo: Internet