swikee — Central Java, Indonesia

Swikee, also spelled swike, is a Chinese-Indonesian dish built around frog legs, cooked either as a soup, deep-fried or stir-fried. Its name comes from a Hokkien term meaning water chicken, a euphemism for frog, reflecting the dish's Chinese roots even as it has become a fixture of Indonesian regional cooking. It is closely associated with Purwodadi, a city in Central Java, and with Jatiwangi in Majalengka, West Java, where it is identified with the local food scene, though it is also found more broadly in Indonesian cities with Chinese-Indonesian communities. To prepare it, frog legs — usually from green frogs — are cleaned and cooked with garlic, ginger and tauco, a fermented soybean paste, along with salt and pepper. In the soup version, the legs simmer in a light broth flavored with these aromatics; the stir-fried or deep-fried versions cook the legs more quickly over higher heat with the same base seasoning. Once served, fried garlic and chopped celery are commonly scattered on top. What distinguishes this dish from other frog-based preparations is the tauco seasoning, which gives it a savory, slightly fermented depth not found in plainer frog-leg dishes, and its Hokkien-derived name and Chinese-Indonesian lineage. Cooks vary the format between soup, stir-fry and deep-fried, and adjust the balance of garlic, ginger and tauco to taste; it is generally served with plain steamed rice.