Frog's eggs are yummy...

The earliest memory I have on fasting brought me back to the time where my grandmother and grandfather were still alive in Kuching. It was the most memorable break of fast or you could just say ‘sungkei’ like how we said it here in Sarawak. Not in Semenanjung though or people over there will give you the weird look…

It was the most memorable because that was my first encounter with the frog’s eggs. At that time, my grandparents’ house was at this village right next to Kuching River. There were lots of open drains around the wooden house.

I used to spend time catching frogs and tadpoles in the drain… There were lots of them back when I was still a child. Few times, I catch a few tadpoles and put them in a jar. It was fun, watching the transformation of the tadpoles into frogs… everyday watching the tail of the tadpoles getting shorter until one day, the tails are gone and there you have frogs!

frog's eggs

Thus, on that one particular sungkei, my usual favourite drink, ai’ sirap had an extra ingredient! I still remember the clear jug full of red water and in the water were clear jellies with black spots in them… Just like small eyes or better still frog’s eggs!

I was horrified! My first thought, a frog somehow jumped into that jug and laid its eggs there! My first reaction was to tell my mum… And to that she said,

“Don’t worry, no frogs jumped into that jug… I put the frog’s eggs there myself…”

I was even more horrified! We were actually going to drink up frog’s eggs!

Probably because I put a face of full horror, my mum decided to tell the truth. The frog’s eggs were actually Biji Selasih… That word never really stays in my mind for I still call it frog’s eggs…

Biji Selasih

Biji Selasih is also known as Basil Seeds in English or another name for it is Tookmaria. To make it looks like frog’s eggs, soak the seeds in the water for a while before dumping it into your favourite drinks… And tell some kids that a frog had laid its eggs there…