This Is A Deep Fried Fish

Many deep fried fish, actually. Words fail me. I know, that's unusual, but I really am at a loss for words. I might come back later if I come up with something, just because I am so stunned.  I mean, really, I am all about celebrating cultural differences. But this I just do not get.

We went out to dinner with friends of ours on Saturday night. They are Chinese, we went to a Chinese restaurant and we let them order. The restaurant is very well known and highly regarded in the area. Dinner, was, as you would expect, quite fabulous. There was fried pigeon, some really fabulous and interesting tasting local vegetables (no idea what they were called, but they are available only in the Nanjing area), really tastily prepared tofu, and a fish soup that even I, who really doesn't enjoy eating fish ate with gusto. The fish soup was a particular specialty of the restaurant, and they prepared it at the table, first bringing out the fish for us to inspect, then cooking it on a rolling sort of hot pot cooker. All in all, quite lovely.

And then they brought out the last dish.  The dish arrived at the table, and I thought, "Shoot! Those look like deep fried fish bones?? What on earth could they be??" I asked our friends (I'm not shy, although I know that surprises you) and sure enough, they were deep fried fish bones! Our fish's fish bones, to be exact. Battered in a breaded batter (which took Jeff out of the equation, lucky stiff!) and fried.

I watched (fascinated) as our friends each took one and chewed it. And then, spat out the bones. Dropping stuff back on your plate from your mouth here is perfectly acceptable table manners, by the way, so no issues there. But, and I tried to ask this, but failed, what the heck was the point???? Deep frying bones, chewing off the deep fry batter and spitting the bones out?? I nibbled one, and then said, "Sorry, no can do." And left it at that. I did try. But I'm still puzzling over it.

And then, yesterday, I came across these poor fellows in my local supermarket. What the heck?? Deep fried entire fish?? They were gutted (you can kind of see it on one of the guys on the lower right). But, there's an entire fish in that batter! Skin, eyes, bones, all of it! I was fascinated enough by this that if Jeff weren't gluten intolerant, I would have brought one home and made him eat it just so he could explain it to me. Really. I must say, this is probably the first time he's ever thought, "Whew! Sure glad I can't eat wheat!"

Comments

[Jer]

Saves all of that pesky beheading...

When we'd went camping as kids our favorite breakfast meal (besides sugar-saturated cinamon rolls) was to catch a trout, gut it, dip it in cornmeal and fry it whole in a cast iron pan with butter. We'd eat as much of it as possible: there's a tasty dollop of meat behind the eye (cheek?) on many fish and I believe some of us ate the eyeballs. The skin is great (on trout, other fish forget it). Never tried the bones but I think one of the fins is mostly edible.

[JL]

That's kind of horrifying! I don't love seafood anyways, but that is just beyond my ability to be adventurous. Are they all scaly in there, or is that part of gutting them? And fins, and eyeballs? I would have to be soooooo hungry!

[Ellen]

Trout! That's right! I even watched Jeff do this once, now that I am reminded! A whole trout, dipped in cornmeal and then pan fried. I do think, though, that there has to be some canceling out of the "goodness" of eating fish - the deep fat they are fried in somehow marries up with the Omega-6s and there is some kind of nutritional war zone?? I don't know.

And JL, yeah, the scales are all on there. I have no idea of these are meant to be trout on steriods, and so maybe the scales are edible? But, note, these fellas have been sitting in my supermarket for three days now. And I'm *pretty* sure they are not cycling new fish in on a daily basis.