What is this fish thing?

[GlorifiedRice]

 

 

Is it fish "pork rinds"?  How do I eat it?

[KennethT]

It looks like "shrimp chips" but made with fish.  Usually, they're made by pureeing fish with a starch, which turns it into a dough, then steamed, dehydrated, and then puffed - or maybe in an industrial method, the dough can be forced through a die at high pressure which instantly cooks and puffs in one step.

 

I would treat it like shrimp chips, but with a fishy flavor, not a shrimpy flavor.

[HungryChris]

I see it listed here. I am curious what the HCL stands for. Plus the word "maw" might mean stomach.

HC

https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=zh-CN&u=http://shopping.shanghaisells.com/hcl-croaker-fish-pieces.html%3F___store%3Den&prev=search

Edited June 23, 2016 by HungryChris (log)

[huiray]

On 6/23/2016 at 11:30 AM, HungryChris said:

I am curious what the HCL stands for

The first letters of the pronunciations of the company name (鸿昌隆) as rendered into the latin alphabet.

[鸿昌隆 (simplified characters) = 鴻昌隆 (traditional characters) = hong2 chang1 long2 (pinyin Mandarin w/ tone numbers) = hung4 coeng1 lung4 (jyutping Cantonese w/ tone numbers)]

 

As for "maw" - well, yes – but it's not the actual stomach, but belly in this case. The stuff is labeled as "中片魚肚" which can be translated as "center slices of fish belly". Maybe like these. How they are processed might be along the lines of what KennethT suggested, or it might be in some other way perhaps...

 

ETA: Here's a pic labeled "milkfish fish 肚" :-)  

Perhaps there are different meanings for the term "fish maw" and/or "魚肚" depending on who is using the term(s)?

Hmm, fish "swim bladder" (also a.k.a. "fish maw") I thought is "魚鰾"?

Edited June 24, 2016 by huiray (log)

[liuzhou]

Fish maw isn't belly. It's the fish's float bladder.

 

Without a maw, fish couldn't stay upright or move up or down. Like us after the second bottle of vintage last week El Vino Collapso.

It is tasteless, but adds texture which is appreciated in Chinese cuisine. A longer discussion here。And more information here.

[DrinksRUs]

I'd like to answer the "how to eat it" part. I've tried several of these before in different Asian countries, and the thing that they partner this with is vinegar preferably with sliced red chili and a pinch of rock salt. 

 

You just dip these bad boys in the vinegar mixture, hear it crackle, and pop 'em in your mouth. Instant flavour explosion!

[liuzhou]

8 minutes ago, DrinksRUs said:

I'd like to answer the "how to eat it" part. I've tried several of these before in different Asian countries, and the thing that they partner this with is vinegar preferably with sliced red chili and a pinch of rock salt. 

 

You just dip these bad boys in the vinegar mixture, hear it crackle, and pop 'em in your mouth. Instant flavour explosion!

 

Flavour of what? They are tasteless. All you can be tasting is vinegar, chilli and salt.

And I've lived in Asia for a very long time and have never had them served the way you describe.

[DrinksRUs]

Just now, liuzhou said:

 

Flavour of what? They are tasteless. All you can be tasting is vinegar, chilli and salt.

And I've lived in Asia for a very long time and have never had them served the way you describe.

They're not all tasteless. There are different variants of this and the vinegar sauce I suggested is exactly what brings these chips to life. I've stayed in the Philippines for a bit and that is how they enjoyed these just like with Pork Rinds.

[liuzhou]

4 minutes ago, DrinksRUs said:

They're not all tasteless. There are different variants of this and the vinegar sauce I suggested is exactly what brings these chips to life. I've stayed in the Philippines for a bit and that is how they enjoyed these just like with Pork Rinds.

 

Chips? Pork Rinds?