I was shopping and thinking of the recent eel topic, so looked in to see if they had any, but not today. However, where they usually have the eels they had these. So, I bought some.
They are a bit slimy and can live for days out of water, so long as they don't dry out completely. And they are lively! I spent a while chasing some around the kitchen!
The ony realistic way to kill them is to put them into cold water, then bring that to a boil. This also causes the skin to slip from some.
Boiled
Once they cooled down and dried a bit, I gutted them. Left heads, fins and tails on. Too much trouble. They are still sticky.
Dredged them lightly in flour seasoned with Sichuan peppercorn, chilli flakes and salt and deep fried them until crisp. Delicious hot or cold.
So what are they?
Loach. There are many varieties of loach. These ones are small - some are much larger.
