Only a Chinese would eat it

[Kent Wang]

Nearly every Chinese I know! Topic: Fish eyes.

The question then is: do non-Chinese eat fish eyes?

[prasantrin]

Nearly every Chinese I know! Topic: Fish eyes.

The question then is: do non-Chinese eat fish eyes?

←

Filipinos do. At least the ones I know (like my mother).

[dmreed]

Nearly every Chinese I know! Topic: Fish eyes.

The question then is: do non-Chinese eat fish eyes?

←

of course, I have eaten them and I am white, born in Indiana in 1940...texture is a bit like the tapioca pearls in the boba drinks.

[v. gautam]

Fish heads of different species e.g. major carps, shads, major catfishes [Pangasius spp.] etc. fried and then cooked in various ways, with specific vegetables or split mung beans or forms of rice (to name just three) form a very important part of both the formal & informal repertoire of the cooking of Bengal, east & west.

The head is relished in all its different parts, which includes the brain, the various cartilaginous bits as well as the eyes, which are a special treat enjoyed for their texture. Different species have different sized eyes, whose attributes also vary with age and treatment. They turn opaque and generally become chewy in these dishes.

Entrails, float bladders, liver and frames [even gill rakers] call forth another specialized class of extremely delicious dishes that used to be de rigeur on certain formal lunchtime menus.

Eating with one's fingers allows one to have a remarkably intimate association with something as anatomically detailed as the fish-head and get very deep satisfaction from the union of that with rice. Coming from a culture that likes to get to grips with its food, one always remains nonplussed by the use of chopsticks when employed in the context of rice and fish-heads, crabs and shell-on shrimp [shad too]. As Nehru remarked about eating with knives and forks. "It is like making love through an interpreter." (!!)

Edited February 2, 2009 by v. gautam (log)