Saturday, June 9, 2007

Capelin fish


In Manila, one of regular haunts was a Japanese resto in Makati called Izakaya Kikufuji. They had a dish called shishamo -- grilled whole female smelts bursting with roe. It wasn't exactly a cheap dish (I think it was P200 for 5 0r 6 pieces) so having it was a treat.


Apparently, the smelt or capelin fish is caught off the shores of the Canadian east coast. And so here in TO, they are pretty easy to find. I buy the capelin fish in the asian grocery and fry them up. Frying makes the fish delectably crunchy and allows you to eat the entire thing. Head, fins, tail and all. All the fried fish needs is a sprinkling of kosher salt and a tomato-onion-balsamic vinegar salad on the side...


5 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi, Chinky. Reminds me of fried tawilis in Tagaytay/Alfonso. Delicious! My big problem with capelin fish is that when grilled, the fish sticks to the Teflon grilling iron, so it doesn't look like the one we eat at the Japanese restaurant, which is never "injured". Do you have a solution?
:-)

ctl said...

That exactly my experience too, Tita. That's why I decided to fry it nalang. I never get the same "finish" when I cook it on the grill, plus you're right, the fish gets injured and all the roe comes out. Kaso lang when you fry, matalsik. I've had many a blister from the spattering hot oil. But, anything for a good meal, right?

judyfoodie said...

Hi!

I just bought some because I was craving some. I was wondering if you can tell me how you would go about cleaning them? I am assuming that I should not cut the belly open to remove the guts as the roe will all spill out.

Thanks!

ctl said...

Hi Judyfoodie! The ones I get have the gills out already so they're ready to go. Usually, that's how they're sold so check the ones you bought. Hopefully, they'll be clean already and you can satisfy your capelin cravings :-)

Anonymous said...

hi there i was just wondering where did you purchase the capelin with roe?thank you