Not everyone will be able to easily find on sale this unusual fish. In Russia it is not harvested so much, and most of the catch is immediately sold. But if you are ever lucky to see such an unusual product on the counter of the fish department, be sure to buy and try to cook noodle fish. How to do this, tells our article.
General information
Noodle fish is small, most individuals barely reach a decimeter in length. The body is elongated, serpentine, a small head crowned with black eyes. The skin of the fish is translucent, which is why the whole creature also seems ethereal, like a sea spirit.
Fish is of great value due to its excellent taste and ease of preparation. Many food lovers just love noodle dishes.
Habitat
This species is often called Japanese glass fish. The main population lives on the Pacific coast of Japan. In Russia, fishing has been established in the Gulf of Peter the Great, in the Amur Liman, in the coastal waters of Sakhalin.
To spawn, the fish goes to the rivers, after the reproduction of the offspring, many adults die. Young growth 4-5 cm long rolls back into the ocean.
Their main diet is caviar, pelagic mollusks and crustaceans. Perhaps this is the diet that owes its excellent taste to noodle fish.
Japanese Recipes
In the Land of the Rising Sun, this fish is very respected. It is often used for making sushi and traditional soups, it is served fried and even added to ice cream.
Many Japanese noodle dishes that require rare ingredients and special skills can only be tasted in their historic homeland. But something we can also take note.
Everyone who has tasted dishes with glass Japanese fish describe the taste with the most laudatory epithets. To taste, this product resembles the delicate meat of crab, squid, crayfish. Like smelt, there is a cucumber flavor, but not as pronounced, but very delicate. The structure of the product is also interesting: the bones are not felt at all, the meat is both dense and tender.
It is noteworthy that before you cook the noodle fish, you do not even have to clean it. Small scales themselves will easily fly off during washing, and the insides in the finished product are completely invisible. The heads of the fish, too, are not cut off.
Marinated noodle fish
This method of cooking in the East is very common. Fortunately, it can be easily reproduced at home.
Rinse a pound of fish. Put a liter of water to boil, adding 2 tsp. salt, 3 tbsp. l sugar, a few cloves and peas of allspice. When boiling, add 150 ml of vinegar.
Arrange noodle fish in cans. Hot marinade recipes usually take less time. If you use cold, you can serve fish no less than in a day. You can lay down grated on a Korean grater carrots or onions, sliced in half rings. Pour marinade, cork. To make the aroma and taste more complete, you can add any dried spices, bay leaf. When serving, load vegetables and fish in serving dishes, pour with vegetable oil, sprinkle with lemon juice or soy sauce.
Boiled fish for salads
In Japan, this fish is often used to make various snacks. It is tasty and boiled. Its rich shrimp taste is combined with seaweed, herbs, young vegetables, boiled eggs.
If you want to cook a dish that needs boiled noodle fish, cook it in advance so that it cools down. This fish is preparing very quickly. It is enough to load it in boiling water for several minutes, and then toss it in a colander so that the water is completely glass.
Boiled noodle fish turns white, has a pleasant structure. The taste remains the same luxurious and expressive.
Roasting Methods
If you are lucky to buy a large noodle fish about 10 cm long, you can fry it whole in flour, batter, breading. This treat is perfect as an appetizer for beer, white wine and even stronger alcohol.
Before frying, rinse fish noodles to free from scales. Unload wet carcasses on a kitchen paper towel, it will absorb excess liquid.
There are different options for making this treat. You can load the fish into a bowl, add 4-5 tablespoons of flour, sprinkle with ground pepper from the mill and mix thoroughly. Salt the raw product is not worth it, it will provoke the production of unnecessary moisture. You need to fry the fish in oil, spreading it in a pan in one layer. She cooks quickly, and turns over with all the “pancake”. It remains only to put the finished fish on a serving dish with a slide, salting each layer. It is advisable to use sea salt.
Fritters
The following recipe tells you how to cook small-sized noodle fish. If you got a fish of 4-5 cm, frying it whole will be inconvenient. But it’s just perfect for making crispy snack pancakes.
Rinse a kilogram of fish without chopping, load in a deep dish. Add 400 g of onion puree. You can grate the onions, pass through a meat grinder, or even finely chop.
Salt to taste, add spices: pepper, dried dill, coriander, zira. Beat a couple of eggs and gently mix with a spoon. To make the dough stick well, add 4-5 tablespoons of semolina or flour.
If you cook such a dish in the summer, you can improve its taste and appearance with the help of young herbs: onions, garlic, dill.
You need to fry the pancakes in heated oil, spreading round cakes with a spoon. Do not rush to immediately turn them over, otherwise they will fall apart. Wait until the fried side “seizes”, then you can easily turn the pancakes on the other side.
Serving to the table
In the Far East, noodle fish is eaten with chopsticks. You can set the table with these devices. With sharp sticks it is very convenient to pick up and hold a small fish.
She does not need a side dish, usually she is served at the table as an independent dish. To emphasize a gentle unusual taste, it is worth taking care of sauces. Lovers of Oriental cuisine have a wide choice, and for those who do not like too spicy and spicy treats, you can advise a sauce of yogurt and fresh herbs.
It is not worth storing noodle fish for a long time. It is better to cook it just before serving.