I watched a friend throw the freshly filleted remains of four fluke (flounder) that we had just caught off his boat yesterday and I felt guilty for not taking them home for stock. Now I feel worse. That reminds me, I have to call my mother.
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What about Vegans Mark??
Have you abandoned the VB6 ideals that you created?
Have you abandoned the VB6 ideals that you created?
I'm vegan, too, but does every food column this man writes have to apply to us? He can still be vegan before 6 and eat the fish after 6. Applauding people for eating fewer animals (and encouraging many others to do so as well!) goes a lot further toward promoting your cause than admonishing them because they're not living up to your standards.
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The recipe works perfectly for Hamachi-Kama (yellowtail collar) as well.
Most people are scared of fish bones and would avoid such treats. As for me, I would say: Good, more for us!!
Dang, I wish I'd learned of Ara Yaki sooner. I'll be trying this tonight using cobia, black cod & halibut (all from Flying Fish Company here in Portland) as well as Columbia River chinook a friend of mine caught. Thanks for this, Mark!
The real question is: can you get your fish monger to just sorta give you those throw-away pieces...
Well, not after this column, neh?
Well, not after this column, neh?
I've had this in the P. Northwest, but under another name - that I cannot recall. One never knows what will arrive until it does and I've never been disappointed. Both of my go-to places add a small veggie something on the side, but who cares. By any measure, this some of the best fish I've ever enjoyed. And, Mr. Bittman is correct; it *needs* nothing else.
I don't recall the name, but I had deep-fried fish backbone at an izakaya in Osaka, when I was persuaded to go on an uncomfortable "go-kon" by a friend. There was no meat on the backbone, and it was very light, very fishy, and very, very good.
Decades ago I was in a family fish market and the counter help offered me a piece of fried fish. It was delicious and she told me the fish was so fatty that it had been fried in a cast iron skillet with no oil. It was amazing.
When I was a boy, I would sit with my Dad on Saturday afternoon and nibble "lox wings" - the little bits of fish he would use a sharp knife to remove from the gills of the salmon, which he picked up when he bought the lox for Sunday brunch. I do much the same thing described by Bittman with the rib cages and other bones from chickens- S&P and grill or broil til crispy.
This is my must order item when I go to Japanese izakaya. I've never had bad collar neck at any izakaya. It's just a simple goodness. Most places do serve it with grated daikon and you can add some soy sauce and lemon. So good and goes really well with cold beer.
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When I was growing up my Filipino mother would cook sinegang, which is bones bought at the fish market, boiled and seasoned with salt, pepper, lemon juice and green onion. I loved that soup because the most flavor came out of the meat and fat close to the bones.
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Izakaya Seki is one of my favorite spots in DC. They do their own thing, in a place where the demand for authentic Japanese food is not high. Everything I've had there was excellent, and I'm sure the the ara yaki is no exception (which I always get at another DC joint Kintaro, where they make it with yellowtail collar).
I'll be sure to try this at home! Except... in DC I find it pretty hard to get good fish at local markets. Thank you for sharing!
I'll be sure to try this at home! Except... in DC I find it pretty hard to get good fish at local markets. Thank you for sharing!
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Oh my gosh, I'm staggered. If I can ever get over the shock of seeing such visual reminders the food previously had a life - and that I'm directly contributing to its demise - I'd love to try it. It is quite telling the photo also avoids facial features!
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You'll have to try to get over that
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How do you feel when you see a field of corn? Potatoes? Do you marvel at the fact that you can't see their faces nor hear their screams as they are plucked, shucked, eyes cut off, and roasted or boiled?
Realize that the argument for 'sentience' is wholly based upon a definition of the term qua human sentience. We 'relate' to the cow because it makes a noise and feels pain, yet we are not cow. So when you pluck the eyes from those potatoes, perhaps you simply do not hear it scream.
Realize that the argument for 'sentience' is wholly based upon a definition of the term qua human sentience. We 'relate' to the cow because it makes a noise and feels pain, yet we are not cow. So when you pluck the eyes from those potatoes, perhaps you simply do not hear it scream.
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It takes 16 times the amount of plants to produce a meal of cow versus a meal of plants. That's a lot more corn fields.
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I daresay fish bones and these cuts are on the menu not just because they make sense but because they are GOOD.
I doubt that chicken feet are on dim sum menus in the San Gabriel Valley just because they had to do something with the feet. It's because people LIKE them.
Likening these cuts to ribs is an apt comparison, but chopsticks are really the best tool to get that fatty meat out of the crenellations of bone and fin. Of course then you pick it up with your chopsticks and suck and chew away at the thing.
I doubt that chicken feet are on dim sum menus in the San Gabriel Valley just because they had to do something with the feet. It's because people LIKE them.
Likening these cuts to ribs is an apt comparison, but chopsticks are really the best tool to get that fatty meat out of the crenellations of bone and fin. Of course then you pick it up with your chopsticks and suck and chew away at the thing.
Congrats to Izakaya Seki!! Amazing restaurant.
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Yum!
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There's another popular recipe using fish scraps, especially hamachi (yellow tail), in Japan. It is called "Buri Daikon" (Buri is yellow tail in Japanese). Basically it's braised fish and daikon with soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar, and ginger in dashi-broth. The fat the scraps renders matches very well with daikon. Although it takes few more steps than Ara Yaki, it is a staple dish in Japanese home cooking.
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Sorry, not for me, looks unappetizing. I hope there are others who would enjoy it.