Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Goodies from the local fish market

Had the honor and pleasure of hosting lunch for three of my former mentors and their wives at our home the other day. They are either in their late sixties or early seventies and are still very healthy-looking. The event gave rise to an opporturnity for us to zoom to the Sunday fish market hosted by local fishermen. Here are some of our 'catches' for the day.

We bought two packets of these super fresh mini squids. They are just about the size of a thumb and it was our first time to see such tiny squids. Locally, they are called 'dango ika', or 'ball' squid if I may say. The fishermen advised us to cook them in sweet soy sauce, with ginger and garlic. But after slurping down one of them while my missus was washing them, I said we have to serve them as they are... fresh and raw. Yummy, I must say. Think I must have gulped down about ten of them that day.

We also grabbed a sizable flounder straight from the tank. Had one of the fishermen cut it up into sashimi. Not very professional in presentation if compared to a real chef's but the taste was marvellous. Also picked up an interesting item called 'pen shells' or 'fan shells' (according to internet sources). It tasted quite like scallops, only crunchier. And extremely tasty.

After bidding goodbye to our guests in the late afternoon, I gazed up the sky and good heavens, what a sight to end the day.