I'm living with my waipo, or my grandma, in Beijing right now. Everyday I hang out with her in our little kitchen and try to learn a thing or two about Chinese cooking. Today we made fish head tofu soup, deep-fried shrimp crackers, and this leafy vegetable dish. While the cooking was fascinating, the eating was a little harder.
I had made a pact with her that I would learn to eat anything as long as it is good for my health. Inevitably though, everything I ask her about she claims that it is good for me. Especially the fish head.
She taught me how to suck all the flesh and juices out of the pieces of head. When I was awkwardly playing around with it in my mouth, she stopped me and said,"Your tongue is the smartest muscle in your body. If you can learn to speak English, then learning to eat fish head is so easy." With that boost of confidence, I braved on. I did draw the line at the fish eyes though.
You see, my American friends, you are already one step ahead of everybody else when it comes to eating fish heads.
p.s. The secret ingredient is a little bit of vinegar. It makes the fish bones soft.
2 comments:
ummm....eew!
When I was in HK I had a friend tell me that if I ate the fish eye I would become more handsome, so I ate it. I'm still waiting for the magic to work. I'm glad she didn't tell me to suck the juices out, I don't think I would be up to that.
Post a Comment