Hey, pescatarians! Need some raw fish ideas!
February 8, 2010 11:13 AM Subscribe
Hey, pescatarians! Need some raw fish ideas!
I'm borderline diabetic, have a constricted esophagus which makes swallowing difficult, and have multiple food allergies including a nasty reaction to cooked fish. That's right, cooked fish. I can go to town on sushi of every variety with no problems. Also, shellfish is fine, only 'fins and gills' give me an issue.
As you may imagine, it's difficult to build a diet around all my problems (low carb, high protein, no sugar, not too much 'bad' fat, no red meat because it's difficult to swallow, many raw vegetables are allergens, etc.) I've been eating tons of hummus and olives, which I do like, but need more variety. I was wondering if there might be a cheap (and safe) way to get raw fish into my diet, and if so, are there any tasty recipes out there? Something simple and mild like tuna would probably be best.
I'm borderline diabetic, have a constricted esophagus which makes swallowing difficult, and have multiple food allergies including a nasty reaction to cooked fish. That's right, cooked fish. I can go to town on sushi of every variety with no problems. Also, shellfish is fine, only 'fins and gills' give me an issue.
As you may imagine, it's difficult to build a diet around all my problems (low carb, high protein, no sugar, not too much 'bad' fat, no red meat because it's difficult to swallow, many raw vegetables are allergens, etc.) I've been eating tons of hummus and olives, which I do like, but need more variety. I was wondering if there might be a cheap (and safe) way to get raw fish into my diet, and if so, are there any tasty recipes out there? Something simple and mild like tuna would probably be best.
Sardines. Brislings in particular are yummy.
posted by orthogonality at 11:35 AM on February 8, 2010
posted by orthogonality at 11:35 AM on February 8, 2010
This is really going to depend on where you live, which your profile doesn't show. If you live near the coast, there's probably some kind of fish that's relatively plentiful there but there's little market demand for. It may even be delicious. The fish business is bizarrely fad-driven. All of the sudden its like "LETS EAT EVERY CHILEAN SEABASS IN THE DAMN OCEAN", when for decades they were bycatch/junkfish. Tilapia was the same way, then it got so popular that now its (flavorlessly) raised in farms and is like the most common type of fish. Orange roughy (another patagonian toothfish story: probably would not be so overfished if it was still called 'slimehead'), monkfish, the list goes on.
Anyway, the point is, depending on where you live, there could be a fish that's delicious, even raw, and is affordable, but there isn't much global market demand for. In Florida, they have this delicious fish called cero mackeral (doesn't really taste like more familiar mackerels, but its awesome). In parts of the US and Canada, they have walleye, which is really good. In parts of the Caribbean, they have wahoo. I don't actually know how much walleye costs in say, Minnesota, but a lot of local fish that aren't globally popular are very affordable for how good they are.
There are also fish a lot of people think they don't like that are usually just poorly prepared, or may be more finicky to prepare: bluefish can be really good (though i don't think it would be good raw) and its really cheap where I live, but you basically have to eat it the day you catch it. You can also smoke it. Can you eat smoked fish? Pollack is another cheap fish people think they don't like, but again, not a great raw possibility.
Anyway, if you have a good fish market where you live, or one of those coops the fisherman own and sell fish out of, you can basically lay this question out to them and I bet you'll get good advice. Or if you know anyone who is really into fishing where you live, that's another possibility. The fisherman generally eat all kinds of fish that you've never heard of.
As far as preparations go, what counts as 'cooked' here? Can you eat ceviches? Or their recently-trendy cousin, 'crudos'? How about smoked fish (this can cover a broad range from tea-smoking a trout in your kitchen to a heavily-smoked cured mackeral that will keep forever). What about other types of cured fish like mojama (air-cured tuna) or lox? Or things like bottarga?
posted by jeb at 11:37 AM on February 8, 2010
Anyway, the point is, depending on where you live, there could be a fish that's delicious, even raw, and is affordable, but there isn't much global market demand for. In Florida, they have this delicious fish called cero mackeral (doesn't really taste like more familiar mackerels, but its awesome). In parts of the US and Canada, they have walleye, which is really good. In parts of the Caribbean, they have wahoo. I don't actually know how much walleye costs in say, Minnesota, but a lot of local fish that aren't globally popular are very affordable for how good they are.
There are also fish a lot of people think they don't like that are usually just poorly prepared, or may be more finicky to prepare: bluefish can be really good (though i don't think it would be good raw) and its really cheap where I live, but you basically have to eat it the day you catch it. You can also smoke it. Can you eat smoked fish? Pollack is another cheap fish people think they don't like, but again, not a great raw possibility.
Anyway, if you have a good fish market where you live, or one of those coops the fisherman own and sell fish out of, you can basically lay this question out to them and I bet you'll get good advice. Or if you know anyone who is really into fishing where you live, that's another possibility. The fisherman generally eat all kinds of fish that you've never heard of.
As far as preparations go, what counts as 'cooked' here? Can you eat ceviches? Or their recently-trendy cousin, 'crudos'? How about smoked fish (this can cover a broad range from tea-smoking a trout in your kitchen to a heavily-smoked cured mackeral that will keep forever). What about other types of cured fish like mojama (air-cured tuna) or lox? Or things like bottarga?
posted by jeb at 11:37 AM on February 8, 2010
I, too, am curious about whether ceviche would work.
I wonder what process in the cooking makes it an allergen. Does pickling or soaking in citrus have the same effect. Curing?
How about rollmops?
Pickled fish. Easy to make at home.
Gravlax
Easy to cure at home too.
posted by Seamus at 11:48 AM on February 8, 2010
I wonder what process in the cooking makes it an allergen. Does pickling or soaking in citrus have the same effect. Curing?
How about rollmops?
Pickled fish. Easy to make at home.
Gravlax
Easy to cure at home too.
posted by Seamus at 11:48 AM on February 8, 2010
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posted by kataclysm at 11:18 AM on February 8, 2010