dried anchovies
I like anchovies so the idea of eating them dried didn't bother me so much. They looked like this in the bag:
Out of the bag, I noticed they still had all the heads and bones and guts attached, which made me a little apprehensive, but still. They were recognisable as fish at least, and given some of the stuff I have eaten, that certainly counted as a bonus. Here is what they looked like:
I decided to make a tomato based curry with the anchovies as an ingredient, and I have to admit the taste was fine. It had the intense salty fishiness you expect from anchovies, but there was a sore point: the texture. There was nothing in the way of cooking instructions on the package so I decided to soak them in hot water for a while, then chop them and add them to the sauce. Still a bit grim, I'm afraid. They were leathery and chewy and not very nice, although the taste they added to the rest of the curry was lovely.
Note to self: use these to make stock, do not attempt to actually eat them.
2/10
Out of the bag, I noticed they still had all the heads and bones and guts attached, which made me a little apprehensive, but still. They were recognisable as fish at least, and given some of the stuff I have eaten, that certainly counted as a bonus. Here is what they looked like:
I decided to make a tomato based curry with the anchovies as an ingredient, and I have to admit the taste was fine. It had the intense salty fishiness you expect from anchovies, but there was a sore point: the texture. There was nothing in the way of cooking instructions on the package so I decided to soak them in hot water for a while, then chop them and add them to the sauce. Still a bit grim, I'm afraid. They were leathery and chewy and not very nice, although the taste they added to the rest of the curry was lovely.
Note to self: use these to make stock, do not attempt to actually eat them.
2/10
posted by Alice of the Dead at 5:45 PM
7 Comments:
Russians eat these all the time, don't cook them, just break off the head and eat them with beer. The salty fishy taste really compliments a good dark beer.
Much like Mikhail said. They are a snack, rather than an ingredient.
The one exception I can think of is a light basting of a teriyaki type sauce and baked. Somehow, the sweet and salty and crunchy makes them utter crack. I don't even pull the heads off. Sometimes, if you're lucky, you can find them pre-sauced in the grocery.
Best PMS food in the world.
My family eats them mixed with peanuts. They are quite delicious.
What you should do with these is rinse them to get rid of excess salt, dry them well and then deep fry them until they turn golden brown. Then eat them. Crunchy and good!
Yup, what su-lin said. Fry them till they are golden brown and crisp and they make great snacks. Or topping on plain rice (goes well because of the saltiness) or stir fries. Crumple them up (fried) and stir into wilted spinach to jazz them up. They will keep well in a container in the fridge for a few weeks (if they last that long!) I also like to make stock with them.
Yes, these may well be the snack version of dried anchovies, not the ingredient version. The snack version can be eaten directly out of the bag- and are often premixed with almond slivers and seasoned. The texture should be nice and crispy. There is no need to break the heads off as Mikhail suggested. They can be eaten whole- they are dried so no gooey innards to worry about.
Beware though, there is an ingredient version of dried anchovies used in Chinese cuisine. These are dried only- not fried or baked or anything and so will retain a chewy texture if you try to eat one directly from the bag. The ingrdient version is often cooked/stir fried in pan with sesame seeds and sometimes peanuts with a dash of soy sauce. The end result yields a nice side dish. The fishes's texture should be dry and chewy, that's the point. These anchovies are not meant to be reconstituted into soft tender fresh fish flesh at all.
My neighbor gave these out on Xmas, quite funny to see the kids' faces fall once they realised she was serious... She gave me the last couple afterwards. My cat sure enjoyed them, but I didn't have the heart to eat any. You're braver than I!
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