I did not grow up in a fish-eating family. Wisconsin does that to one, generally, unless you’re into Friday fish-fries. The only one to which I went was at a place that was known to be quite good. And it was. I was with my best friend and his parents, my mother and my sister. A few beers, a lot of good fried fish, a great time.
But here I am in Korea. Korea has a different idea when it comes to seafood. I remember in Texas going to a place down by Corpus Christi…or maybe Galveston. Shrimp. And it was smothered in some kind of cream sauce. In Korea, the more naked, the better. You might dip it into something, and yeah, the red sauce that usually goes with their clams and such is quite good. But it’s certainly not anything a typical American might expect.
I remember once, looking so forward to some jumbo fried shrimp. Until I found out when handed their idea of a “fried shrimp” — that “fried shrimp” meant dipping the entire raw thing; unpeeled, head, legs, and all; into batter and frying it whole. “Here’s your shrimp. I hope the eyes and guts don’t distract you from enjoying your meal.” It might be about eight inches long, but half of that is parts I wouldn’t dare eat. I know Sarah wouldn’t. She has a policy of not eating food that’s looking at you.
But for Koreans, the fresher the better. One dish that I do eat without minding much is their clams cooked on a brazier. Some of the clams, I should say. I’m not a fan of the big ones that look a bit bloody. But I don’t mind eating the smaller ones, plus the occasional snail. As I’ve said before, I do it for my wife. But it’s not all bad anyway. And she can eat the bloody-looking ones all she wants…and she does.
I’ll also eat octopus, although I’m not looking for it regularly. We’ve been to our share of restaurants where they’ll bring out a stew and a covered bowl, get that stew boiling, and then pull a couple of live octopi out of the bowl and hold them down in the stew until they stop moving. I guess you’ve got to grow up with it. And of course, octopus is a bit bland and chewy if you don’t dress it up a bit. It’s passable, but not my thing. About the same with squid, although dried squid is pretty good.
Anyway, I got to writing this today because I learned something new…something I haven’t tried yet, actually. While plowing through one of my favorite fish for dinner tonight (Yimyeonsoo), Micha informed me that I was leaving too much meat on the bone. As a matter of fact, she informed me, the bone was soft enough that all you have to do is just chew it. Then she proceeded to show me.
I like to think that I’m being the good husband by leaving the stuff she likes for her to eat. She’ll catch on one of these days, I’m sure. I think she already has with chicken bones, which she can pick clean like nobody’s business, but which I give up on as soon as they become a challenge. That’s why she always get the neck and back…
Nerve wracking seafood? Hahaha