Are they edible or not? I always thought you weren't supposed to eat them because they can get stuck in your throat, but this thing was riddled with them. And they're really thin and tiny, not like fish bones. Help?
Posted Dec 1, 2010, 1:09 AM UTC
Actually in Japan they eat them. The bones are supposed to be good for you, high in calcium and such. Only the small ones that is.
Personally I hate eating them and get funny looks as I slowly pick them out.
This^^. Pre-war japan had little milk to speak of, and depended on fish bones as a main source of calcium. Even today, from the school lunches to Michelin starred restaurants serve fish with bones meant to be eaten, even the entire fish, top to tail.
No, you are not supposed to eat them. It isn't that they are bad for you, but they are a choking hazard and not really tasty. Let me ask you something, was this something you made or something that you bought?
Entirely false. Eel, like many other fish in Japanese cuisine, is often eaten bones and all. I too, was shocked at the first time I found bones in my Una-don, but more surprised that the people who treated me to the lunch weren't picking them out. They're not a choking hazard if you chew well, as the bones have been softened by the cooking. It's not something we're used to in the west, but it's not unusual, and you're supposed to eat the bones, lest you look too un-japanesee... ;)
Just wait until you're handed a brook trout roasted on a stick and are expected to eat it all, skin, bones, tail and head. It's a yummy treat.
Perhaps Japanese proper have a different take on this stuff, but in most countries you do not eat the bones in trout. Skin, yes, bones no. You eat around them.
Of course. Same where I am from. But as with unagi, there are methods of cooking ( ie: slow coal-roasting) that render the bones, including the skull and spine not only soft enough to eat, but delicious beyond description.
Of course. Same where I am from. But as with unagi, there are methods of cooking ( ie: slow coal-roasting) that render the bones, including the skull and spine not only soft enough to eat, but delicious beyond description.
http://img3.photographersdirect.com/img/29241/wm/pd2531209.jpg
It was a frozen precooked eel I bought from an Asian supermarket on impulse. That might be the problem actually, I just don't get how it's even possible to remove/avoid the bones since there's so many and they're so small.
It is possible to de-bone them, but not easy once cooked. Since it is cooked already, you should just eat around them as you would a good fish. Now, if you had it raw, you can lie it over an inverted bowl to help push the bones out (a technique that also works well with fish).
Your best bet is to actually inquire at the asian supermarket, especially the fish counter, exactly how to cook it, and if you should de-bone it. You'll get you're best info on cooking it there as well, and will probably save wasted minutes deboning when you need not.
I don't think I have ever seen bones big enough to worry about. I do trim off just a bit of the outer edge when I am carving it up though.
Check out this eel I had in Utsunomia. Caught in a stream and cooked right away. link
I've only noticed trace amount of bone in one of the precooked frozen Unagi I've bought, but it has never been an issue. Maybe you got a bad one? I don't have any at the moment, but I have some sauce that has the same logo as the stuff I usually buy. Let me know if you'd like a pic, it's good stuff.
In Japan, you won't get a prepared eel -- not even the cheapie Chinese imports -- with inedible bones.
Well, you should not eat ANYTHING at all that contains eel. Not only are they critically endangered, which means that they will probably go extinct in the next 20 years (it's unbelievable that they are still eaten), but since most eels come from china nowadays, the average eel is so high in toxins that they are classed as "Avoid" for health reasons alone.
So because most eels come from china, we shouldn't eat "any" eel, even the ones from Japan? Not even the farmed ones? hrrmmm...
First of all eels cannot be farmed. They have an incredibly complicated mating cycle, and have to be in the sarragasso sea to mate. So called farmed eels are actually eels caught in the wild, and then fed in captivity.
Secondly, 90% of the eels you buy will not have verified origin, and since most eels come form China, you are most likely eating one from China, unless you know differently. Eating eels is bad in every way eating something can be bad. Avoid!
That's exactly what eel farming is; catching juveniles (glass eels) and growing them into adult stage in captivity: farming.
On the other point, yes most eels come from China, except for the ones served in restaurants that get their eel from certified Japanese farms (of which there are many, if you know how to look).
Furthermore, most farmed animals have a noticeable impact on surrounding environments. Cows eat 2.5% of their weight every day...
Eating eels and cows and many other animals (mmm...shark fin soup!) is bad in every way, except they're very yummy.
;)
Here's the citation: [http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_factsheet.aspx?fid=253]
Noooo! Unagi is my favorite. Gakkari.
Mine too! I used to eat it several times a week, living a happy life in ignorance. Especially Unagi sushi used to me reason for living. But hey, there are plenty of tasty things left to eat...
When I bought canned roasted eel, I removed the bigger bones and the spine and ate whatever was left.
I never had a problem myself. Given it was a bit weird, but didn't bother me. Seems like eel sushi has bones in it anyways.
Try eating the bones and try picking them out and eating the meat. I say leave it to preference if you're talking about the tiny bones I'm thinking of.
Japan also is a country that will deep fry fish bones just so you know.
exactly.