The flavor of milkfish
Each year Taiwan produces some 60,000–70,000 metric tons of milkfish, of which 80% is sold to the domestic market. Huang Chih-yang notes: “Milkfish is popular with ordinary people. Not only is it produced locally, but it has also affected our whole dietary culture.” The methods of preparing milkfish express the dietary customs and preferences of each region of Taiwan. In the Taipei metropolitan area, menus mainly offer milkfish belly and milkfish congee. However, along Taiwan’s Southwest Coast, where most milkfish is produced and consumed, offerings are far more diverse.
Along Provincial Highway 17 near the Southwest Coast, there are many food stalls with signs advertising “braised pork over rice” and “fresh fish soup,” with milkfish being sure to be among the choices of fish for the soup. Huang Chih-yang vividly describes how customers will first order braised milkfish head as an appetizer, then follow with a main dish and a soup. In Tainan, eatery owners will ask if you want shredded ginger in your soup, or pickled watermelon slices, which give a totally different texture and flavor. Customers may also choose to accompany their meal with scalded fish skin or pan-fried fish viscera.
“People who enjoy seafood in fact don’t go out of their way to order fish belly, because it offers only limited methods of preparation and seasoning, and also there is little fun to be had eating it. The parts that are fun to eat are the head or the viscera,” says Huang. Although there is not much meat on a milkfish head, using one’s mouth and tongue to suck out all the particles of meat, collagen, fat, and juice really gives a sense of accomplishment. If you don’t mind eating viscera, Huang recommends that you try fish viscera. An order of fish viscera normally includes the intestines, liver, and stomach, which all have their different textures. He describes fish stomach as being crispy, the intestines as soft and smooth, and the liver as delicate. This dish is tasty whether the ingredients are boiled and served with a wasabi soy sauce dip, or dry-fried and eaten with pepper salt.
A dry-fried milkfish belly steak is something that many Taiwanese living abroad miss very much, while the traditional recipe of milkfish belly with fermented pineapple and black soybeans is another deeply nostalgic dish. Recently, creative chefs have been cooking milkfish fillets with the dorsal fin attached until they are brown and crispy, as a dish to go with alcoholic drinks. Others use whole milkfish to extract an essence that is sold as a health food product. From head to tail, this is a fish that has many intriguing uses.
If you want to get to know Taiwan better, this fish which has been a part of the lives of Taiwanese for over 400 years is a great place to start collecting stories of Taiwan.
You can find milkfish in Taiwanese markets all year round—it is a popular fish with ordinary people.