Beware the dangers of escolar!

davita

good but gory post muggsy...my wife and I were discussing where to dine tonight and I professed a desire for the old 'fish 'n chips' till I read your above...it's now babi ribs at Wahahah or Naughty Nuri's, depending on the line-up.

Markit

[ATTACH]2456.vB[/ATTACH] Escolar/Butterfish - extreme danger of arsehole rupture [ATTACH]2457.vB[/ATTACH] Butterfish only. See any difference. Only buy fish here from a local market where you've built a rapor with the fish-lady. She will do her level best to make sure you are always happy in things fishy and survive till the next time it's time for you buy her fish. [U]Never buy filets of fish[/U] here as you have no idea how fresh they are or where they actually come from.

mugwump

In contemplation I realize that per usual I screwed up the technical aspects. It should have been omega 3 fatty acids rather than amino acids, but still haven't looked it up. The rest is absolute!

tintin

Thanks for the heads up, mugwump. :icon_wink: Use Caution When Eating Escolar | The Kitchn

mugwump

Having enjoyed Butterfish at Nomad in Ubud, and equally at Made's Warung in Seminyak with no ill effects. And having, like my brethren, long ago passed through the "tourist trot" phase and apparently developed enough bacteria in my gut to adapt to Bali wasn't expecting anything new. Look out! Something new (at least to me) and perilous is out there. That butterfish or gindara on the menu is really escolar! It has many names and is called oilfish at Delta Dewata, but my near lethal dose came from Carrefour where frozen and their definition of fresh both can deliver an unexpected encounter. Their label is gindara and apparently comes from a Japanese supplier, and thus the name, as its home is in the North Pacific. The flesh of the fish is white and quite dense requiring some thorough cooking. I steamed mine and checked its thoroughness prior to eating, and it tasted fine, having an amino acid content comparable to wild pacific salmon. Gas we all have and expelling it we know from long experience can usually be measured. If the offending gas exhibits a certain smartness to its tingle we are alerted to something potentially more ominous and quickly retreat or contain further behavior. It doesn't work that way with escobar because it will attack without warning and turn on you with great momentmum exuding a yellow oil in all directions.There is no is no such thing as control. This stuff is packed with oil and dynamite. Mine was not a unique experience and all this can be expanded upon to your total disgust and desire for proper information under the title "escolar" on Google. Escolar has many different names and disguises as you will hopefully discover. In the US it is known as sable fish. The blog you can read has it all and my intent is to be helpful, for some of the restaurants must have some cooking strategies that can make a delicious fish less harmful.

mugwump

Along this subject made me think back a few years when the famed chef and bigmouth Anthony Bourdain paid Bali a visit. He was doing his usual routine extolling the wonders of Bali when he decided to go for a swim. The setting was lovely as the New Jersey native appeared in swim trunks beside a large pool that flowed from a Balinese stream in the background. It was all pure travel postcard when Anthony unwittingly dived head first into what startled watching expats realized to be a large Balinese toilet! There could be no more fitting end for this know-it-all, as every soul watching spilled their beer amidst loud and hilarious laughter. Can't help but wonder if he ever learned what he had done?

mugwump

Markit wrote[ATTACH=CONFIG]2456[/ATTACH] Escolar/Butterfish - extreme danger of arsehole rupture [ATTACH=CONFIG]2457[/ATTACH] Butterfish only. See any difference. Only buy fish here from a local market where you've built a rapor with the fish-lady. She will do her level best to make sure you are always happy in things fishy and survive till the next time it's time for you buy her fish. [U]Never buy filets of fish[/U] here as you have no idea how fresh they are or where they actually come from.

The fish referred to in my post is never (to my knowledge) shown in its natural form, but in a restaurant on your plate or in the fish market it is always a steak. Thus the consumer doesn't know what he/she is getting.

Markit

mugwump wroteThe fish referred to in my post is never (to my knowledge) shown in its natural form, but in a restaurant on your plate or in the fish market it is always a steak. Thus the consumer doesn't know what he/she is getting.

I steer well away from buying filet of fish here and never, ever order it in restos - fact is I hate eating in restos for the simple fact that we all willingly turn a blind eye to what's getting served up and if you saw the conditions behind the kitchen doors in 95% (anywhere in the world, not just here)of restos, we'd run a mile. Added to that they take perfectly good food and add butter, cream, MSG, other crap to it and we say "TK Garcon, that was wonderful" where if the missus served that up at home you accuse her of trying to kill you. What the eye doesn't see the stomach enjoys.