Elephant Ear Fish

Last week, our co-worker Kevin took Hailey and I to a restaurant to sample a local delicacy--the Elephant Ear Fish. Our lunch place was just off the Mekong Delta-- the murky, still, river that snakes through the city. Part of the river flowed through the outdoor restaurant, and our lunch was freshly caught and prepared right before our eyes. There were dozens of Elephant Ear Fish captured in nets that were submerged in the river, anxiously awaiting their deep fried death sentence. When we arrived, Kevin ordered two fish and we watched our waiter net one of the large, flat creatures, slap it onto the concrete, and whack it several times with a stick. Lucky you, I got some footage of the action! The fish is then cleaned and placed in a deep fryer--skin, eyeballs, bones and all. The Elephant Ear Fish is traditionally eaten in a rice paper roll with vegetables, rice noodles, and various sauces. We prepared our own rolls at the table and ate the poor fishy up. I wasn't particularly fond of its taste, but I swallowed it down regardless... Needless to say, I opted for the vegetarian version the second time around and prepared my roll with noodles and vegetables only. (DISCLAIMER: Don't look Jenny!)

Click here and here for footage... if you only have time for one video, the second one is better.