4.01.2007

instant jellyfish

Yes, jellyfish! Quite edible, and non poisonous.

Jellyfish has been something that I've grown up with, and definitely not considered odd in my book of edibles (then again, it would be quite difficult to try and deter me when it comes to food). It was most fun to introduce it to the boy and a brave friend, who agreed upon viewing the package, that jellyfish was 'goopey looking'. [Package consisted of: pre-soaked, pre-shredded, insta-serve jellyfish in a sealed packet, alongside envelopes of MSG related seasonings plus sesame + chili oils]. Despite the floppy looking texture, one mustn't be fooled: jellyfish has a distinct and pleasant crunch! Random as the textures may be, it may help in explaining the fact that we often refer to jellyfish as 'rubber bands' in Cantonese.

Jellyfish itself is neither fishy nor seafood-like, and actually isn't very flavourful in general: it all becomes a function of the marinade in which it's thrown. Interestingly enough, jellyfish is associated with banquets for me, and has only been consumed out of that context rarely. Though the aforementioned packages are quite convenient, I look forward to buying the stuff that hasn't been pre-shredded to make my own rendition of jellyfish 'salad' - combining soy sauce, sesame oil, chili oil, and perhaps some rice vinegar and sugar. Sesame seeds are also fantastic additives for an extra nuttiness.

4 comment:

Unknown said...

Excellent entry, Lindsay. I had not thought about eating jellyfish, though I have ventured to vigorously poke at the occasional beached one with a large stick. They're very billowy.

lindsay said...

montreal's not very conducive to finding beached jellyfish, i'm afraid. vacation time!

Anonymous said...

Thanks Lindsay! I've just made a beautiful Jellyfish salad thanks to your post :D I'm going to give a pleasant surprise to my dear taiwanese housemate with this dish.
All started this morning when I went to the chinese shop to buy some noodles and saw this "instant natural shreded" bag of jellyfish and ask myself... Why not? The only obstacle was finding out what could I do with this, given my incipient culinary skills! I made a salad with rice (white vinegar and sugar), chilli sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, some herbs, cucumber and boiled eggs. The result is being relished at this precise minute!! Kind regards and thanks for the idea!!!

lindsay said...

pleasure was mine! ps: i've actually migrated over to wordpress so follow me here! chopstickbeateneggs.wordpress.com

(I'm going to have to buy some jellyfish the next time I'm grocery shopping..)