Haze Tempura, Sashimi and Kanro-ni... The Goby

So, we can't all be successful lake perch fisherman... but we CAN all be successful goby fisherman (to the consternation of many).

So, THIS gentleman, Adam Guy, an expat living in Tokyo has convinced me that gobies are delicious...
http://www.fishingfury.com/a-different-kind-of-fishing/

Another page from his interesting, fish-centric, food-porn-orific blog on cooking haze.
http://nekokichi.wordpress.com/2007/09/ ... i/#more-55

So, I went fishing today, and of course caught some gobies... Did I serve 'em up to the gulls or enjoy a little haze tempura...

Well, after making sure Adam Guy wasn't the ONLY guy eating haze in Japan (there are numerous websites in Japan detailing the preparation of haze), we enjoyed ourselves a little haze tempura.


So, I've never filleted "Japanese-style" for fry or tempura. You'll note the mangled attempt in the upper-right corner.


So, we've never made tempura either - they don't look as picture-perfect as Adam's, but they were suprisingly tasty. The lower-right corner of the plate has squid.

That's very cook JayK, as is the blog entry. Two questions: what goby did you catch, the one mentioned by the Great Lakes biologist in his comment? And what tackle did you use--surely you didn't find the requisite bamboo rod?!

Somebody mentioned doing whiting this way... do you suppose that would be worth a try?

Geo

Geo wrote:That's very cook JayK, as is the blog entry. Two questions: what goby did you catch, the one mentioned by the Great Lakes biologist in his comment? And what tackle did you use--surely you didn't find the requisite bamboo rod?!

Somebody mentioned doing whiting this way... do you suppose that would be worth a try?

Geo

Yes, the gobies I caught were round gobies, invasive Great Lakes species, described by that Canadian biologist.


I'm new to fishing and today was only the second day I've fished in the lake.

I used a plain 'ol spincast rod/reel w/ #6 Aberdeen hooks on the pre-spooled (junk) line the reel came with; I clipped a sinker on it and a too-small bobber and STILL caught the things. Seriously, they'll bite on anything I think. I used some old shrimp I'd bought at IKEA, of all places, as bait.

If you read Adam's blog, he has a great post where he uses Japanese whiting in the same fashion. I just wish I could fillet as cleanly as he does - his fillets are beautiful.
http://nekokichi.wordpress.com/2008/05/ ... shirogisu/
http://nekokichi.wordpress.com/2008/05/ ... e-whiting/

Jay, those are beautiful, and I'm jealous.

If you get the chance to video the fileting method, (I have a basic idea just looking at your work) I would find that most helpful: we tend to stick with panfish, and often they're small enough that we wind up with fish nuggets indstead of fillets. I think this method would work well for them.

JayK, I'm exactly with Mhays on this: I'd love to see how you made those ever-so-pretty fanned tail-on filets. Pls video it, or at least serial-photo it, so we can give it a try. (I couldn't get to the earlier URL on cooking haze for some reason.

We can get incredibly fresh tiny whiting here in Montréal, and I'd love to try your method.

TIA--

Geo

Wow, thanks for the very kind comments. I was expecting more the, "Gross, you ate gobies?!?!"

Anyways, until I go out fishing again and can serial photo the way I filleted the fish (and seriously, it was all guesswork based on eating fish in this form in the past), THIS guy, MuskieMatt, sorta approximates the way I filleted 'em.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qz9R7PLyUh8

Just don't cut through all the way like he did - leave the belly skin intact. Gut the fish via removing the head and entrails together. Once you get to the tail section, use a good kitchen shear to cut through the backbone to just leave the "ornamental" tail portion. Trim the bottom fin off with shears as well. Needless to say, this is a skin-left-on method (so you'll have to scale 'em... maybe...)

I'm jealous that you've got whiting... however small...

Goby....The new Smelt.

JSM wrote:Goby....The new Smelt

Great Idea! Man, wouldn't that do something to reduce their nuisance numbers? Now if only someone can figure out something really cool to cook with zebra mussels...

Geo

edited once

The more I think about it, the more exciting this goby thing sounds. Hammond, quite rightly, laments the disappearance of the smelt here. But it sounds like the goby is just as tasty, and is infinitely more numerous. Time to start goby fishing as a replacement for smelt fishing, with appropriate modifications.

Heh-heh, in twenty years I can just see the headlines:

OVERFISHING THREATENS GOBY FISHERY

Wouldn't *that* be a sort of Divine Justice??

Geo

Geo wrote:Time to start goby fishing as a replacement for smelt fishing, with appropriate modifications.

I can see it now, old school smelters ditch their nets for multiple hook trot line setups and return to the lake front by the thousands toting coolers of beer and Coleman stoves gleefully biting the heads off of freshly caught Gobys as they toss them into pots of boiling oil.
Before you know it fresh locally caught Goby will be selling for astronomical prices at the Green City Market and the largest and freshest will end up being sold by Reverend Moon's True World Foods to swanky sushi parlors globaly.........nice work Jay K

Nuisance, invasive species = no creel or size limits = all you care to eat...

Hi,

Do you need a fishing license?

Regards,

Do you need a fishing license?

Yes, don't get caught wetting a line without one.

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

Do you need a fishing license?

Regards,

Unfortunately, you just missed Free Fishing Weekend in IL; Fishing licenses can be easily obtained online at the IL DNR website and printed out on the spot. It's inexpensive and you can also download the 2008 Fishing Digest (re: rules & regulations for various IL waters) on pdf.

Jay K wrote:they were suprisingly tasty.

What do they taste like?

I bet JK does NOT say "chicken"!

Good question, LAZ. I'd also like to know about the batter he used. Was it panko, JK? I'm maybe going to try some whiting this weekend. And I don't have to catch them first.


Geo

now if only someone could find a marvy use for zebra mussels, we'd really be in Fat City!

LAZ wrote:

Jay K wrote:they were suprisingly tasty.

What do they taste like?

The closest approximation I can think of at the moment is like sole both in texture and taste - fresh "white" fish flavor, meat was flaky & delicate.

No strong or oily flavors like mackerel, salmon or sardine. Not meaty textures like catfish or monkfish (like I'd initially expected).

I went fishing again and as seems my custom, I will initially catch something nice, but too small and have to throw it back (ie: trout fingerling or small yellow perch). Then for the rest of the time it's goby after goby after goby... Caught ~10 in an hour and a half without trying. Now filleting them as above is a real pain... I think I need a sharper, smaller blade... maybe what they use for unagi in Japan.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OugdmMgcFLc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QydYk9cc ... re=related

Not as much finesse (Gordon Ramsey and another guy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QL98UUovxJQ&NR=1

JayK wrote:like sole both in texture and taste

Now, this is NOT a bad thing. C2, we can't wait for you too try this and give us your observations.

J-K: your batter?

Geo

Mhays wrote:Jay, those are beautiful, and I'm jealous.

If you get the chance to video the fileting method, (I have a basic idea just looking at your work) I would find that most helpful: we tend to stick with panfish, and often they're small enough that we wind up with fish nuggets indstead of fillets. I think this method would work well for them.

Adam Guy has very kindly put up a video detailing his fillet technique on his blog for small fish like whiting and goby.
http://nekokichi.wordpress.com/2008/07/ ... omment-137

I've already started compiling a list of things I'll need to pick up next time I'm in Japan - to include a deba hocho (I think that's the knife he's using) as well as an unagi-saki hocho.

Wow, that's impressive - I particularly liked how the gutting part was the very last thing, and it happened so cleanly. I'm also impressed with such a tiny fish being left almost whole with such a large knife. It's amazing (but not entirely surprising) how well-protected a fish's head is; it was really difficult for me to find where to stick my knife in the top corner of the fillet even on the larger fish I was doing - I wound up chunking the fillets for tacos anyway, so I needn't have bothered, but trying was important to me.

Clearly, I have a lot to learn. Keep 'em coming, JayK-sensei!

First time I'd ever seen it for sale: Japanese goby (Maybe somebody saw our post here on LTH?)

Certainly looks prettier than the round gobies we've got in the Lake and retails for $4.99/lb... Probably tastes the same though... so get to fishing!

Was thinking of you today, Jay - we went fishing at the lake right here in Evanston and caught about ten of these little guys. I didn't have anywhere to conveniently put them, so I tossed them back in the water (the wrong thing to do, I now realize - though they tended to eat the hook too deeply and occasionally hit the rocks on the way down, so probably they're gull food now anyway) and I wasn't sure if you were filleting the teeny size ones we got...looks like you were.

I know right where they are, though! We'll go back and clean them out next time. I'd love to have you show me your fileting technique live, though - I was looking at them and couldn't imagine how you got meat off them with all those fins.

Hey Mhays- I hate to say it, but since I started catching these babies, I do as the other anglers and feed the gobies to the gulls.





I'm guessing if you were shore fishing the Big Lake, these were your intended target. Get any nice ones? Better get 'em quick cause the season's closed to adults in July.

Nope, just a little beeny one that wriggled off the hook anyway...and one tiny bluegill. There was some kind of enormous fish circling, must have been a carp because he wasn't at all interested in the bluegill or goby we used to bait the hook. Next cloudy day, we'll try again.