Salted Fish?

[jmana]

Maybe someone can answer this for me, what exactly is "salted fish", in particular salted red fish, and why is it such a big deal to Russians?  I never heard of it, never even saw it on any menu when I was there.  But Alina said she was really craving it, then I was reading some article today about the Olympics and they were talking about salted fish and how that's one of the big things people miss when they move away from there. 

[Misha]

What she is craving is lightly-salted raw salmon (aka red fish). If you have a filet of good salmon, you can salt your own.

[Misha]

It is in Russian, but one video showing how it is done:





A couple of pinces of salt, a pinch of sugar, dill, then he sprinkled a bit of vodka [that would be optional of course]. He notes that if you prepare it in the afternoon, it will be ready by evening.

[Daveman]

If it ain't fried, it ain't fish!   

My wife loves salted fish.  She can eat a pound if it at a time.  Raw anything, salted or not, has a very different texture that I just can't get past.  I'll stick with fish & chips. 

[Belvis]

Salted red fish is pretty close in taste feelings to japanese raw fish (sashimi). The salt works here like  spicy ingredients in japanese delicacy.

[calmissile]

If it ain't fried, it ain't fish!   

My wife loves salted fish.  She can eat a pound if it at a time.  Raw anything, salted or not, has a very different texture that I just can't get past.  I'll stick with fish & chips.

I could handle the salted salmon since I love sushi and sashimi salmon.  What I can't bring myself to eat is those dried fish that are hanging on lines.  It seems the flies like them though.   

[Shadow]

They are eaten like chips, sometimes with a beer it is nice.

I could handle the salted salmon since I love sushi and sashimi salmon.  What I can't bring myself to eat is those dried fish that are hanging on lines.  It seems the flies like them though.   

[The Natural]

I could handle the salted salmon since I love sushi and sashimi salmon.  What I can't bring myself to eat is those dried fish that are hanging on lines.  It seems the flies like them though.   

I'm the opposite. Not a big fan of fish but dried cod is very tasty, like a healthy alternative as a snack instead of potato chips. Like Shadow said, many like it With beer. Not me though, as I don't like beer.

Like most Russians my wife and MIL love fish. There's of course the smoked salmon that we bring With us to Ukraine and is a big hit, but we have also sometimes buy different types of fresh Fish here and they love it all. Sometimes I buy fresh shrimps that they enjoy With beer.

Salmon salted and sugared and smoked the old fashioned way:

http://ut.no/artikkel/1.8146070

[Gator]

My stepdaughter makes it frequently using fresh, farm raised salmon.  Everyone eats it including me as it is close to sashimi.,


Now for the inconsistency of living with a RW.   If I grill the same type of fish, they object if not cooked completely through.  They want the center hot (i. e., dried out) while I prefer warm, red center as with medium rare beef. 

They believe the little bit of salt is protective.  It would do no good for me to show them the rate of absorption  of salt through fish. 

More:  They will shy away from ceviche, which although raw is probably more safely prepared being marinated for a longer time in citrus juices and chili peppers.  The spicy pepper is actually a larger deterrent than the thought of not being cooked at high temperature.  Raw oysters are consumed but only if cooked are not available.  Actually, their feelings regarding raw oysters is consistent with health advisories.   

[SANDRO43]

dried cod is very tasty

You mean stokfisk?

After Portugal, Italy is the major importer of stoccafisso. Often wrongly called baccalа (salted but not dried fish) in many of our regional cuisines, it first arrived in Venice owing to curious circumstances.

In 1432 Piero Querini, master of a Venetian merchantman, was en route to Antwerp with a cargo of luxury items. While crossing the Bay of Biscay his ship was dismasted and lost her rudder during a heavy storm, and went hopelessly adrift for weeks, eventually breaking up on a deserted Lofoten island. The castaways noticed smoke rising from a nearby island, and managed to attract the attention of the local fishermen, who rescued them and gave them also stokfisk with their food. 

Querini liked it and brought some samples back on his return to Venice months later .

[The Natural]

You mean stokfisk?

Yes, except I didn't hear the term stokfisk before. Here we call it tørrfisk (dryfish) but it's the same. Great snack as I said and 80% protein too but unless you hang the fish up yourself, very expensive to buy in these small plastic bags.

[jone]

My stepdaughter makes it frequently using fresh, farm raised salmon.  Everyone eats it including me as it is close to sashimi.,


Now for the inconsistency of living with a RW.   If I grill the same type of fish, they object if not cooked completely through.  They want the center hot (i. e., dried out) while I prefer warm, red center as with medium rare beef. 

They believe the little bit of salt is protective.  It would do no good for me to show them the rate of absorption  of salt through fish. 

More:  They will shy away from ceviche, which although raw is probably more safely prepared being marinated for a longer time in citrus juices and chili peppers.  The spicy pepper is actually a larger deterrent than the thought of not being cooked at high temperature.  Raw oysters are consumed but only if cooked are not available.  Actually, their feelings regarding raw oysters is consistent with health advisories.

Okay, I've lived in Los Angeles for too long:  I love ceviche de pescado.  Especially with some sliced avocados and hot sauce laid on top.  My lips are smackin just thinking of it.  Before I came here, I only liked sushi.

[Gator]

jone, 

I had a Peruvian girlfriend for a year.  She made ceviche all the time, and did change the ingredients dependent upon her mood.  The addition of avocado is splendid, although she used corn or sweet potato much of the time  I did not crave the other Peruvian delicacy - beef heart kebabs.

[ML]

Everyone eats it including me as it is close to sashimi.,

Sashimi can be pretty good if it is cooked properly.

[Gator]

Sashimi can be pretty good if it is cooked properly.

Let me guess.  You are not a steak tartare aficionado.   I love it if done properly, and properly takes much preparation and many ingredients.  One problem, not only do RW turn up their noses, they will not come near me afterwards.

[Misha]

You are not a steak tartare aficionado.   I love it if done properly, and properly takes much preparation and many ingredients.

I love the steak tartare in the Czech Republic. It is amazing. Though, the first time I tried it, I had to fight back the North American training that says you should not be eating ground beef raw

[Shadow]

For once there is actually reason for the habit of RW with regard to the preference of salt over spices.
Spices can mask the natural taste, and are often used to hide that the freshness of ingredients is below par.
With just salt is is much easier to determine if the food is still fit for consumption.

[ML]

Let me guess.  You are not a steak tartare aficionado. 

I thought (hoped) my cooked sashimi humor would go over the heads of some (many).

I didn't think you would be one of them though.

[jone]

He was thinking about his response, not what you wrote, ML.  I laughed.

 

[mendeleyev]

The salted Omul, a whitefish found around Baikal is interesting and one should try it at lease once.

Prisoners on trains to the Gulags were fed a diet of salted fish and water.

[jmana]

So Alina made her own salted fish.  I bought some steelhead trout at costco and she put some salt and sugar on it and sliced it up the next day.  It wasn't bad, would taste good on crackers, but I mentioned that and she scoffed at the idea of eating it on anything.  I also sprinkled some dill on it as a previous post mentioned, and she poo pooed that too. 

[ML]

I am lucky, I guess, in that Ochka will try anything . . . even if it violates her previous ideas about how the food must be prepared.

And she has become a big fan of many things 'American.'

[Misha]

So Alina made her own salted fish.  I bought some steelhead trout at costco and she put some salt and sugar on it and sliced it up the next day.

The little things often matter the most. It was a nice gesture on your part so certainly appreciated.

[Gator]

I also sprinkled some dill on it as a previous post mentioned, and she poo pooed that too.

Fresh dill I trust.  Dried dill would not add much.

[Avis]

salted fish (the dryed version of it) is just like american beef jerky, we don't quite get it as well

it's all down to culinary traditions of the country, just take it as it is, without trying to understand it or grow into liking it


as for the salmon, can be easily done at home, i do it myself quite regularly (surprised though don't you have it in States? it's not only a russian dish, quite a few european nations enjoy it too)