Life's Persistent Questions

Question: what's up with monkfish?

Oh, I love monkfish liver. It's SO LUXURIOUSLY TASTY. Sashimi style. Lightly seared. Poach and with ponzu sauce. It's silly good no matter which way you cook it (or not cook it). Monkfish liver has essentially replaced uni as my favorite sushi in a Japanese restaurant. But monkfish itself remains an enigma to me. I have ordered monkfish in Korean restaurants several times, either steamed or in a stew, and I always left disappointed. The meat is chewy and tough, a lot of bones and very little reward. The same cannot be said about the pig. Every part of pig can be tasty. Chops. Loin. Ribs. Intestines. Cheek. Ear. And even, brain. Okay fine, I'm in love with the hog too. How is it possible that one part of the fish can be so heavenly and another so inedible.

Funny how I keep ordering monkfish in the restaurants. I should know better. I wonder if I'm letting my memories and love of its liver cloud my judgment. Yes, the liver was good when I can get it but it's irrational to continue to believe that I can replace my yearning for it with a different part of the fish. Kind of like another problem I have in my life, wanting something that I can't have. Oh well, I guess there is always pork.

posted by hedgehog @ 10:58 PM