Midnight snack: Kimuchi-flavored dried file fish

by Joe DiStefano, Posted Dec 14th 2006 @ 12:00AM

The other day I found this fish-based treat in the snack aisle of a Japanese market that just opened in my neighborhood. Gotta love the packaging. It might look like a bad-ass gang tattoo related to murdering someone, but I'm pretty sure the teardrop coming from the pepper-person's eye is supposed to indicate that the dried slices of kawahagi, or file fish, are so coated with red pepper that they cause watery eyes and spontaneous combustion.

Tonight I dug it out of the cupboard for a midnight snack. The package bears an English transliteration at the top edge, "Kimuchi-kawahagi." This I take to mean kimchi-flavored file fish. I didn't find it homicidally spicy. The translucent slices of chewy fish had just enough red pepper flakes to cause a pleasant tingle. Each bite had a perfect balance of fishiness, heat, sweetness and saltiness: all of which spells drinking snack. Add to this a sprinkling of sesame seeds and soon I found myself with a half empty bag. I think I'll save the rest for another night.

Filed Under: Food Oddities, Raves & Reviews, Ingredients
Tags: asia, dried file fish, dried fish, DriedFileFish, DriedFish, fish, Japanese snacks, JapaneseSnacks, kawahagi, kimchi, kimuchi, kimuchi-kawahagi, oddities, spices