Taiji Eel

Taiji Eel

　　Traditionally, when cooking eel, the fish is gutted before being prepared. But in Xingmeng Township, Tonghai County, they do things differently — here, the eel is cooked while still alive.

　　The eels are first placed in cold water to swim around and expel any mud or sand from their bellies. The seasonings you’ll need include: salt, Sichuan peppercorns, monosodium glutamate, chili peppers, pepper, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic — the last two should be pounded into a paste before use. Then, about 500 grams of eels are placed in an unheated cold wok with a little oil (to prevent sticking), covered with a lid, and left for roughly ten minutes until all the eels have died. Only then is the lid removed and the eels transferred to another wok with piping hot oil. After stirring, all the prepared seasonings are added. At this point, the aroma of the eel wafts out. Before long, once the eels have curled up into concentric circles resembling the Taiji symbol, they are removed from the heat and plated.

　　Friendly tip: there’s a particular way to eat Taiji Eel. Roll up your sleeves and have plenty of napkins on hand (for your hands). When picking up an eel, don’t put it straight into your mouth. Instead, use both hands to peel it open from the head, remove and discard the innards, and the rest is edible. Taiji Eel is always smaller than the eels you may be used to eating because farmed large eels can’t withstand this kind of “treatment” — they’d fall apart before being fully cooked. Also, only live eels are thrown into the wok, which causes them to curl up naturally. So for those who are particularly mindful about the ethics of their food, you can enjoy these with peace of mind — none were dead before cooking, and certainly none were artificially fattened.