PASSPORT AND PLATE

Passport & Plate - MAGIC GRILLED FISH

Chile | Thursday, March 5, 2015 | flickr photos

Ingredients
Ingredients
500 g Fresh Fish (You can pick any edible fish you want. I did this recipe with Piscis but choose a fish that’s typical of your country. I recommend you a fish with white soft meat.)
1 bowl of water
1 lemon
2 banana leaves per fish
1 slice of bread

Materials
1 empty can
20 mts de hilo para pescar
1 hook
1 grill

 

How to prepare this recipe
STEP 1. Go to some shore rocks. When you’re settled there, roll the thread around the can, you are gonna use it as a reel. Moor the hook to one of the ends of the thread, then hook up a piece of bread, that’s your bait.
STEP 2. Throw the hook with the bait to the ocean. Look at the sky and ask for the elder spirits to give you some food. Now wait until you feel the pull.
STEP 3. When you feel the pull, reel in very fast. Take it carefully of the hook. Grab its tail and head with force. Bite its head until it stop moving. Look to the sky and repeat; Thank you elders to provide me food. Keep this fish’s soul between you.”
STEP 4. Go back home. When you’re there, take a knife and insert its tip into the fish’s vent. Blade the knife up to his head. Now remove all its guts with your fingers. It´s more easier if you remove them with your thumbs. Then wash the fish in the bowl full of water.
STEP 5. Turn on and clean the grill. Cut a lemon in half and pass it on the grill surface. This will take out the fat accumulated and your fish will not stick. (You can also use olive oil, onion or an orange to clean the surface.) The heat must be low for cooking this type of fish.
STEP 6. Put the fish on the grill. The fish’s skin must be kept intact so as to keep the salty flavor of the sea. The skin becomes a crust, preserving the heat and cooking the fish evenly. Wait for about 30 - 40 minutes. (Every fish is different. But the estimated time for cooking a fish by this way is about 30 to 40 minutes.) When the fish’s meat becomes white, soft and starts cutting by itself, take the fish out the grill and place it over some banana leaves.
STEP 7. Wrap the fish in the leaves to keep it warm. Use your hands to eat. Touch the fish, feel the fish. When you are done, throw the leftovers to the fire and thank the elders for your meal.

 

The story behind this recipe
There’s a tiny, magical place on earth known as "the bellybutton of the world". It’s a small island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, full of energy and spirituality, known as Easter Island. Fortunately, it's part of my country, Chile.
Getting there isn’t easy, so every minute is precious. Those infinite wild green fields, decorated with big, ancient moais; a group of wild horses galloping, sea breeze combing their hair. On the shores natives are fishing.
The connection they have with food and religion is quite special. One has to be respectful of all souls. When you pray to the elder spirits, heaven provides you the best.
I was once invited to the rocks to fish. Koa, my wild guide, handed me a can to use as a reel. We want to catch Piscis, a mouth-watering fish with soft, white skin. I throw my hook into the ocean and wait…Chick!
There it was... I felt it. I reel in and there’s my Piscis. Koa asked me to rip the fish’s brain out with my teeth…What? He told me that’s how they respect the animal and give its soul a better life. It was pure and clean, no violence needed. I did it… Click! Then stillness.
We gut the fish and put it on the grill. We wait for about 40 minutes; I was starving. We took the fish off the grill and I put it on a dish… My friend scolded me and taught me that food caught with your own hands must be eaten with your own hands.
Easter Island is part of Chile, but they have nothing in common; there are no similar cultures or traditions, so I felt like a tourist in my own country.
I opened the fish with my hands and tried one of the most delicious foods I have ever eaten. Praying the elders worked; I fell in love with Piscis.
When we finished, we threw the leftovers into the fire, so the spirit of the elders could eat through the smoke. They have to be fed in order to protect the island. I lay on my back and looked to the stars, thinking how happy those spirits must be now, eating my favorite fish in the world.