# Identify this seafood (in a market in Spain) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 6, 2007, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-seafood-in-a-market-in-spain/398986 "2007-04-06T15:38:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2007, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-seafood-in-a-market-in-spain/398986/1 "2007-04-06T15:38:15Z")
Posting this from my mum’s PC on a camp site in Spain (it’s pouring with rain now, (mostly on the plain))… We visited an excellent covered market the other day and the seafood stalls were simply amazing. Most items I recognised, but there was one that was a bit of a mystery. It was a big containter of what appeared to be tiny translucent fish or eels - completely pale white in colour with two little black eyes. I’ve seen people eating elvers (baby eels) before, but they were bigger than this, and darker. What are these things? Also, how should I serve them? I’m thinking that they might be nice dredged in seasoned flour and plunged briefly into hot oil. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2007, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-seafood-in-a-market-in-spain/398986/2 "2007-04-06T15:42:37Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] What are these things? Also, how should I serve them? I’m thinking that they might be nice dredged in seasoned flour and plunged briefly into hot oil. [/QUOTE] Everything tastes okay when it has been breaded and deep fried. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2007, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-seafood-in-a-market-in-spain/398986/3 "2007-04-06T15:59:46Z")
[Angulas?](http://www.squarci.it/?p=67) ---
**Author:** ![Martha\_Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2007, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-seafood-in-a-market-in-spain/398986/4 "2007-04-06T18:31:00Z")
[Boquerones?](http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=boquerones&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2) ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2007, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-seafood-in-a-market-in-spain/398986/5 "2007-04-06T18:50:29Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] [Angulas?](http://www.squarci.it/?p=67) [/QUOTE] Man, those things look like something that should be served only to contestants on **Survivor** , or at a Klingon dining hall! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2007, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-seafood-in-a-market-in-spain/398986/6 "2007-04-06T19:02:11Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] [Angulas?](http://www.squarci.it/?p=67) [/QUOTE] That looks quite similar - I’m going to try them and report back… If I survive… ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2007, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-seafood-in-a-market-in-spain/398986/7 "2007-04-06T19:14:05Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] That looks quite similar - I’m going to try them and report back… If I survive… [/QUOTE] - ¡Mirada! ¡El Inglés está comiendo las anguilas! \< risa \> \* ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2007, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-seafood-in-a-market-in-spain/398986/8 "2007-04-06T19:29:40Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] - ¡Mirada! ¡El Inglés está comiendo las anguilas! \< risa \> \* [/QUOTE] mi aerodeslizador es lleno de anguilas. ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2007, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-seafood-in-a-market-in-spain/398986/9 "2007-04-06T22:55:23Z")
Where in Spain are you, **Mangetout**? I’ve had _angulas_ in the Basque country. They were quite expensive, so I only had a tiny dish served as part of a selection of _pinxtos_ (Basque tapas). What’s the market price of the things that you saw? They’re very delicate-tasting – not at all fishy. I think it would be a waste to flour and deep-fry them. They’re usually sautéed **briefly** in olive oil with garlic and red peppers. As **Fear Itself** ’s link says, it’s traditional to eat them with a wooden fork, since they’re so slippery (plus metal is supposed to taint the flavour). Since the little buggers can breathe both in water and in air, they’re usually “drowned” in tobacco-infused water soon after being caught, then parboiled and stored in brine. _[Good to see you’re living up to your username, **Mangetout**.]_ ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2007, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-seafood-in-a-market-in-spain/398986/10 "2007-04-15T01:05:48Z")
Hello! I have returned from rainy Spain to sunny Blighty and would like to report on my experience. [Here](http://freewebs.com/atomicshrimp/7676/index.html) are the gory details… ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2007, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-seafood-in-a-market-in-spain/398986/11 "2007-04-15T01:19:12Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] I have returned from rainy Spain to sunny Blighty and would like to report on my experience. [/QUOTE] Did the rain in Spain fall mainly on the plain? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2007, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-seafood-in-a-market-in-spain/398986/12 "2007-04-15T01:23:31Z")
I couldn’t say, but I do know that in Hertfordshire, Herefordshire and Hampshire, hurricanes hardly happen.