Grilled Fish with Polenta and Half-Baked Cliches

Home -> Summer 1998 -> Nationalism and Seafood

You Are What You Eat

Let's look at seafood, and how I can apply national stereotypes to national dishes.

The Chinese

Fish, Shrimp, Lobster - all Served With the heads.
I have no problem with that; the shrimp heads are good and crunchy. I just think it shows that when you have more than a billion people to feed, you don't waste food.

The British

Fish & Chips
The key thing here is that the goodies are served in newspaper. The Brits just eat those Tabloids up.

The Russians

Fish - Cured by Smoking
The distribution system in Russia is terrible. The people don't even trust banks to keep a safe watch over money, how can they expect markets to provide healthy fish?
By smoke-curing it, that's how. Plus, if you use some other more delicate method, it might not require that you use vodka to cut the taste.

The Japanese

Sushi
No wonder the Japanese embraced Just-in-Time inventory practices in the 1970s: they had been eating that way for years. Doesn't get any fresher than sushi.

The French

Lobster Bisque
All the gilded excess of the Versailles made manifest in a bowl of soup. The dish is also representative of the French chef (read: control freak) style of cooking. And, surprise, there's some cream in the dish.
Damned if it doesn't taste fantastic, though!

The Americans

The McFish Sandwich
The easy thing to say about the McFish sandwich is that it is representative of the processed, packaged, highly marketed culture that McDonald's and a host of other American companies churn out every year.
I have a more basic complaint. The McFish is breaded and fried, and then...served on a roll! Then to mask that dry combination, the sandwich is coated with a McTartar sauce.
What started as a healthy food (fish) has become a greasy, fat covered, starch heavy burger from the sea.
This is why the first thing I learn to say in a foreign language is "I'm a stupid American."

The Croats

Ne Znam
I don't know specific Croatian (or more likely Dalmatian) seafood dishes. I just wanted to put the flag here for Nina.

The Italians

Frutta del Mare
That means seafood (literally fruit of the sea). It doesn't really matter what. In all likelihood it's cooked with olive oil, garlic, and parsley. And in all likelihood, it tastes great.
[Summer 1998]
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I took the flag images from The WWWeb Factory. They have lots of them.
Last Updated: 7 June 1998
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The Chinese	Fish, Shrimp, Lobster - all Served With the heads.	I have no problem with that; the shrimp heads are good and crunchy. I just think it shows that when you have more than a billion people to feed, you don't waste food.
The British	Fish & Chips	The key thing here is that the goodies are served in newspaper. The Brits just eat those Tabloids up.
The Russians	Fish - Cured by Smoking	The distribution system in Russia is terrible. The people don't even trust banks to keep a safe watch over money, how can they expect markets to provide healthy fish? By smoke-curing it, that's how. Plus, if you use some other more delicate method, it might not require that you use vodka to cut the taste.
The Japanese	Sushi	No wonder the Japanese embraced Just-in-Time inventory practices in the 1970s: they had been eating that way for years. Doesn't get any fresher than sushi.
The French	Lobster Bisque	All the gilded excess of the Versailles made manifest in a bowl of soup. The dish is also representative of the French chef (read: control freak) style of cooking. And, surprise, there's some cream in the dish. Damned if it doesn't taste fantastic, though!
The Americans	The McFish Sandwich	The easy thing to say about the McFish sandwich is that it is representative of the processed, packaged, highly marketed culture that McDonald's and a host of other American companies churn out every year. I have a more basic complaint. The McFish is breaded and fried, and then...served on a roll! Then to mask that dry combination, the sandwich is coated with a McTartar sauce. What started as a healthy food (fish) has become a greasy, fat covered, starch heavy burger from the sea. This is why the first thing I learn to say in a foreign language is "I'm a stupid American."
The Croats	Ne Znam	I don't know specific Croatian (or more likely Dalmatian) seafood dishes. I just wanted to put the flag here for Nina.
The Italians	Frutta del Mare	That means seafood (literally fruit of the sea). It doesn't really matter what. In all likelihood it's cooked with olive oil, garlic, and parsley. And in all likelihood, it tastes great.