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Fish in Armenian CuisineFreshwater fish, especially Ishkhan and Sig, are popular dishesThe Armenian homeland is mountainous, with no seacoast, limiting most fish dishes to freshwater varieties, like Ishkhan, Sig, Sturgeon and caviar.
Much of the traditional Armenian homeland is inland and mountainous, which has meant that there really aren’t many fish dishes in Armenian cuisine and those that are are mainly for fresh water fresh – most especially Ishkhan, a lake trout native to Lake Sevan in Anatolia, whose name translates as "Prince," giving some idea of how highly esteemed this species was to a cuisine so largely based upon lamb, chicken and vegetables. Sig, another variety of lake trout, is also a favorite and has advocates who insist it tastes even better than Ishkhan. Fresh water sturgeon and its caviar are popular traditional fish to eat, as well. In those areas with access to mussels, midia are also favorites. Today, Ishkhan is an endangered species, due to years of over fishing, but a farm-raised variety has found a commercial market and much of the Sig found in the markets comes from Russia. Along with various species of lake trout, any variety of white fish also works pretty well with these basic recipes: Traditional Method:The most basic – and probably most ancient – method for cooking fish Armenian Style is to place whole bay leaves on both sides of the cleaned fish, wrap it in wet cheesecloth (or, today, oiled aluminum foil!) and grill it over hot coals, taking care to keep the cheesecloth quite damp. The fish half steams/half grills and the finished product is both moist and quite flavorful from the fire. Fish Plaki:Ingredients:
Method:
Alternative Method:Make individually sealed packets of the fish portions and vegetables with well-oiled aluminum foil. Grill over hot coals – or bake in oven, as above. Freshly caught fish on a family camping trip tastes wonderful with this method!
The copyright of the article Fish in Armenian Cuisine in Middle Eastern Cuisine is owned by Debbie Kwiatoski. Permission to republish Fish in Armenian Cuisine in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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