As reported earlier, an ill-fated eel somehow ended up in the butt of an allegedly constipated Chinese gentleman. Two European fish experts have now taken a closer look at a photograph of the eel in question and given their expert opinion on its identity.

When discussing the fish-in-butt incident with Swedish ichthyologist Dr Sven Kullander, Dr Ralf Britz of London’s Natural History Museum – an expert on the order Synbranchiformes – suggested that this fish might not be an eel at all. Instead, he believes the elongated fish to be a member of the species Monopterus albus, since the tip of its tail is very slender and the gular region somewhat inflated.

Despite not being a true eel, Monopterus albus is commonly known as Asian swamp eel in English. It is a popular food fish in parts of south-east Asia and you can buy it alive in fish markets. All young swamp eels are female but some of the change sex and become male as they age. If a male swamp eel founds itself in an environment with no or very few females, he can change himself back into a female fish again. The change from one sex to the other can take up to a year.

If you ever feel the need to insert a swamp eel into your body, we here at AC Tropical Fish suggest you do it orally.

Swamp Eel Chowder
4 servings

Ingredients
Ruhgly 600 g Monopterus albus
150 g Lean Pork
50 g Dry Black Fungus
5 pieces of Dry Black Mushroom
3 tbsp cooking oil
1 tbsp Shaoxing Wine
1 L Chicken Stock
2 tbsp Shredded Lemon Leaves
1 tbsp Shredded Ginger
1 tbsp Chopped Parsley

Ingredients for seasoning
3 tbsp Water Chestnut Powder
1 tbsp Water
1 tbsp Sesame Oil
1/2 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
1/2 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
1/2 tbsp Salt
1 tsp pepper

Instructions
1.) Prepare the seasoning by stirring all seasoning ingredients together. Set aside.
2.) Remove the bones from the eel.
3.) Wash the eel meat in hot water and shred it.
4.) Let the black fungus and black mushrooms soak in water until they become soft.
5.) Shred the black fungus and black mushrooms.
6.) Clean the pork and shred it.
7.) Heat up a wok or large frying pan and add the cooking oil.
8.) Add the eel meat to the wok and stir fry.
9.) Add wine and chicken stock and bring to a boil.
10.) Add the shredded fungus, mushrooms, and pork and cook for 5 minutes while stirring.
11.) Add ginger and parsley and cook at low heat for another 5 minutes while stirring.
12.) Add the seasoning, continue to cook and stir for 2 more minutes.
13.) Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving.

* If you want to see the low resolution picture of the actual specimen extracted at the Kwong Wah Hospital, the paper where it is included has been published in the journal Surgery. “Siu Fai Lo, Sin Hang Wong, Lok Sang Leung, In Chak Law, Andrew Wai Chun Yip, Traumatic rectal perforation by an eel, Surgery, Volume 135, Issue 1, January 2004, Pages 110-111”.

The sea cucumber, which has been an appreciated traditional food item along the coasts of South East Asia for many generations, is now beginning to show up on dinner tables across the globe. The vast majority of the captured sea cucumbers are however still devoured in South East Asia and countries such as China and Japan are big importers of the delicacy.

This time of year, divers canvass the waters of Alaska in search of a particular species of sea cucumber for the export market; the long and warty Parastichopus californicus. Parastichopus californicus, also known as the giant California sea cucumber, has a soft, cylindrical body and can reach a length of 50 cm. The endoskeleton is found right under the leathery yellowish skin and five rows of tube feet extends from the mouth to the anus on the underside of the body.

giant California sea cucumber

In Alaska, sea cucumber catching is strictly regulated and a diver is not allowed to catch more than his or her daily bag limit. When an area opens during the cucumber season, the catchers have seven hours on Monday and four hours on Tuesday to collect their daily bag limit – 2,000 pounds per person. With one sea cucumber weighing 0.5 pounds or less, you can actually catch thousands of cucumbers without reaching your daily limit. Last year, 179 divers participated in the event, which is well below the authorized maximum of 389.

In most cases, only the skin of the cucumber is shipped off to Asia, not the entire animal. Before being exported, the skin is typically boiled and salted until it shrivels and turns black.

Exotic sea cucumber (giant California sea cucumber)

Enokitake Soup with Clams and Sea Cucumber

Ingredients

1.2 kg whole chicken (no skin)

1 large sea cucumber

30 g dried scallops

1 can clams

80 g fresh enokitake (golden needle mushroom)

30 g coriander leaves

salt and pepper

Method

1.) Cut the chicken into pieces. You can remove the bones or leave them, it’s up to you.

2.) Soak the sea cucumber and cut it into big pieces.

3.) Bring 2.5 litres of water to a boil in a pot.

4.) Add chicken, scallops and sea cucumber.

5.) Bring the water to a boil again.

6.) Reduce to low heat and leave to simmer until ingredients are tender.

7.) Add clams and enokitake.

8.) Add salt and pepper to taste.

9.) Bring to a boil.

10.) Place in soap bowls, sprinkle with coriander leaves and serve.