"When your food stares back at you" 파란눈으로 보는 한국 생선의 측은한 눈길

In dining with friends who are not familiar with Korean food, I am often asked about the eyes. I mean "the eyes", as in "Here's looking at you, baby" kind of eyes. They invariably would tell me that eyes or head left on the fish, bother them. It does decrease their enjoyment, they would say. Perhaps, their aversion may ameliorate, if they heard the whole fish tale. In many Asian culinary traditions, preserving or re-creating of the former living self of the fish has been a necessary part of culinary training as well as a showcase of the chef's skill. Every part of the fish is always used in preparation of the dish. A hwe (sashimi; thinly sliced raw fish) plate is prepared fresh, using the fish the customer just chose from the large aquarium. The fish is, then, prepared with minimal preparation; filleted, & skillfully paper-thin sliced. The hwe slices are artfully arranged back on the fish carcass & presented on a porcelain plate on a mound of thinly sliced fresh radish. This beautifully presented dish is presented with a spicy dipping sauce; wasabe-based, soy sauce-based, or gochoojang-based. Since the customer just paid a large sum of money to ensure the fish's freshness, he or she would like to have what they had paid for. Hence, the use of the remainder of the fish on the plate as a "CSI" identification purposes. Sometimes, you can even see the fish's muscle still twitching. It is that fresh. Now, I understand that this is a bit bizarre to many western eyes, but for cultures where fish has been a large part of their diet, it is understandable that different sets of standards develop. Remaining carcass is not discarded, of course. Rather, it is made into a delectable spicy or non-spicy stew/soup on the spot. In fish markets, it is customary that customers get the fish head along with the main part of the fish when the fish manger guts, cleans, & quarters the fish. There are also more esoteric recipes specifically created for fish heads; most commonly that cod fish. Koreans believe that every part of the fish has its own flavor and texture, even the head. Surprisingly it does, it does have slightly distinctive taste & the cheek meat is delightful. When I eat cod eye balls in front of my western friends, they invariably cringe at the sight. But it is not quite like Bear Grylls eating raw eyeballs from a dead wild ram carcass for survival (if you ever watch Man vs Wild on Discovery).  For Korean food, it is a matter of frugality, practicality, & culinary creativity. As for those mini eyes of the dry anchovies, you are on your own. Taste it, you may like it. For the record, the eyes are not gazing into your beautiful sympathetic eyes. The last thing they saw was a day in the school, admiring the hind pins of this hot new fish in the school. Thank them for letting us nourish our bodies & we move on.
*CSI=Cut Sashimi Investigation.