I’ve seen this kind of colorful fish a couple times at a market. I find it a bit odd because usually tropical colored fish are not good for consumption (this looks like it’d be more fit for an aquarium than a dinner plate). But it has me curious, so what is it, how’s it cooked and how does it taste?
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it looks like a parrot fish, its a mild fish, i like it steamed with ginger and soy, its also nice grilled with a Caribbean jerk rub.
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Yes, it’s called Parrotfish, and this is a pretty common fish for consumption around tropical island areas, such as Okinawa and Taiwan, of course.
There are numerous ways to consume this fish, including sashimi.
With these tropical fish, we have to be aware of Ciguatera poisoning.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2579736/
Ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) is a foodborne illness affecting humans worldwide. Humans acquire this illness by eating reef fish containing the naturally occurring toxins, ciguatoxins. Multiple ciguatoxins have been identified, but in this paper ciguatoxins will be referred to collectively as “CTX.” CTX is derived from benthic dinoflagellates of the genus Gambierdiscus, growing predominantly in association with macroalgae in coral reefs in tropical and subtropical climates. The toxin is transferred through the food web as the algae are consumed by herbivorous fish, which are consumed by carnivorous fish, which are in turn consumed by humans.
But as far as I heard from a local fisherman, Taiwan doesn’t have reefs around us. So generally, these tropical fish are safe for consumption.
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