page_title: Swamp eel
section_title: In cooking
hierarchical_section_title: Swamp eel / In cooking
caption_attribution_description: English: Fried eel, or baluik goreng in Minangkabau, one of Minangkabau popular cuisine
context_page_description: The swamp eels are a family of freshwater eel-like fishes of the tropics and subtropics. Most species are able to breathe air and typically live in marshes, ponds and damp places, sometimes burying themselves in the mud if the water source dries up. They have various adaptations to suit this lifestyle; they are long and slender, they lack pectoral and pelvic fins, and their dorsal and anal fins are vestigial, making them limbless vertebrates. They lack scales and a swimbladder, and their gills open on the throat in a slit or pore. Oxygen can be absorbed through the lining of the mouth and pharynx, which is rich in blood vessels and acts as a "lung".
  Although adult swamp eels have virtually no fins, the larvae have large pectoral fins which they use to fan water over their bodies, thus ensuring gas exchange before their adult breathing apparatus develops. When about a fortnight old they shed these fins and assume the adult form. Most species of swamp eel are hermaphrodite, starting life as females and later changing to males, though some individuals start life as males and do not change sex.
context_section_description: In the Jiangnan region of China, swamp eels are a delicacy, usually cooked in stirfries or casseroles. The recipe usually calls for garlic, scallions, bamboo shoots, rice wine, sugar, starch, and soy sauce with prodigious amounts of vegetable oil. It is popular in the region from Shanghai to Nanjing. The Chinese name in pinyin of this dish is chao shan hu. The name of the swamp eel is shan yu or huang shan.
  In Assam swamp eels are considered a delicacy and prepared as curry or dry fry. It is believed there that these are good source of iron and good for blood deficiency.
caption: Fried swamp eel, usually eaten with spicy gravy, one of the most popular dishes in Minangkabau cuisine
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