[Gray Anchovy (market); Cá Com Than (Viet);
Stolephorus chinensis]
Buying:
These can sometimes be found in the freezer cases of large Asian markets. The photo specimen, from Vietnam, was purchased from a large Asian market in Los Angeles (San Gabriel) for 2016 US $2.62 per pound. It was from a frozen batch packed on a foam tray sealed in a plastic bag, 14 ounces.Cooking:
Clearly you are not going to be filleting this fish except under a microscope. This is a fish to fry crisp and eat "head guts and feathers" - not an exact fit to the the delicate sensibilities of the baby spinach set.- Heat oil for deep fry - it doesn't have to be really deep for these fish. I fry in an Indian Kadhai, which has the best geometry for keeping oil in the pan, not on the stove.
- Rinse the fish and drain thoroughly in a strainer.
- Mix salt to taste with rice flour or sweet potato flour. Dump fish and flour into a paper bag and shake the bag until fish are evenly coated.
- Pour the fish out into a strainer and shake the strainer over a plate until as much flour as is going to fall off falls off.
- Fry fish in batches that don't crowd the pan. Use a durable oil like Olive Pomace at about 375°F/190°C. Fry until crispy and lightly colored (exact color will depend on the type of flour you use). You can tell they're done when the amount of sizzling declines.
- Serve with a liquid dipping sauce and/or lemon wedges. Anchovies are strong flavored fish, so a dip with fairly intense flavor is good, with maybe a touch of sweetness to counter the slight bitterness of the fish.