Eat or Run? Would You Eat This Controversial Dish That is Both Dead and Alive?

The Yin and Yang Fish is a controversial seafood delicacy where the body of a fish is cooked while the head is kept fresh so that it moves its mouth and eyes while its body is being eaten.

The dish was invented in the early 2000s by a Taiwanese chef from Chiayi City who developed a special technique of cooking fish fast enough that the mouth and eyes of its raw head still twitched when it is served.

The special preparation of the Yin and Yang dish is as follows: the scales of the live fish are carefully removed without hurting the fish. Then the head of the fish is wrapped in a towel with ice cubes and its body immersed in hot oil and fried for about two minutes.

The fish is carefully mounted on a big plate, covered with sweet and sour sauce, and is served to the not so faint-hearted diners since its mouth and eyes still move due to uncontrolled nerve spasms.

It is a downright disturbing experience as diners using chopsticks poke and consume the body of the fish as the mouth and eyes move for half an hour while eating it.

But for the customers who want fresh fish, they get a fish that is both dead and alive but well it ain’t exactly kicking.

This type of Chinese cooking tradition requires freshness as well as speed is key since you cannot hurt the its internal organs for the fish to stay alive for at least 30 minutes when you serve it.

Despite the Yin and Yang fish dish being banned in Taiwan after a public outcry from animal rights activists, it is still being adopted, prepared and served in China to date.

I guess not all of us share the same food tastes and it is even worse for anyone sensitive about animal cruelty.