Leio hoje no Diner's Journal que, depois do furor do Verão passado no Chelsea Market, o pirarucu está agora a fazer sensação em Nova Iorque:
One of the oldest, largest freshwater fish in the world — which breathes air and can spring out of the water — has landed in New York restaurants.
Paiche, also known as arapaima, can grow to 500 pounds in shallow, muddy waters in the Amazon. It is a popular fish in South America that’s endangered because of overfishing and deforestation. In Brazil, the commercial catch of the wild fish is banned.
But Sushi Samba in New York, Ocean in Miami and La Mar in San Francisco are serving farm-raised paiche with the help of CleanFish, a company that works with small producers to distribute sustainably harvested and farm-raised seafood. The fish is farmed by a private company, Amazone, that’s a division of a Peruvian conglomerate.
Paiche is now on the $33 prix fixe Restaurant Week dinner menu at both locations of Sushi Samba, and may stay on the menu later. Fernando Navas, the corporate chef of the Japanese-Latin fusion restaurants, is offering a miso-jalapeno glazed paiche with a mizuna and blood orange salad. He leaves the skin on before pan searing the fish, which has similar texture to cod and Chilean sea bass.
Mr. Navas first tasted paiche three months ago at Malabar, a high-end restaurant in Lima, Peru. The fish had a delicate texture and few bones, he said, adding that he was impressed by its versatility.
“It was a very strange form of fish when I saw a picture,” said Mr. Navas, who paid about $14 to $15 a pound for the fish, which is similar to Chilean sea bass. “I think it’s very exotic looking and better to eat.”
Alisha Lumea, a spokesperson for CleanFish, said: “The production is not very high right now. A big part of the project is to protect the species while introducing it to more people.”
Sobre a Arapaima
The Legend
Pirarucu was an indian who belonged to the Uaiás tribe that lived around the Lábrean plains in the Southwestern Amazon. He was a brave, but heartless warrior, even though Pindarô, his father and chief of the tribe, was a good man. Pirarucu was full of vanities, egoism and excessively proud of his power. While his father visited with friendly neighboring tribes, Pirarucu took advantage of his absence to take village people hostage and execute them for any reason. He also criticized the gods.
Tupã, the god of the gods, observed Pirarucu for a long time, until, tired of the man's behavior, he decided to punish Pirarucu. Tupã called Polo and demanded that he spread his most powerful lightening in the whole area. He also called Iururaruaçú, the goddess of torrents, and demanded that she provoke the strongest torrents of rain over Pirarucú, who was fishing along with other indians on the margins of the Tocantins river, not so far from the longhouse.
The fires of Tupã were seen throughout the forest. When Pirarucu saw the wild waters of the river, and heard the voice and felt the hate of Tupã, he just ignored them with a laugh and crazy words. Then, Tupã sent Xandoré, the demon that hates men, who threw lightenings and thunder that filled the air and cut it with sparks. Pirarucu tried to escape, but while he ran among the falling branches and trees, a lightening bolt sent by Xandoré, struck into the heart of the warrior who refused to ask for forgiviness.
All of those who were with Pirarucu ran from the jungle in total fright, while the body of Pirarucu, still alive, was taken to the depths of the Tocantins river and transformed into a giant and dark fish. Pirarucu remained there and for a long time he was the terror of the region.
link
link
BBC "Amazon The Flooded Forest":
link
Para saber mais:
"Características bioquímicas e hematológicas do pirarucu Arapaima gigas Schinz, 1822 (Arapaimidae) de cultivo semi-intensivo na Amazônia" – por Gustavo Valadares Fonseca Drumond, Ana Paula de Almeida Caixeiro, Marcos Tavares-Dias, Jaydione Luiz Marcon e Elizabeth Gusmão Affonso.
in Acta Amazônica, vol.40 no.3, Manaus, Setembro de 2010.
link
Giant Arapaima that you probably will see it LIVE in front of your eyes.
Place : Lye Huat Garden (http://www.lyehuatgarden.com.my/html/ly
Location : Napoh, Kedah Darul Aman
Country : West Malaysia
0 comentários:
Postar um comentário