Frozen Split Golden Yellow Croaker

Opened flat along the backbone and pressed out, so it cooks evenly in a pan and lifts out in one piece. Same sweet, fine-grained flesh as a whole fish, but with a fraction of the bones and none of the guesswork about doneness at the centre.

What It Is

Golden croaker, butterflied: split down the back, opened flat and cleaned, with the head left on. The fine pin bones along the frame are largely worked out during the split.

Where It Comes From

Caught in the western Pacific and split at the shore plant before blast-freezing. Doing the cut before the freeze, rather than after, is what keeps the flesh from losing moisture during the process.

Specifications

• Cut: butterflied flat, head on, cleaned
• Net weight: 2 kg per box
• Bones: main frame removed, few fine bones left
• Skin: glossy gold, unbroken across the split
• Thickness: even across the flat so it cooks at one rate

Condition on Arrival

Raw and frozen flat, stacked with film between so the pieces lift apart. Arrives sealed with gel ice in an insulated liner, hard frozen with no bent or broken edges.

Storage

Keep at -18 C or colder. Thaw in the refrigerator on a rack, skin side up, so it drains. Cook within a day of thawing and do not refreeze.

Shelf Life and Cold Chain

Best before 18 months from the production date on the box. Kept frozen from split to delivery, with no partial thaw in transit.

How to Cook It

Dry the skin, salt it lightly and lay it skin down in a hot pan with a little oil; the flat shape means it needs no weighting and no flipping acrobatics. Give it four to five minutes on the skin, then thirty seconds on the flesh side. It also takes a light soy and ginger braise, or a short stay on a hot grill skin side down. Because it is thin, it overcooks quickly, so pull it as soon as the thickest part turns opaque.

Allergens and Compliance

Contains fish. Packed in a facility that also handles crustaceans and molluscs. Not suitable for anyone with a fish allergy. This is a food product and no health, medical or nutritional claim is made for it.