I was eating some japanese rice party mix, and I found a battered and fried whole sardine. Is the food okay?

Question

It wasn't mentioned in the ingredients, it has eyes and everything.

Answer 1

It was probably an anchovy, not a sardine.  Dried fish are common snack items in Asian diets, so don't worry and be happy that it wasn't a fried and battered insect or something worse.

Answer 2

if it was a sardine, you can get them in oil in a can.  My dad used to have sardine sanwiches.  Of course, they can't "de-bone" a sardine cuz its too tiny and soft.  Just don't look it in the eye.  that's probably why it was battered.  Not much different than having battered shrimp.  Different cultures have different tastes.  went to dim sum with chinese friends and what i thought was an aspic was jellied blood cubes.  Nothing goes to waste i guess

Answer 3

As what Lobo said, it's probably dried anchovy, it's rather small right? In my mind's eye, I was seeing a whole sardine of the same size as tinned sardines, if yes your snack bag must be a supersize serving! Dried anchovies are a very common snack item & cooking ingredient in many Asian countries, it's high in calcium and good for you.

Answer 4

Sardines are processed whole and the bones soften so they can be eaten.

I think I may try some in the future, next time I have the deep fryer on, to make Fish 'n Chips.

Answer 5

there shouldnt be anything wrong with it, but its up to u whether to eat it or  not

Answer 6

Eat it, it's good for you. Whole sardines are rich in calcium.

Answer 7

I am a former chef and worked in japan and they are common in some snack mixes, they are also used for a broth similar to "dashi" for a rich soup stock.

I am a bit surprised you only found the one, I used to eat them as a bar snack with beer mugs of cold sake when I worked in Tokyo, it is almsst like the prize in a cracker Jack box if there was only one.

What may have happen as like here if you read the ingredients to some foods and snack they warn they were processed in a factory with nuts or dairy or other ingredients that could have allergic reactions to some, it could have been like that with the Snack mix and the machinery was not cleaned or it just was lodged in the portioning part of the factory, and dropped in by mistake, they are very strict in Japan about food ingredients lists.

Answer 8

Mmm. I really like the small fish that are dried and salted, whole. If the sardine was fried and dried, you'll live. If it was fried and still moist (and smelled worse than it sounded), then where on earth did you get the mix?