C’mon man! You can do better than this!

Where are the sardines (sardalye)? They’re not my personal favorite but people care so much about them that they even organize Sardine Festivals in Gallipolli.

Sardines are the fish of Marmara Sea and Dardanelles.You can fry them or cook them in the oven with vegetables but the best way to cook sardines is “boklu kebap”, which roughly means filthy kebab. The reason why it is filthy is that you don’t take the innards or backbones of the fish. You also keep the scales on but it’s better to wash the fish carefully.

The secret of boklu kebap is you roll the fish in grape leaves and grill them (preferably on coal). When they’re done, you unroll the leaves and the scales also come off on the leaves. Innards have a tremendous effect on the taste, yet they smell a bit too much while cooking, so most people cook “boklu kebap” outside, like in garden barbecues.

And, here’s the catch, never touch your sardines with your fork, eat with your hands. Using cutlery is the most unforgivable insult that you can direct toward your food 🙂 Afiyet olsun! 🙂

Fish in Istanbul is soooo cheap! You should have included the price per kilo in your article.

what about lufer (bluefish), king of all Bosphorus fish? Or kalkan (turbot) which is far far superior to the ocean turbot? mackarel, sardines, sole… and so many more.
and besides what’s wrong with lamb?

So what’s the fish in all the fish sandwiches off the the boats at the Galata Bridge?

That’s mackerel(uskumru in Turkish) imported from Scandinavia. Some vendors are honest but others try to pass it as bonito of the Bosphorus. You can not eat bonito for 4 liras.

Turkey imports fish? That’s like Saudi Arabia importing sand! You learn something new everyday…

I’m afraid that Ansel & Yigal will face the wrath of istavrit gods in the afterlife, among others.

Lufer is the real king of the all seas. He has a character, independent, lawless, wild and contumacious. So you feel those tastes in lufer…

I second Sender’s vote for the Lufer! I can’t comment on the lufer’s character, but it’s certainly the hit of any party when it comes off the grill.

And don’t forget Lagos. It’s a very popular fish with wealthy folk in the south and southwest. Typically prepared as a sort of stew (buglama) and expensive which is why its considered an extravegance.

Not mentioning Hamsikoli (hapşikol) ? It shouldn’t be missed here if you are talking about hamsi dishes. Hamsikoli isn’t well known like other Black Sea region dishes Muhlama, sarma, lahana, etc. for the people who are not from Eastern Black Sea region. It’s a corn meal pie or bread with veggies (Swiss chard, leek, onion, spring onion, parsley, tomatoes), salt, black pepper, veggie oil and hamsi.

Lüfer should definitely be on the list! I have been to a lot of countries around the world, but there seems to be no other fish tasting better than Lüfer. But unfortunately due to excessive hunting, it was really hard to find Lüfer for reasonable prices in the recent years. Since there is great demand to Lüfer family, Fishermen hunt Çinekop and Sarıkanat extensively, which are the youngsters of Lüfer. So it becomes harder to find Lüfer since the babies can’t spend enough time in the sea to grow and be Lüfer. Sadly, it has become kind of a vicious circle…

Cinekop???

Stuff it with a bay leaf, 2 slices of lemon and a little onion in aluminum foil and put it in the oven and this monkey’s gone to heaven.

love the article on fish but how about some suggestions on where to eat it. What are the best seafood restaurants?