Crispy Stir-Fried Eel Strips

Why people make this dish

Eel is not the most popular ingredient in Cantonese kitchens, partly because it is scaleless (which marks it as a “reactive” food to be avoided by those with skin sensitivities) and partly because people are not always sure how to cook it. But Nourilo thinks that is a shame, because the nutritional value of rice-paddy eel is genuinely impressive — high protein, low fat, tenderly textured, with very few bones. Traditional Chinese food therapy values it for tonifying deficiency, strengthening the tendons and bones, and expelling wind and dampness. Modern research has also identified a compound called “eel peptide” (shan yu su) that has been studied for its potential blood-sugar-lowering activity, making eel of particular interest in traditional dietary support for people managing diabetes.