One of the breakfast soups prepared for me on my last visit to the jungle was Chilcano de Carachama. Here is the step by step procedure for preparing and eating. Enjoy!
Meet the Carachama, an armored catfish.
Catch some carachama.
Some fine specimen, no?
Knock them on the head to kill them, then cut open the belly to clean it out.
Mash the garlic with a rock.
Add salt and mashed garlic to boiling water. (Okay, first arrange your “stove” and build a fire.)
Start adding the fish to the boiling water.
One by one.
Stand back. If you didn’t kill them well, they will splash.
Sachaculantro is added towards the end. Adjust seasoning, if necessary. Serve.
This is how *NOT* to eat the carachama.
Instead you must first remove the tail.
Tail removed? Now you can proceed.
Pull scales off the entire fish.
Eat the fish.
If you are lucky (like me!) you get the whole sack of eggs boiled right inside your fish. You can eat those too.
With that as breakfast, you’ve had a great start to the day!
interesting
I ve never seen that fish but maybe cause I m not that much into fish 
I had never seen it before either. Now, I have had my fill!
Beautiful fish, I actually don’t mind to have this in my pond, LOL.
That is pretty brutal way to kill the fish, no? Whack the head, and maybe still a bit conscious, then boil it in hot water, OUCH! I guess we just being spoil here in the western country, because in my father village, that’s how they kill the fish too…
Very interesting Gretchen, I think I can it this fish too!
Wait, maybe without the eggs inside, head and tail off. At the moment, I can’t eat anything if I still can see the eyes, you know what I mean.
Cheers,
Elra
Gretchen,
it’s me again what I meant was “I think I can eat this fish too” not “I think I can IT this fish too” LOL. That is what happen if you don’t check your spelling before hit the publish button.
Cheers,
No worries! I understood. I can imagine similar cooking methods in Indonesia.
That looks like an interesting breakfast. Nice pics:-)
The first picture scared me but
the next ones are really interesting.
Is that truth that they splashed in the boiling water? I can´t believe it.
Nice post:)
They really were splashing! She said to stand back because they will splash. And they did!!!
Great post, Gretchen – really interesting to see things in a different way than we’re used to seeing them here in the U.S.!
The fish, by the way, remind me of the catfish I used to have in my aquarium when I was young…just on a much bigger scale. They’re kind of scary but beautiful.
From what I read, they are considered “armored catfish” so I can imagine them to be similar to something you may have had. Were yours armored or the regular kind?
Gretchen,
This is what I love about visiting your blog. I can say that while I think I would have a hard time eating this soup (hate catfish of any type) I’m glad to be exposed to it.
Thanks Mary, that is great feedback. Sometimes I try to be like everybody else instead of doing what I know best.
This is fabulous! The fish is beautiful. It would be great to try this.
I love a saying Val at MoreThanBurntToast has posted on her blog:
Be yourself, everyone else is taken.
Every time I read it I have to laugh a little because it tickles something in me but it’s one you just know is true and right at the same time.
Oh, and I like the new look!!
Thank you! Thank you!
This is terrific! Thanks for a vicarious trip to the jungle on a cold, waiting-for-snow NY morning.
This reminds me of a comment from Carl Sagan in ‘Cosmos’ “To make an apple pie from scratch you must first create the universe”
A very, very interesting breakfast. I think it qualifies as ‘don’t try this at home’… at least, not in France!