28 February

Had a great time lazing about eating Maranydjalk (stingray) at Gunyangara with the Gurruwiwi family today. This time, I actually enjoyed eating the stingray. See the problem is getting over the way it is prepared I think. Last time I ate it, I was just told about it, so I had a harder time getting my head around putting raw liver mashed up in flesh into my mouth, but this time, I watched the preparation.

First the liver is removed from the body, then the whole stingray is boiled in salt water collected from calm ocean water. When its finished cooking, the meat is separated from the skin, cartilage and other undesirable body parts. During this separation process, the meat is rinsed repeatedly with ocean salt water. Meanwhile, the bile is carefully removed from the liver. Its important not to puncture it, because that stuff is nasty. Its incredible to remove it because the bright green of the bile is tucked inside the pink liver, its a beautiful contrast once you suss it out! Once the bile is tossed out, the raw liver is rinsed in saltwater and then mixed in with the rest of the meat.

The plain meat without the liver tastes a little like crab, and the raw liver tastes a little like, hmm, maybe like really fresh yellowtail sushi, you know, when it melts in your mouth like butter? So when the two are combined together the liver adds the buttery-ness to the rest of the flesh and its actually pretty good!

I'm sorry that I don't have any pictures of this, but I was in the moment and didn't want to ruin the experience by introducing a camera. There will be another time, Maranydjalk is a Yolngu favorite!