Fish maw
| Alternative names | Fish sound
Translations
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| Type | Fish, offal | ||||||
| Associated cuisine | |||||||
| Main ingredients | Swim bladder | ||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||
| Chinese | 花胶 | ||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 花膠 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 魚肚 | ||||||
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Fish maw (also fish sound) is the swim bladder of a fish, eaten as offal. Typically dried or fried but also cooked from fresh, fish maw is largely collagen. It is a traditional food in cuisines dominated by fishing, and a particular delicacy in Chinese cuisine—one of the four sea delicacies—as well as a valued ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine. The modern demand for fish maw from Pacific Asia supports wildlife trade worldwide for quality fish maw, which has in turn led to wildlife smuggling and poaching.