Kazakhstan: Feasting on Fish at Lake Balkhash
Driving along the shores of Lake Balkhash (and it’s a long drive around it, nearly a full day), you see a lot of fishing villages and small stands selling fish in all shapes and sizes – mostly dried and salted. The fish species are mostly introduced (of the 20 endemic ones, only 6 remain), but plentiful and you can have your choice of perch, bream, carp, snakehead, or asp. Besides smoked and salted, we couldn’t help sampling some freshly grilled snakehead and asp caviar. Delicious, authentic, simple – that’s what real gastronomic exploration is all about!
