Sardine's hand opening
With practice, anyone can do it easily. If possible, practice with fresh sardines. Master opening by hand and expand your cooking repertoire.
Scrape off the scales from the sardine with the back of a knife and cut off the head at an angle
Use a knife to remove some of the hard part of the belly (belly bone)
Insert your fingers through the cut in the belly and scrape out the innards
Wash the blood thoroughly with water
Hold the fish in your left hand and place the thumb of your right hand on the backbone. Slide your thumb along the backbone, opening it towards the tail. (If your thumb is not deep enough, the flesh will come off when you remove the bone in the next step. The key is to press firmly against the bone so that you can feel the presence of your right thumb on your left hand. However, be careful not to use too much force, as the flesh will tear.)
Once the fish is open, remove the tail bone and gently pull the backbone towards you
Once the backbone is removed, scrape off the remaining belly bones
If it looks like this, it's finished
[Reference]
You can also open the fish using only your hands without using a knife. Insert your thumb under the base of the neck to open the belly, scrape out the internal organs, wash them, and then open the fish along the backbone as described above. As you peel the backbone away from the tail, the head will automatically come off as it will stick to the bone.
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- sardine
- As much as you like


