  We use the Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck model with a momentum-dependent
nuclear mean field to simulate the dynamical evolution of heavy ion collisions.
We re-examine the azimuthal anisotropy observable, proposed as sensitive to the
equation of state of nuclear matter. We obtain that this sensitivity is maximal
when the azimuthal anisotropy is calculated for nuclear composite fragments, in
agreement with some previous calculations. As a test case we concentrate on
semi-central $^{197}{\rm Au}\ +\ ^{197}{\rm Au}$ collisions at 400 $A$ MeV.
