Sunday, October 05, 2008

The Same Fish, 2 Different Dish(es)

I am about to blog about a fish which I don't even know its name although I suspect that it is from the threadfin family.
It is a really small fish, about 30 cm in length and probably 6-10 centimetres in diameter.
It's usually fried and you serve them in a bunch (since they're really small) and people like to dip the fish into cencaluk, sambal or homemade chili sauce to enhance the taste while they devour it.
Oh, I have to mention that it is a bony fish...yes, LOTS of bones indeed.
And now I remember, in Hokkien it's called the Chi Ya fish - anyone can tell me the English or scientific name?

I present to you, this little bony fish - in the Assam style done the Penang Nyonya way
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I know, it looks like some burnt or charred fish but seriously, one bite and you will savor the sourish and juicy taste of the little fish.
The practice is that everyone takes a fish each and put it on your plate - so, this is different from other fish. You can actually have the whole fish for your own!~
Not that it's such a big surprise, have I mentioned the fish is really small?:)
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Bony....it was really exhausting having to constantly extract the bones within your teeth and sometimes, you use something called 'your hand'

Another more popular version is the conventional fried version - which was the one where you dip in the chili paste sauce or whichever type of sambal you have.
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Really crunchy and crispy (do they exist in the same context?)
The golden brown color was not just colored in physical impression, it actually exude a highly aromatic fishy whiff in the air.

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*Sniff sniff*
Can you smell the fried fish in the air?

Of course, Auntie will never allow any indulgence in fish alone without any vegetables to complete the meal. It must be a balanced thing:)
And we had this vegetables...

I love this, really juicy and crunchy!!~
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Oh, for the love of fish...and 2 dishes of the same fish...
And can someone please please tell me the scientific name of Chi Ya?

P.S.: This fish is not cheap either, seriously, the prices have rocketed up high since the old days!
Scientific name, please?:D

14 comments:

  1. wow, you really love your fish, eh?

    i hardly cook fish...especially with bones...my audience just doesnt love it, although i enjoy cleaning up the bones sometimes hehe

    i'll end up eating them alone

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  2. I don't mind the burnt-charred look at all, I can tell that it's delicious.

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  3. Chi Ya fish is delicious. It's my favorite fish.
    My mum's dish in acar style is absolutely yummy and appetizing. Drooling now thinking about it.

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  4. Although the fish skin looks burnt, but the meat looks so tender lo... yummy

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  5. Anonymous10:01 PM

    Fuiyoh! My favourite fish! My mom always curse me when I crave for this fried fish. She's lazy to cut and clean the fish cause it is very small. So I usually volunteer to cut and clean for her.

    When my mom fry the fish, all the neighbor will come and ask what's cooking .... :D

    You make miss my mom's cooking .... this fish you seldom can find in any mix rice stall ....

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  6. Hie mocha, yeah...I am a fish person!! I can't believe why people don't like fish....it's much better than meat anyway...hehe:D
    If you decide to cook fish, call me and I will help you with it..the finishing part I mean:p

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  7. Hey cynthia, haven't seen you in a while..sorry I have been busy too but great to have you back:)

    And yeah, I can tell you, it's a whooping delicious fish:D

    little inbox, it's gone now...hmmm, I can check with auntie whether she still has anymore of the stock:)

    allie, YUMMY in echo!!:D

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  8. hey email2me, hahaha...yeah, I have to say that the cooking process exudes the aroma...and I have to agree that I can never find this fish despite it being a common and cheap fish:p
    Ermmm..it's no longer cheap too now:(

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  9. Cantonese people call it CHAI YUE ....

    The best part is the tail fins ... that's the first part to bite when you eat this fish ... :P

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  10. Hahaha....email2me, I am such a noob then..I only care about the flesh in the middle of a fish most of the time...:p
    Hmmm...sometimes the cheeks are good tooo...but the tummy area...that's..UGH;p

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  11. we love fish! delicious!

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  12. Wah.. I'm very picky in choosing what type of fish for my plate as I'm scare of them not being too fresh. I fish my own instead. :P

    Chia Ya Fish or Chia Hoo (Longfin Grey Mullet/Belanak Putih) is the best amongst the rest of its family (Mugil) such as Chiam Tao Wa Hoo (Greenback Grey Mullet/Belanak Rapang).

    Chia Hoo occasionally come into the coastal area of Gurney Drive in school of thousands but most people mistaken them from Chiam Tao Wa which have a more pointed head and not so smooth flesh.

    I hope this will answer your doubt? :P

    http://crizfood.blogspot.com/

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  13. YEAYYY BBO, *Slaps hi-5* :D

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  14. Criz, thanks thanks for the lengthy explanation! You're cool:D
    Now I know the name;)

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