Steamed Patin Fish (Catfish, Pangasious) with Special Soya Sauce Recipe

Patin fish is popular among most diners in restaurants but not many people would buy it fresh from the market to cook. There are many negative publications against this type of catfish (patin). Actually all species of catfish would eat virtually anything. Temerloh in Pahang is famous for it’s’ patin fish minus the mud smell which is common among freshwater fish that is caught in the wild. Patin fish have very fine flesh and full of fish oil. It is actually a very tasty fish. I bought this nice table size patin from the market and decided to steam it with light soya sauce. This recipe is similar to the brown sugar steamed fish recipe that I published recently.

Ingredients
Patin fish, 1 table size
Ginger, 2”x1”. Cut into strips
Garlic, 5 pcs, chopped finely
Light Soya sauce, 5 tablespoons
Sesame oil. ½ teaspoon
Vegetable oil
Parsley for garnishing
Sugar, 1 teaspoon

Put fish in steaming dish and add a few slices of ginger. Steam the patin fish under high heat for 25 minutes. You can prepare the sauce while the fish is in the steamer. Pour 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in to the frying pan. Sauté ginger and garlic until fragrant. Add light soya sauce, sesame seed oil and sugar. Add some water if the mixture is too salty. Pour the sauce on the steamed fish. Garnish with parsley and serve while steamed patin is still hot.

Simple Jacket Fish (Unicorn Fish, Ikan Barat) Curry Recipe

I love jacket fish (photo above) because it has bones that are rather thick compared to other type of fishes which have tiny bones. It is easy to remove the flesh of jacket fish from the bones after cooking. The flesh is sweet and the texture is nice too. This is the first time I cook jacket fish in curry. Not bad, almost compatible with kurau or grouper fish head curry! LOL!

Ingredients
Jacket fish, 1 pc
Fish Curry powder, 5 table spoons, make into paste by adding water
Mixed halba, 1 teaspoon
Long beans, 3 pcs, cut into 1 inch length
Coconut milk (santan), from ½ coconut
Onions, 2 pcs, cut into slices
Serai (lemongrass), 2 pcs, smashed
Tau fu pok (fried beancurd), 5 pcs
Salt to taste

Heat up work and sauté onions until they turned slightly golden brown. Add curry paste, serai and mixed halba. Put in the long beans. Add jacket fish and coconut milk. Bring to a boil and add salt to taste. Put in the taupok and boil for a short while. Serve with steamed rice.

Curry Assam Fish Head Recipe

Fish head is full of nutrients that are good for the skin. The best part is of course the lips and eyes which are full of collagen and Vitamin A. So, ladies if you want to have nice porcelain like complexion, then eat more fish head!.....especially curry fish head! LOL! I like to play around with the spices whenever I cook curry fish head. This is another version of curry fish head recipe. Check it out!

Ingredients
Kurau (Treadfin, Ma Yau) Fish Head (alternatively can use also Garoupa, Ikan Kerapu head), 1 pc
Shallots, 5 pcs
Curry powder, 5 table spoons
Turmeric Powder, 1 table spoon
Serai (lemon grass), 3 pcs
Assam Keping, 3 pcs
Lady Fingers, 5 pcs (Okra)
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste
Vegetable oil

Blend serai (lemon grass) and shallots together. Heat up wok and put in the vegetable oil. Sautéed serai and shallots mixture until fragrant, then add in the curry and turmeric powder. Put in the Assam Keping and add some water. Bring to a boil and add the Kurau Fish Head. Add in the okra (lady fingers), salt and sugar to taste.

Mr. Makario, My Daugher’s Pet Tilapia (St. Peter’s Fish, Tilapiine Cichlid)

This is my daughter’s pet fish. When I got it from the pet shop, it was about the size of a 20 cents coin. In fact it only cost me 20 sen each! I actually bought 10 red tilapias, but they fought among each other and this is the only one survive. Anglers would use small tilapia as bait fish. Since it is pinkish in colour, tilapia can attract the attention of predatory fishes like the Toman (Giant Snakehead). Tilapia (hong fei chow) is supposed to be a very hardy fish and they grow very fast. She named it ‘Makario’ (Male Greek name, for blessed). I am not sure whether the Mr. Makario is male or female. LOL! Makario would surface whenever it sees my daughter. When he is hungry he would push the bubble sinker against the wall to make some ‘tong tong’ sound. He reminds us of his feeding time! Smart fish! My little 22 months old toddler likes to put his hand in the water and play with Makario. Makario would not bite but I am worried that the sharp fins might poke his hands! Can you guess what my daughter’s response was when I said that since Makario has grown so big, it will make a good ‘Nyonya Assam Fish’ dish! He he he!

Traditional Turmeric Nyonya Assam Fish (Kurau or Stingray)

I have simplified this Nyonya dish to reduce the time taken to cook it. This dish is great to increase appetite on a hot day, especially to those who love hot, sour and spicy food. The secret to Nyonya cooking is how you balance the sweetness and sourness of the dish to your liking. Some families prefer their Nyonya dishes to be very sour but some prefer the food to be less sour but sweeter! Here is my recipe for Nyonya Assam Fish.

Ingredients
Kurau (Snapper) Fish Cut or Stingray, deep fried until golden brown.
Tamarind Juice from a table spoon of tamarind paste, add water to bring out the juice
Sugar to taste
Salt to taste

Blend
Shallots, 5 pcs
Fresh Kunyit (Turmeric), 1” (You can also use turmeric powder, 1 table spoon)
Fresh Chillies , 5 pcs (or chilli powder, 1 table spoon)
Belachan, ½”x1/2”x1/2”
Serai (Lemongrass), 2 stalks

Heat up 3 table spoons of oil in hot wok and sautéed the blended paste until fragrant. Add a cup of water and bring to a boil. Add tamarind juice, sugar and salt to taste. Put in the fried fish and let it cook for a short while. Serve dish with steamed white rice.
Related Post :
1) http://peteformation.blogspot.com/2009/01/fried-stingray-recipe.html