Scarborough Fair…

No, I did not go to Scarborough nor did I go to any fair, just that the lyrics of the song go like this:
Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary & thyme…
and that day, when I wanted to cook a slab of salmon that I had in the freezer, I rubbed the skin with some salt and pepper and some rosemary and thyme…

…and that brought the second line in the wordings to mind but no, I did not use any parsley or sage even though I do have those two spices in my rack.

I bought two pieces of the fish here, one a little smaller – around two-thirds of this one, I think – sometime ago before our Chap Goh Meh steamboat dinner. I can’t remember how much they cost now but the most expensive item in the list that day was the box of mussels, RM35.00, which was quite reasonable as there were so many of them in it so my guess is that the two pieces of salmon cost a little less than that.

Well, if we go for a salmon dish outside, it may cost a bomb like this one that my girl had once, RM38.00 and it was burnt, the skin part, that is…

*Archive photo*

…and this slice at the since-closed-down place…

*Archive photo*

…set me back by RM39.90 so it certainly makes a lot more sense to go and buy and cook our own.

Well, the problem is quite frankly, I did not know how to cook the fish as I had never cooked it before so I went and watch a video clip on youtube. It seemed that after drying it well, I would have to fry it skin side down in hot oil…

…and in the meantime, I would have to splash the oil onto the top side to cook it. Once the skin was crispy enough and nicely done, I had to move the fish to let it stand and cook a bit on its sides and that was it!

I was afraid that it would be overcooked…

…and my girl would not like that. That was what happened when the mum cooked the other slice prior to this. We’re so used to deep-frying ikan bawal (pomfret), kembong or whatever – just throw in and let it fry!

I thought the top half did look a little too well-done…

…but the bottom section seemed quite o.k…

Well, my girl had that for her dinner and she loved the crispy skin and she said no, it was not overcooked, just nice. Phewwwwwww!!! However, we could not detect the scent or fragrance of the rosemary and thyme…unfortunately.

I still had three of the mussels left so I cut them into halves to fry some thinly-sliced leek with egg…

…and yes, it was very nice. This one wasn’t much of a problem, not at all.

I think I’ve cooked all that I bought before Chinese New Year and Chap Goh Meh now…finally!