The other day, I blogged about the New Zealand hake fish that we bought. We did not really enjoy it oven-baked/grilled and we decided to try some other way of cooking the other piece that we had.
No, we did not think we would like it steamed either and knowing my girl so well, I was quite sure she would love it coated with batter or bread crumbs and deep fried a la fish &chips. The mum went for the latter…
…and yes, it was very nice, enough for the three of us for two meals – it was not a very big piece for some RM26.00 or so but considering that a plate of that VERY thin slice of New Zealand hoki (plus rice and pickles) at our local Sarawak franchise is currently on promotion at RM9.90 a plate, this does not seem all that expensive after all.
Incidentally, I now patronise a seafood (fish & prawn) stall by the side of The Grand Wonderful Hotel building. The lady will only be there if there is a fresh supply of fish – she wanted to give me her contact number so I would be able to call and find out if she would be there or not but I said it was all right. I stay close by and can always hop over to check anytime.
For one thing, the lady is very friendly and when I buy those huge prawns, I would ask her to pick for me and she would choose the best ones, no need to get my fingers all smelly. That day, I bought a kilo at only RM40.00 and I got 40 of those crustaceans altogether, only RM1.00 each. I used to buy at the shop near my house, over RM40 a pack (RM60.00 a kilo), assorted sizes and I would get over 20 only, over RM2.00 each and most were not really big! Incidentally, I also bought a kilo of the regular-sized ones, RM16.00 a kilo, I think. It went up to some RM18.00 to RM20.00 at the central market at one time.
Other than that, there are very few/no customers so there is no problem whatsoever when it comes to physical distancing. If there is somebody there, we can just wait a while – let him or her buy and leave before we approach the stall. The aforementioned shop in the next lane is getting a bit too crowded these days even when it is still so early in the morning so I do not feel all that comfortable stopping to pick up anything that I may need.
Well, it so happened that that morning, the lady had filleted some bay kar/ikan tenggiri (mackerel) and scraped off the flesh/meat for making fish balls. No, she did not season it – she only sells it like that with specific instructions to defrost and add one’s own salt and msg when one wants to cook it. I bought quite a lot – with the RM10.00 pack, we were able to come out with this big pot of fish ball soup with tang hoon (glass noodles)…
My missus just added a bit of salt, no msg and whipped it till really very QQ and boy, it was really fresh and sweet, so very nice!!!
Actually, ever since I saw the photo that day of the gorgeous tod mun pla (Thai fish cakes) that my missus cooked sometime ago, I was wishing we could have those again but unfortunately, she thought otherwise. Maybe she did not have all the ingredients and actually, I guess one deep-fried dish would be enough for the day so she cooked soup with it instead. Well, I still have a few packs in the freezer so hopefully, we can have that Thai delight some other day.
We had some daun sup (Chinese celery) in the house so we used that to garnish the soup and saved the spring onions that I had harvested and chopped…
…for another day.
The fish stall is located to the right of CCL FRESH MINI MARKET against the wall at the end of the block to the right of the Grand Wonderful Hotel (2.309601, 111.845163) along Jalan Pipit, off Jalan Dr Wong Soon Kai, on your left just before the Petronas petrol station a short distance from Delta Mall. You can also go in via Lorong Pipit 4, turning left into the lane at the junction where Starbucks Sibu is located and go straight ahead from there.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
Yupe! My family has always preferred mackerel for our fishballs too. 😀
Everybody does.
Yes, I always love those bay kar fishballs with tang hoon. Here also, a small packet of mackerel fish paste cost at RM10.00. Always have a packet or two in the freezer for use when making meatballs or the fillings for young tofu to hold them together.
The RM10.00 ones I bought were quite big, the RM5 ones would be just right for fish ball soup, lunch and dinner, no need for so much. Here, I rarely come across fish sellers selling the paste like this – you want, you buy the fish and make your own. They may help you to debone, that’s all.
I also bought a packet of fish paste before, also cost RM10 here near my area… I mixed it with some minced meat and green onions… yes, the soup will be sweet and nice, eaten best with noodles!!
Interesting, Hoki is one of the cheapest seafood here hence it is used in a lot of fish and chips shop.
We feel it is nicer than this hake but hake’s not bad too.
I think the garnish on the soup can really bring out the flavour. I always like to add a little something.
Amazing what a pinch of chopped spring onion…or fried shallots…or Chinese celery…can do to clear soup!
Those fish balls must be very fresh and tasty since it is handmade without msg. Yums!
Very. Nothing beats homemade – the factory-made ones are mostly flour…and artificial flavourings and preservatives CNA had a documentary on it.