Don’t do that…

I love these salted fish!…

Sometimes, they will give you ONE with your nasi lemak, just ONE…

…but sometimes, two…

…if you are lucky, though not all the time, and I always enjoy eating them with the rice and everything else.

I managed to get them at the neighbourhood fruit & vegetable shop in the next lane from my house at RM3.00 a packet. I do remember buying them from the supermarket at the junction near my late parents’ house at only RM2.00 a packet but the way the prices of virtually anything and everything are shooting up, I am not in the least surprised. I’m not too sure now but I think there were more than these…

…in a packet.

Anyway, like what we would always do with salted fish, prior to cooking them, we would soak them in water…

…so if they are too salty, that will help remove the excess salt and make eating them a lot more enjoyable.

I deep-fried them till nice and crispy…

…but much to my disappointment, they were not salty AT ALL!!!

Oh dear!!! I guess they were originally not that salty so there was no need to soak them in water. I suppose it would be enough to just rinse them well to remove whatever “impurities” that may be clinging on to them – after all, in the process of making them, they will dry them in the sun, exposed to the air and the dust and everything and there will be lots of “unidentified flying objects” dropping by and leaving behind their deposits.

Actually, the ones that I had with my nasi lemak were always quite salty. I guess I shall just have to drop by the shop to grab another packet and see if it is better if I do not soak them in water. In the meantime, I shall just enjoy eating these…like eating crispy deep-fried fresh fish. Sighhh!!!