Monday 27 February 2017

Spicy Sweet and Sour Fish


I heard someone say that fish is brain food. Apparently it can boost your memory. I do wish that I had eaten more fish in my younger days. 

When I was in university, there were 6 departments in the faculty of Life Sciences (Sains Hayat) - Zoology, Botany, Biochemistry, Genetics, Nuclear Science and Dietetics. 

You cannot simply choose which area of study you wanted because it all depended on your exam results. If you performed very badly, your fate lay with the Zoology or Botany department. 

If you wanted to study Dietetics (Food Science), you had to do much better.

Not meaning to be offensive, it was a general rule of thumb that the most stupid (I do not agree that poor results mean you are stupid) are relegated to the Zoology and Botany departments while the most clever among the stupid are shipped into Genetics.


That was my first choice - Genetics. My friends were incredulous. Why? Why? Why not Dietetics? (the most coveted among the departments) they cried.

Quite honestly, I was rather snooty towards Dietetics because I thought that studying about food and nutrition was so...... so....... ordinary. But genetics - DNA, gene therapy, molecular and cellular genetics - that was a lot more happening. 


Sadly, circumstances prevented me from furthering my interest in that field and here I am frying fish.

I could have earned a doctorate. Become Dr Phong Hong. Nominated for a Noble prize for my contribution to mankind. For discovering how to switch off the fat gene. But that's life. Man proposes, God disposes. 

Spicy Sweet and Sour Fish
Recipe source : Adapted from Sajian Istimewa Shariah Abdullah (page 32)

Ingredients :
- 1 ikan siakap (seabass)
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp salt

- 1/4 each red, green and yellow capsicum, diced
- 1/2 Japanese cucumber, diced
- 1 tomato, diced

Sauce ingredients mixed together :
- 3 tbsp tomato ketchup
- 1 tbsp plum sauce
- 1 tbsp light soya sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tsp tapioca starch + 1 tsp water

Blended :
- 1 big onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 slices ginger
- 1 heaped tbsp chili paste

Method :
1. Rub fish with turmeric powder and salt.
2. Fry the fish and set aside on a serving plate.
3. Saute the blended ingredients until aromatic.
4. Add sauce ingredients and bring to a boil.
5. Add capsicum, cucumber and tomato. Stir to mix.
6. Pour sauce over the fish and serve.

45 comments:

  1. I love fishes and I have been a fish lover since I was very very small. And my mum even caught me tried to eat uncooked fish in the fridge when I were small. Lol. That is a story I never forget.

    Love your fish. I could finish it up by myself.

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    1. hah..hah...you had an early start to sushi :D

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  2. Saya boleh ratah habiskan seekor seorang! Sedap!!!!!

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  3. I see you've conquered your phobia of frying fish...good, coz fried fish is so delicious to eat though I don't usually fry whole fish, I prefer to fry fish fillets (easier to handle). I thought those little specks on top of your fish was lemongrass at first but then, when I scrolled down, I didn't see it as part of the ingredients.

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    1. That's progress for me hee..hee... Those bits are bunga kantan and they weren't supposed to be there :)

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  4. Masuk bloh PH ni dh siap dinner...tp terus lapar balik tgk siakap sweet sour ni..

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    1. hee..hee..Lina kena masuk dapur makan lagi...

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  5. Your sweet and sour fish sounds so delicious and looks very mouth watering. Sure can eat more rice with it!

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    1. Thanks, Ann :) I love to scoop all the veggies and gravy on my rice.

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  6. Wakakakaka! You just made me laugh so hard at this silly Dr.Phong Hong having to fry fish today. LOLOL

    I love to eat deep fried fish like this with gravy. No wonder my memory is the best in my entire clan.

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    Replies
    1. LOL! It's not too late for me to eat more fish.

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  7. Going KL now, reserve a small portion for me, hehe...

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  8. you have made me so curious. how did you end up becoming a chartered accountant when you started out studying genetics in university? i think you are much better off being a chartered accountant than a boring scientist.

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    Replies
    1. That's a long story :) Maybe I write about it one day. I guess every job has its downside.

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  9. Fish is not my first love no wonder my memory is not so good LOL

    Your post reminds me of my school days, I love books and studying, no wonder I am into teaching now

    It should be interesting to studying about DNA and molecules but I am not a Science person, no wonder I dropped my Chemistry and just managed to pass my Physics during school days

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  10. wish you this Nobel prize! nobody knows what will happen:)

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  11. I have not had sweet and sour fish for a long time. When you use corn flour as a thickener, the gravy becomes cloudy. What about tapioca flour or potato flour?

    Some fish are not advisable to consume on a regular basis eg tuna and shark. It has a lot of heavy metal.

    Genetics, as I understand is a tough course to pursue. In one leading London university, students can only embark on the course by invitation only. The ones that did the course found it very hard.

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    1. Tapioca flour and potato flour will also give you cloudy gravy.

      Genetics also involves quiet a bit of mathematics like statistics and probabilities - not my favorite part of the course.

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  12. sedap, selalu juga buat masakan ni di rumah

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    Replies
    1. Kalau tiap2 hari pun PH suka hee..hee...

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  13. This really looks mouth watering.

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  14. Oh my! That looks absolutely gorgeous. Sure, all the restaurant ones, no fight at all.

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  15. I'm not even enter an university ~>_<~ But how if a person don't like animals (like myself) arranged to go in Zoology :P

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    1. If I had to do zoology, I will pengsan straight away >.<

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  16. Hahaha what a story to accompany your fish post!

    If I am as clever as you, I probably choose genetics. Sounds more fun! And susah.

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    Replies
    1. hee..hee... Genetics is very interesting and exciting.

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  17. Hahahaha, lawak you ini. takpa how clever that person kena juga pergi dapur, sebab hari-hari mau makan..

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  18. Good afternoon Dr. PH! Genetics, dietetics, botany.. zoology, all also I not qualified, only good in drooling and eating what others cook.. hahahaaa

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    Replies
    1. hah..hah..that is the best job - drooling and eating. I must retire first!

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  19. Hi Phong Hong, I see that you have added some chopped torch ginger. Must be extra fragrant.

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  20. Neverla PH, tk jadi doktor pun, doktor masak2 pun ok what, tau which one berkhasiat or not. Who know one day you have your own healthy product, right, hehe.

    Sweet sour siakap, ai always masak during ramadhan.

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  21. Ha ha...while in school, just waiting to finish school to start work. But when working, wishing to go back to school again...that is life. I love spicy, sweet sour fish any time especially when the fish is crispy fried!

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    Replies
    1. My best and most enjoyable academic years were the ones in university :)

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  22. Wuih...... tekenang kisah silam nampaknya tu hihi...
    Ni mmg menu faveret i ni PH. Kalau ada ikan siakap kat rumah, mmg inilah antara menunya, sebab senang nak buat haha....
    Anak anak pun suka. Senang kerja mak...

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    Replies
    1. hee..hee... Nanti PH nak beli ikan siakap lagi, Hainom. Nak try siakap 3 rasa plak.

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