Monday 26 November 2018

Who Likes Sardines?


OK, confession time. When I was growing up, there was one thing that I disliked. It was canned sardines. Bleagh!! 

My mum is not the traditional sort and she used to serve us kids sandwiches and pastries for lunch. I had no complaints because it was quite a nice change from having rice all the time. Except when it came to the dreaded sardines.

Sardine sandwiches, sardine puffs, you name it, I hated it. And don't get me started about having sardines as a dish at the dinner table. When I was staying in a shared accommodation at university, my housemates were very kind to invite me for dinner one evening.


I don't usually eat with them because these girls do their own cooking and I opted not to join in. At the time, I wasn't into cooking and even now, I think it would have been a hassle juggling studies and preparing meals. I guess I was fortunate as I was studying locally and could eat at the hostel cafetaria.

One of the dishes prepared that evening was sardines cooked with asam jawa (tamarind) juice and sliced chilies. Adoi. To be polite I ate some. 

So why on earth am I cooking Nasi Goreng Sardin??? Because I saw the recipe on Azie Kitchen and I was convinced that it was delicious. Of course Kak Azie's post title (Nasi Goreng Sardin Sangat Sedap) was very suggestive and another word she used was kebabom (I suppose this is the Malay version of da bomb!).

OK. Another confession. I unknowingly ate sardines a while back in the form of curry puffs. I was hungry and bought the curry puffs from a van with no idea that they were filled with sardines. And do you know what? I liked it. It was so good. So good that I bought it again on another occasion.


So here I am. Cooking fried rice with canned sardines. Luckily I cooked extra because it was so good. There was enough for dinner and breakfast the next day.

Of course, being on carb control, I used grated cauliflower. I've changed my mind about sardines and who knows, there might be another recipe or two here using sardines.

Cauliflower Nasi Goreng Sardin (Cauliflower Sardine Fried Rice)
Adapted from : Azie Kitchen

Ingredients :
- 3 cups grated cauliflower
- 1 small carrot, cut into matchsticks
- 1 small can sardines, use the fish only
- 2 red chillies
- 1 red onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp light soya sauce

Method :
1. Lightly mash the sardines and set aside.
2. Pound or blend the chillies, onion and garlic.
3. Heat oil in a pan (I used my non-stick pan) and saute the blended ingredients until aromatic.
4. Add carrot and fry until almost tender.
5. Add grated cauliflower and stir fry to mix with the sauteed ingredients. Add soya sauce.
6. Continue to fry until the grated cauliflower is tender (test by eating a small bit) and add the mashed sardines. Mix to combine with the grated cauliflower.
7. Push the cauliflower rice aside and break the 2 eggs into the pan. Scramble until set and mix with the cauliflower rice.
8. Serve and enjoy!

26 comments:

  1. I’m one who just can’t accept the taste of sardines. I love curry puffs & only eat those who potatoes. Sardines don’t work for me somehow; I prefer Tuna. Hahaha! xoxo

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    1. LOL! Canned sardines are quite fishy and the texture too mushy.

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  2. I am the opposite. Grew up loving sardines. Now I seldom eat sardines, though I don't mind if I come across roti sardine, sardine in curry puffs, or sambal sardines. I hardly buy canned sardines now. Your fried rice with sardines sounds delicious.

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    1. I am sure many love sardines like you. I am starting to appreciate it.

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  3. Like Nancy, I likw to eat sardines in canes because I like the tomato ketchup taste and the sardines taste go well with it. Glad to know that you like to eat sardines now. Just curious, why did you dislike sardines since you were young? You ate some very bad tasting sardines before?

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    1. I don't know.... maybe I did not like the fishy mushy taste. But I can accept it now.

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  4. What a coincidence!!! I have sardine rolls in my blogpost today!!! Never tried it with fried rice though...but at one time, I cooked curry with it.

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    1. Cook curry with it? That's interesting!

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  5. Nasi goreng sardin, ofkos its yummy, sometimes i prepared it like no idea what to serve for dinner or brekfes..and my kids love it.


    Or, you have to try this.

    Sardin canned.
    Tempoyak.
    Cili padi.
    Bawang.
    Daun kesom.
    Terung jari(small one, warna hijau)

    The rest..its up to you lah how to prepare, hehe..

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the recipe ticer Azimah! Now tempoyak no stock lah. If I got chance to buy durian and make, then I will try this recipe.

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  6. I have not tried sardines in fried rice yet but i love sardine puffs, but not so much of canned sardines. So coincident i have vegetarian sardines in my blog and stp has sardine rolls in his.

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  7. I love sardines...always have! ;) When hard-pressed for time, opening a can of sardines and fry them with some sliced onions is a God-send. I've never tried it in fried rice before....I now must! ^.^ If you now enjoy sardines, you must try the fresh ones (you'd find them on menus of Spanish restaurants...they're so good, loads better than canned ones).

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    1. Ah.. now I remember! There is another type of sardines, packed in oil type. That one I love. Yes, I must try the fresh ones one day.

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  8. oops, confessions, i'm not a fan of canned sardines that we find in local hypermarkets too - generally the saltiness and fishiness just is too overpowering - but i like that we can conveniently eat their bones, heheh :D i'd be cautious when approaching sardine fried rice, but since i think i'd trust anything you cook, i'd probably enjoy this and request a second bowl :D

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    1. Thanks for your faith in me hah..hah... I agree that it is fishy. In fact, when I prepared it for the fried rice, I was a bit worried but it turned out really nice!

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  9. Saya suka sardin! Sardin penyelamat keadaan kalau tak ada masa nak masak he he heeee! Selalunya saya goreng mee hoon dengan sardin!

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    Replies
    1. Oh, macam tu PH pun mesti cuba goreng dengan mee hoon pulak :)

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  10. I love sardines. Both fresh and canned.
    Now canned sardines so expensive.... hahaha

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  11. I love sardines in everything especially the crispy baked pastry sardine puffs! So heavenly nice!
    While I could trumpet my love for sardines, I had my first yukky encounter when a friend in London invited me to eat his Assam Laksa for dinner. He used canned sardines and it tasted so awful which made my tummy turn! Bluek!

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    1. You have reminded me of the asam laksa served at Assunta secondary school back in the 80's. They used sardines though I have not eaten the laksa. My classmates mentioned it.

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  12. I like sardine (canned) but never try to add it into fried rice :P

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  13. Anak I selalu cerita kadang kadang kawan dia bagi dia rasa nasi goreng sardin mak kawan dia masak.... Sampai sekarang i belum try buat ....
    Tapi i mmg suka sardin LL so mmg sedaplah kan walau masak apa pun

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    Replies
    1. Cubalah Hainom. Tak sangka boleh sedap macam ni hah..hah..

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