MAN vs FISH : ROHU-LIO Part II

Now that I've finally landed those beautiful Rohu, its time to cook and more importantly, EAT THEM!!!

When it comes to eating fish and any type of seafood, i consider myself a purist. The best way to enjoy really, really fresh fish (fresh like you hear it flip flopping in the throes of death in your freezer compartment) is with minimal cooking and flavouring. Hence, my two fave methods are Steaming and BBQ over hot coals. In case anyone missed the earlier posting (:p), here's them fishes again.

I have decided to call the biggest one (and the best fighter among them) Rohulio, in honour of my bro who celebrated his birthday this weekend!

So anyway, I was advised by my Sifoos (see earlier post) that Rohu are quite bony, with little fish fat. Hence, BBQ is the perfect way to enjoy them....Yeeaahhhhooooooo.....


With the help of my life partner and (makan only) fish aficionado, they were gutted and cleaned in quick order (setengah jam jugak laaa). A note about cleaning big ass fish, if you plan to BBQ em, i gotta slit their backs so it'll cook nice and even and fish stays somewhat whole.



Fish #1 was BBQed over open hot coals, with salt and pepper, and a light brush of blended ginger. Itu je...the results.... DEEEEEELIISSSHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!




Fish # 2 was stuffed with ginger slices, onion and lime wedges, wrapped in foil and left to cook in its own juices over aforementioned hot coals for about 20 mins .......sizzle sizzle sizzle goes the package. And the results ........ SEHINGGA MENJILAT KAKI!!!!!! (Note to self : Next time don't cook with the lime inside. The cooked peel gives off a pahit-ness)

Fish #3 a.k.a Rohulio was too big to handle in just one sitting, so divide and conquer came into play. It was halved, and the tail end was roasted in a pan over the dapur.

When it came to the head portion, some consultation with Master Chef @ Mak was in order. She would have opted for Masak Tempoyak, but she didn't have any tempoyak handy (Note to self : Keep Tempoyak stockpile in case of nuclear / zombie apocalypse). SO we went for the East Coast classic, Singgang Asam Pedas. Best wooooooooooo...................see it bubbling....



When preparing / cleaning freshwater fish, you should use some asam jawa or lime and rock salt, just to get rid of the slime. I know some can't take the "earth" flavour of freshwater fish, but its just natural. These folks probably wouldn't eat fish unless it came between two buns and some tartar sauce :P

And to top it all off, Rohulio dived into our stomachs accompanied by some budu and kerabu pucuk ubi....which leaves just one thing to say..... BURPPPP!!!! Alhamdulillahhhhh


Man Pachoo....