The stall at the market which I usually buy ikan haruan from was closed. I didn't want ikan toman which was plentiful at the other stalls. Strolled by a stall that had a number silver belt fish. It's tachiuo (たちうお), a member of the cutlassfish family. They looked really fresh. Obviously I wasn't going to have it as sashimi. I wasn't going to make a stew out of it either. I would just pan-fry it crisp and golden. I took one belt fish for $12. The stall Aunty chopped it up for me nicely. Okaaaay.
I got home to realize that the Indonesian pork stall uncle gave me the cut of lean pork as requested but didn't mince it for me. Ugh. I had to get to work to mince it myself. Aiyah. A rough mince would do. Then let it sit in a basic marinade. That would be stir-fried with the celtuce with fish sauce. #ImpieCooks2021
The man never had belt fish at home. He was sooooo curious about it. He had a higher quality of it as sashimi and sushi for sure. But he had never had it in a domestic setting. His childhood food repertoire was pathetically limited. We wouldn't have much of choice in food when our parents controlled our diet and we didn't know any better. In stark contrast, as a child, in spite of my allergies and limited diet, I was exposed to all sorts of fish and seafood and well, the wonders of the culinary world.
Anyway, fish was the easiest to do. Marinated the slices in salt and pepper, onions, ginger and garlic. I don't have a fire stove that could crisp it beautifully. I wasn't going to deep fry the fish in an inch of oil either. I'd simply use sufficient oil that would be hot enough to brown the skin and cook it through. I don't use that much oil, but still, the oil splatter tonight was significant. (No, I cannot bothered with an air-fryer.) Pan-seared belt fish. The protein was sorted. Along with the second dish of stir-fried celtuce with hand-minced pork. These made up a simple and satisfying week-day dinner.
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