Nothing Fishy

Hi friends

I prefer fish to meat ( beef, mutton or chicken).

Protein from fish is considered a better choice, it is supposed to be more healthy. My preference is not because of that. My liking and habit have ingrained in me since very young depending on what mother fed me. Anyway at that time how could I know fish protein was good. Even my late mother wouldn't know. She had us eat fish daily because she herself was a fish lover. Her grandfather and clans were fishermen. But weren't our descendants sea people living by the coasts? That must be it.

Most time through out my life my diet is more fish than meat. Big fish or small fish doesn't matter. The more bony the fish the more I like it. The terubok and the parang both have lots of bones some people don't like them. I find that the more bones the fish has the sweeter is the flesh. May be it is nature's way to protect the species, so that we can't and don't gobble it fast to extinction.

Nowadays fish sold in the market is expensive. Even the humble kembung. The kurau, tenggiri, senangin and even bawal are not everyday food anymore unless you are a deep pocketed person.

And the fish, they are also not very fresh. Sometimes they look okey in the market but by the time you reach home all become lembek.

Is there some fishy thing going on?

You feel cheated. You feel like throwing the whole fish into the longkang.

Sometimes the fish brought back from the market can spark a row in the house. But then how to get a gasping fish in the market nowadays. Just ignore okey , to preserve the harmony. Have ikan bilis instead for a change.

Living in the coastal area we should be able to get easy supply of fresh fish argued a visitor. Yes may be. You can get them in the many restaurants . . . . you got to pay a hefty price to savour them.

Or like my friend, her spouse likes sea fishing and has a boat for the purpose. She gets fresh fish most time. But of course there are problems too. Is it easy to prepare the so many fish in one go or to do the packing and labeling for freezing which can take time. And if she is wanted to tag along and be out at the sea ?  I think she would prefer to play tennis haha.

When I first retired I suggested that instead of having a car why not we have a boat. We could go fishing and have good fish everyday. But then I got to choose if I were to visit my family and kins in the kampung would I be willing to sail north through the Straits of Malacca . . . or walk the length of the North South highway. The sarcasm stopped the suggestion there.

And when I mention about my preference for fish it is the salt water fish. The fresh water ones of course you can get quite easily. The ones cultured and reared, some not all, have strong fish smell. You take it if there is no other choice. They are not cheap either.

In my childhood days we could get the fresh water fish, the type swimming wild in the river or in the sawah bendang. Don't think you still can get them as in the old days. What I hear is most rivers are polluted and padi farmers now use fertilizers which I think are not fish friendly. We don't want contaminated fish.

Or is it better for us to become vegetarian. At this point in time I am not prepared to be one. So it is chicken beef or mutton if I have no fish. Easier still egg is the solution. Whatever we are eating more and more of these meats. Is this one of the reasons for the high cholesterol in my blood?

And then we have to go through the process of stuffing ourselves with supplements to lower the cholesterol numbers again. Also it is not so easy to swallow those big pills which can have fishy aftertaste that possibly cause you to vomit especially if taken at the wrong time, I mean when you forget to take at meal time and later remember to take it when the tummy is empty.

So it looks like if we are to get the good nourishment of fish oil we need to take it in the form of pills since we don't have enough fish in out diet, right? I definitely want to have fish rather than swallowing  the pills.

I long for the old days in my old village when a fairly sized terubok cost only a ringgit. Or at the time when I first  moved to my present locality a fat and a super fresh ikan parang which was nearly four feet long cost only about forty ringgit.

Perhaps now fish is really scarce . But you can still try your luck  . . .

Three in the pail none in the net

So there my friends a fishy story for you to ponder.


Bye till next post.