When I was young, seafood is always one of our staples on the dinner table, and of all the seafood, “chee yah hu” (in Hokkien) is one that got featured rather often. The reasons are simple, they’re delicious, and rather economical.
my favorite seafood ever – fried mullet fish
For those who aren’t familiar, “chee yah hu”, or “chia hu” is a type of mullet fish, available at local wet markets.They are usually around 6 inches in size, and if you’re lucky, packed with caviar too!
Knowing I love this fish, mom bought some over from Sungai Petani and I got to cook it for dinner right here in Klang Valley. I prepared it the simplest way possible – frying.
salted and fried, that’s it
Here’s how I prepare:
- clean and pat dry the mullet
- sprinkle generous amount of salt
- heat up oil (enough to cover half the fish), and fry until the fins are crispy
- remove and serve while hot!
I also fried some garlic as a side for this, the fish was absolutely fantastic with steamed rice and some soy sauce, you can also have them with sambal too.
Happy cooking and happy eating!
Never mind the name in English or Hokkien, I dunno what fish that is. Looks good though – I think I will enjoy it, deep fried like that! That vegetable dish by the side looks great too!!!
suituapui: deep fried is always so delicious!
Just had some bad seafood in Penang. Can’t stand to look at it now. Hope that changes fast.
Monica: really? When seafood is bad, they’re terrible!
I fancy eating small fishes too…coz their flesh is always sweet. What do you call that fish in Cantonese (not sure if I can recognise it if I see it at the wet market)? At first, I thought the fish was skinless until I saw the raw ones…lol! đŸ˜€ The skin must be very delicate until it got stuck while frying (some of my fish frying also turns out like that). đŸ˜›
eatwhateatwhere: Not sure what to call it in cantonese, yaa, skin was burnt off due to my frying skill… or the lack of. haha.
I’ve never eaten this fish before. They look like small version of Ma Yau, do they?
Choi Yen: look similar ish but tastes very different, this one is fantastic!
is this Ă¦â€“â€¹Ă©Â±Â¼ in cantonese? love this very much but hard to get in KL
olangraintown: I wish I know what it is called and how to get them in KL!
I just had this in Penang. There is a house selling it for RM1.20/pc near Chew Jetty. (used to be RM1 few months back) Call for order and pickup after 1 hour. we called it deep fried “plenty of carviar” fish.
MarkD: that sounds like heaven!