CROAKERS

Asian Seafood… the Asian Croakers

I must confess that my finger was not quite on the pulse of the market when I bought these fishes to photograph. My mind went a big blank when I was handed the bill for these. The local fish mongers were very amused by my reaction. Partially it was due to my childhood memories when these very often were purchased to feed our two Tabby cats, Tommy and Yankee. They were often considered as cheap, trash fishes and the locals often bypass them for other meatier fishes. This must be the first time in my life I purchased them since ‘I molted into an old grump’ ‘;-) and I had expected them to cost about the same as the Indian Mackerel Rastrelliger kanagurta or better known as Ikan Kembong but my expectations had been out of touch.

Whoa… they cost the same price as the medium sized Black Pomfret Formio niger and they were not very large. Well, I guess the locals now must know a good thing when they see one. Often known as the Ikan Gelama, Sang Gay Yi or Jew-fish by the locals, this family of fishes has a number of species and is well distributed throughout Asia to Australiasia. However, the local name ‘Jew-fish’ is not related to another family of groupers known as Jewfishes. Other names for the Jew-fish are Drums and Hardheads.

There are several species that has been officially documented and are important game-fishes and sources of protein. The Soldier Croaker Nibea soldado in the fresh form is one of the most commonly seen species in the fish markets in this part of the country and their average sizes are about ten to twelve inches.

Silver Croaker

The Silver Croaker is the next most commonly seen croakers in the local markets. The Soldier and Silver Croakers are usually popular with hawkers and kopi-tiam¹ food vendors; they are usually slightly salted before being deep-fried.

¹Kopi-tiams are the Asian version of grease-spoon eateries. Most of them are budget food outlets and non-air-conditioned so the inside environment can be quite warm and stuffy at times. Very often, one will find several food vendors offering a wide variety of affordable and cheap hawker food such as the popular Chicken Curry Noodles (shown below).

 

A Bowl of KL Chicken Curry Noodles. Typically prepared by Chinese cooks, the suntan curry gravy is spicy and creamy. Standard ingredients are boiled potatoes, fried bean-curd squares, blood cockles and some hawkers add char-siew (red-roasted pork) and bean sprouts. A small portion of Balachan Sambal (Shrimp paste chili sauce) is typically offered by the side.

Most of the smaller fishes are considered too bony and are processed into salted, dried fishes by cottage industries or used as animal or fish feeds. When fried to a crisp, the whole salted fish becomes edible including the bones. They are commonly used by food hawkers where it is used in small take-away packets of Coconut Rice or Nasi Lemak Bungkus.

The Black Croaker Protonibea diacenthus can grow to a larger size and specimens up to three kilograms are fairly common. Frequently sold as white meat fish steaks, the flesh is firm, flaky, moist, good quality and free of small bones apart from the ribcage area. When used in curries or steamed, it has a mild flavor and carries the ingredients used in the dish well. A stronger flavor develops when the fish is baked, pan-fried or barbequed; the sweetness becomes more notable. Do not overcook this fish; otherwise the meat will be tough. Black Croakers are in high demand by restaurants and upscale-food outlets.

Home-Cooked Soldier Crocker Fish Curry in Individual Small Bowls, garnished with a sprig of Fresh Indian Dill. The head of the Croakers can be clearly seen in the top right corner of this image. A bowl of hot steamed rice will go alone very nicely with this dish. A Studio Produced Image.

    

MINT

The Tame Adventures of an Urban ‘Gardener’

Common name         Mint

Latin name                Mentha spicata

Native names            Daun pudina

Related plants          Peppermint, Spearmint.

After needing to purchase small bundles of herbs from the markets whenever I had a product shoot, it dawned to me (Aahhh… finally, the gray matter is stirring…) that I could plant some of these herbs on my window stills and have fresh, perfect plants to use at any time. Looking for herbs in the markets like mint in mint condition (Oops… pardon the pun) is not easy as the fragile leaves easily get withered or bruised during packing, handling and transportation; damaged sprigs of herbs are so unsuitable for photography purposes. Many times, they were simply not available due to the lack of demand and supply in this quiet corner of the country and they delayed the product shoot.

So for my last purchase of fresh mint I chanced upon in the marketplace, I prepared a small pot with soil partially mixed with sawdust, inserted one of the stems into it and moistened the planting media. The plant was kept in the cool shade for a few weeks to allow it to recover. Once the barren sprig of mint started to wing out small sprouts of leaves, it was a sign that the plant had stabilized and ready to be put outside. I prepared a small wire tray and secured it so that strong winds will not knock it off. A liner made from a discarded food container will collect water to keep the soil moist; I placed it in the wire tray and the pot of mint in it. Now it’s ready to take on the world.

This image was taken against a black background in my studio after it had been placed on the ledge for a few days. Water droplets on the plant make it look even more appealing. This is one of my favorite images and sits on my desktop screen for the month. It looks so cooling and refreshing.

The position of the ledge is in cool shade for the first part of the day and gets a strong bath of sunlight during the latter part of the day. The plant seems to love the few hours of strong light as there is a profuse growth of leaves. However, the plant will slightly wilt during these hours if it has been stressed but it will fully recover in the cool evening.

A weak oil-free nutrition solution made from fish emulsion (water that has been used to clean and wash seafood) is used to water the plant every day where possible. Where given quality compost, the leaves can reach a length of 4-5cm and a width of 3-4cm. Mint has a much better visual appeal than peppermint. The plant releases a very nice, minty perfume when the leaves are brushed against.

A bonus for me is that the small plant has grown quite well and I have a truly organic herb also to garnish my meals and teas. I can also use the whole plant as a interesting background subject. It is not very difficult to grow this herb and I would recommend that every passionate gardener, cook, food lover and photographer should have this herb grown in your garden; as I do not have one in the studio, it certain does well on my window ledge.

Several days later, the healthy growth of the mint plant can be seen in the background of this food shot. This image features the Chinese Fried Red Bean Buns. A Studio Produced Image

Now I have added other herbs such as Indian Dill and Chinese Leeks to the window ledge garden; I am now thinking of adding Sweet Basil as well because my window ledge light conditions are suitable for it.