Friday, November 10, 2006
Fish & fishy
Hello,
Why do fish make people cry ?
There is a man who loves fishing, and this love of his ends each time he comes home from fishing. It is not that his wife disapproves of his going fishing nor is it because he does it over the weekend nights; ironically it is when he brings home the catch in the morning. Fish is a wholesome food, and very good for health. So, why is that so ?
By the time he comes home he is too tired and sleepy and his wife cries at the prospect of cleaning the fish, no matter what the catch is. So most times he unloads the catch before he reaches home, in whatever way that is suitable; but not to take it home.
Why does cleaning fish make a person cry ? Those who cry would not tell us why, they just cry. Some fish stings, even when they are dead; the scales of some fish and also the gills, can cut the fingers; and on top of all this it is a bloody, messy, dirty, and tough job.
There is a very good reason why some fish lovers buy only the fillets of fish; these are just meat and meat, no bones nor scales nor anything that is not wanted, except that fillets cost about twice as much.
Normally the fishmongers would do the cursory scaling, gilling, gutting and removal of the unwanted parts of the fish, leaving the buyer to do the rest, the final thorough cleaning, at home. What I do is to first cut off all the stings or spikes including all the fins and tail with a pair of kitchen scissors. After this it is easy to scrape off any remaining scales and also remove the blood under the spine of the fish, and then thoroughly wash the fish. Is that very difficult ?
It is difficult when the fish comes home whole, then all the work has to be done. Anyway, most times I would not want the fishmonger to do anything, I buy the fish whole and take it home intact, this way the fish does not get contaminated and stays as fresh longer while on its way home. And anyway fishmongers would not cut off the head and tail of the fish for us, they all are never boh thaw boh buay, no head no tail, some kind of hand-me-down superstition.
For those who know, good and tasty fish are not the big fish, most of these are the small and assorted fish. And here the tough job is required, the work that make people cry. The important thing is to cut off all the troublesome parts, especially the spikes, first before dealing with the cleaning. To me all these must go anyway, also why cook anything that is not to be eaten !
Local fishermen of old perpetually reminded one and all, in dialect, of the powerful stings of the local venomous fish by ranking them.
In English, these venomous but not deadly fish are:
First comes stingray the king of sting
Second is ugly tiger so aptly named
Slimy and pink this catfish ranks third
Just as bad the fourth is spotted scat
The rabbit fish is not ranked, nor is the black catfish, but do not let that fool us. The sting of these two are very painful and will lasts for many hours. So, one can imagine the venom of the stingray. Although its sting is not fatal the wound and pain will last for many many days, making the victim wish he or she were dead. The stingray's sting is most fearsome to the fishermen.
It has been reported that the famous crocodile hunter Steve Irwin died as a result of his heart being punctured by a stingray. I wondered whether he would have lived if his heart was not punctured, being stung so close to it with so much venom since it was such a big fish. Don't play play with stingray !
Have a nice day
Ronald
Why do fish make people cry ?
There is a man who loves fishing, and this love of his ends each time he comes home from fishing. It is not that his wife disapproves of his going fishing nor is it because he does it over the weekend nights; ironically it is when he brings home the catch in the morning. Fish is a wholesome food, and very good for health. So, why is that so ?
By the time he comes home he is too tired and sleepy and his wife cries at the prospect of cleaning the fish, no matter what the catch is. So most times he unloads the catch before he reaches home, in whatever way that is suitable; but not to take it home.
Why does cleaning fish make a person cry ? Those who cry would not tell us why, they just cry. Some fish stings, even when they are dead; the scales of some fish and also the gills, can cut the fingers; and on top of all this it is a bloody, messy, dirty, and tough job.
There is a very good reason why some fish lovers buy only the fillets of fish; these are just meat and meat, no bones nor scales nor anything that is not wanted, except that fillets cost about twice as much.
Normally the fishmongers would do the cursory scaling, gilling, gutting and removal of the unwanted parts of the fish, leaving the buyer to do the rest, the final thorough cleaning, at home. What I do is to first cut off all the stings or spikes including all the fins and tail with a pair of kitchen scissors. After this it is easy to scrape off any remaining scales and also remove the blood under the spine of the fish, and then thoroughly wash the fish. Is that very difficult ?
It is difficult when the fish comes home whole, then all the work has to be done. Anyway, most times I would not want the fishmonger to do anything, I buy the fish whole and take it home intact, this way the fish does not get contaminated and stays as fresh longer while on its way home. And anyway fishmongers would not cut off the head and tail of the fish for us, they all are never boh thaw boh buay, no head no tail, some kind of hand-me-down superstition.
For those who know, good and tasty fish are not the big fish, most of these are the small and assorted fish. And here the tough job is required, the work that make people cry. The important thing is to cut off all the troublesome parts, especially the spikes, first before dealing with the cleaning. To me all these must go anyway, also why cook anything that is not to be eaten !
Local fishermen of old perpetually reminded one and all, in dialect, of the powerful stings of the local venomous fish by ranking them.
In English, these venomous but not deadly fish are:
First comes stingray the king of sting
Second is ugly tiger so aptly named
Slimy and pink this catfish ranks third
Just as bad the fourth is spotted scat
The rabbit fish is not ranked, nor is the black catfish, but do not let that fool us. The sting of these two are very painful and will lasts for many hours. So, one can imagine the venom of the stingray. Although its sting is not fatal the wound and pain will last for many many days, making the victim wish he or she were dead. The stingray's sting is most fearsome to the fishermen.
It has been reported that the famous crocodile hunter Steve Irwin died as a result of his heart being punctured by a stingray. I wondered whether he would have lived if his heart was not punctured, being stung so close to it with so much venom since it was such a big fish. Don't play play with stingray !
Have a nice day
Ronald
# posted by chunmu @ 4:58 PM 
