Salmon Tale

Ok, ok, ok - Mua am back. Yes, yes, yes, chel - I hear you ! Update my blog - yes, I will. Love to blog often but so much catching up with life at the moment. This is a blog about fishes and anything fishy, right, so......

Ok, today, let's talk about salmon! That should be fishy enough. Yeah, it is a very controversial fish in Malaysia. Over the years, people either love it or hate it. Of course, the oils that are sold in vege-caps are loved for their essence of life but the actual fish is another thing.

Yup - yuh either love it or hate it! Those who crave it are those who truly appreciate the fish for its oily attributes - mainly the lovely Omega 3 & 6 oils - the pharmacies and health nuts go "ga-ga" over its "heart-saving" properties.

There are those who are so worried about "farmed" salmon - which are said to contain some artificial colouring. Hey, I think that our Malaysian press - who wrote some articles in the past 3 - 4 years need to really check their facts.

This is because I have seen the National Geographic documentary shown by Astro and the food that is fed to the farmed salmon is "all natural". The algae that the salmon likes to feed on - naturally in the wild turns red when exposed to sunlight. No, it is not the red tide algae that people are so afraid of. But it really turns red.

So, what the documentary showed is that the algae is farmed and then exposed to sunlight, so that it turns red naturally, then, it is dried and made into pellets - which are then packed and sold to the guys involved in salmon farming - which is done at sea. What is wrong with that? There is no colouring added - no need when nature is already at work. Just the processing is high-tech.

But no, the articles by a popular Malaysian daily did not check out the facts when they published an article from overseas. And for those who talk about mercury poisoning - hey - if our seas are polluted with mercury poisoning - then won't all fishes be filled with it to some degree since they all live in the seas? And if we understand the movement of waters in our planet earth - aren't the seas all somehow connected and flow to each other? In the greater understanding of things - we all should stop eating fish, seafood, etc. Then, next we probably question everything else - what about the pollution of our land - so don't eat vegies and fruits, wheat, corn and rice? Does that mean that we should "live on air, love and sunshine?"

Ooops.... I have been swayed by the nonsensical fishy nonsense about salmon - hate those journalists and editors who just "plop" stuff into their papers - just to fill the pages without checking all the facts and spread unnecessary "fear" to the masses.

But back to our subject of salmon. Ok, this articles is dedicated to those who can't stand the "smell" of the salmon when it is cooked. For those of yuh who belong to this school - let mua help yuh out!

First of all, understand this -if you have tried cooking salmon - and the finish effect is a slab of pink fish that smells to "high heavens" and stinks up your entire house - not only the kitchen, it simply means that you "don't know how to cook salmon". There is nothing absolutely wrong with the fish!!!! The error is with the cook - you.

This is because my friend at Kafe Herbspice at SS15 Subang Jaya, Malaysia ( by the way, my friend is a distributor of imported seafood - so she knows, ok?) says that the Omega oils will burn in high heat. It is something like olive oil that is ok for salad dressings but not ok for cooking on high heat.

So, what is the right way to fry salmon. You need to pan-fry it with minimum oil. The fish is great on its own - no need to season it. Just make sure that you descale it and have a lemon on standby.

Oil the pan that you will use - just to ensure that the fish doesn't stick to it. Then, place the pan over a very very slow fire. The best chefs in the world say that the optimum heat for salmon frying is when you can place your palm on the pan - hotter than that is already too hot.

Then, place the fish in the pan ( salmon steak cut is more economical for frying). The fish will first give our some water - but not to worry, this is ok. Don't move it. Then, it will give out oil - which is what you want - to let the fish cook in its own oil.

About 4-5 mins, lift the fish and check if it has turned pink - if it has, flip the fish over. Repeat the same and then using a fork, check that the meat within has turned pink too - once the fish is no longer orange - your salmon is ready.

Lift it onto a plate and then squeeze lemon juice over the salmon. If not, you can always add some sugar to the lemon juice and pour the juice to cook over low fire in a small pan. When the sugar melts - you can pour the juice over the fish - you will get a kinda caramelised sauce. Alternatively, orange juice will be good for the fish.

If you know how to make lemon or lime or orange mayo - it also goes well with salmon.

So, enjoy and if it works for you - then let mua know. Have a great fishy day!!

Just me,
McFish