I am half African-American, half Italian-American and although I have
no Asian heritage, I have been obessed with Asian food stores for as
long as I can remember. I bought several books an Asian ingredients
and they have been helpful. I have this one Asian ingredient that I
cannot find any help with.

I am a fish and seafood fanatic. I walk down really huge aisles in the
Asian food stores and marvel at all the different varieties of Dried
Fish but I do not know how to cook them? I guess some may have more
salt in the drying process and maybe others do not but I am still
tottaly clueless as to how to cook this Dried Fish. What are the
conventions for possibly soaking them and preparing them?

I own no less than 300 cook books and no less than half of them are
Asian cuisine. Never a single word is mentioned about this Dried
Fish!?

I am confused by this.

An entire aisle of Dried Fish tells me Asian people must be eating a
lot of it. Then why not a single word about it in any of my
"authentic" Asian Cooking books?

I would appreciate any light that could be shared with me on the
subject. Any links, books or even section(s) of any books that spend
any time talking about dried fish.

Gratefully,
Steven

starmaykr wrote on Sun, 08 Jul 2007 05:35:11 -0700:

s> I am a fish and seafood fanatic. I walk down really huge
s> aisles in the Asian food stores and marvel at all the
s> different varieties of Dried Fish but I do not know how to
s> cook them? I guess some may have more salt in the drying
s> process and maybe others do not but I am still tottaly
s> clueless as to how to cook this Dried Fish. What are the
s> conventions for possibly soaking them and preparing them?

s> I own no less than 300 cook books and no less than half of
s> them are Asian cuisine. Never a single word is mentioned
s> about this Dried Fish!?

s> I am confused by this.

s> An entire aisle of Dried Fish tells me Asian people must be
s> eating a lot of it. Then why not a single word about it in
s> any of my "authentic" Asian Cooking books?

s> I would appreciate any light that could be shared with me on
s> the subject. Any links, books or even section(s) of any
s> books that spend any time talking about dried fish.

I have an old edition (about 30 years old) of the "Thousand
Recipe Chinese Cook Book" by Gloria Bley Miller. Given that Ms
Miller does not appear to be Chinese surprisingly, it is still
in print and must have something good about. There are several
pages on dried fish and its use.

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

starmaykr > wrote:
> [ . . . ]

Uhuru, Goomba! I'm an American of Sicilian, Hungarian, Swedish and mixed
heritage from da Bronx. My Thai wife sometimes makes Tom Yum Pla Krob.
Follow the recipe for Tom Yum Goong, but use the dried fish instead of
shrimp. If it's not salty enough, add a _little_ more fish sauce. Also, you
can saute it and serve it on the side with Cao Tom. We eat dried squid,
either straight or fried, just by breaking pieces off and nibbling on them.
Jun mostly uses dried shrimp in some of her curries. You might try that
with the dried fish. Hope that helps a bit, Steven.

--
Nick. Support severely wounded and disabled Veterans and their families!

Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops. You are not forgotten. Thanks ! ! !
~Semper Fi~

Thank you all for your thoughtful replies.

Right after I made the posting I poured back into my 100+ Asian cook
book collection once again to search for anything on the subject. I
actually did finally find one small recipe for it (Vietnameese).
Dissapointingly it said little more than to cut it up and put it into
a bowl of soup.

Thank you James.
I will look up the book you mentioned.
I would also like to beg, 'can you give a brief synopsis' ?

Thank you Steve.
I guess it all boils down to learning how to rehydrate each particular
fish?
I have had a few years of experience with the common salted Cod fish
"Bacalhau" . Usually running about 2-3 changes of water over a 8-16
hour period of time.
The different varieties of dried fish in the Asian markets appear to
all be dried to varying degrees and I am clueless as to what level of
salting may have been used in the drying process. Therefore I guess
what I would be looking for is a similar rule of thumb for how long
to let a fish soak for? with how many changes?

Thank You Nick.
I got a big Kick out of that "Uhuru, Goomba!" crack,that was really
funny.
Thatnk you for the recipe but another big question that arises when
trying to use the Asian dried fish:
The Bones ?!
Of course I have eaten tons of dried shrimp and squid but with this
Asian dried fish I do not see many filets. From what you have written,
it does not seem like you needed to either soak the fish or to worry
about it being too salty.
This Asian fish is not heavily salted the way Europeans dry their
fish?

Thank you all
Steven

starmaykr wrote on Mon, 09 Jul 2007 10:19:12 -0700:

s> Right after I made the posting I poured back into my 100+
s> Asian cook book collection once again to search for anything
s> on the subject. I actually did finally find one small recipe
s> for it (Vietnameese). Dissapointingly it said little more
s> than to cut it up and put it into a bowl of soup.

s> Thank you James.
s> I will look up the book you mentioned.
s> I would also like to beg, 'can you give a brief synopsis' ?

Sorry, I'm going out of town otherwise I'd scan the stuff in
but the book *was* on the shelves in Barnes & Noble, last time I
looked.


James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

"starmaykr" > wrote in message
ups.com...
>I am half African-American, half Italian-American and although I have
> no Asian heritage, I have been obessed with Asian food stores for as
> long as I can remember. I bought several books an Asian ingredients
> and they have been helpful. I have this one Asian ingredient that I
> cannot find any help with.
>
> I am a fish and seafood fanatic. I walk down really huge aisles in the
> Asian food stores and marvel at all the different varieties of Dried
> Fish but I do not know how to cook them? I guess some may have more
> salt in the drying process and maybe others do not but I am still
> tottaly clueless as to how to cook this Dried Fish. What are the
> conventions for possibly soaking them and preparing them?
>
> I own no less than 300 cook books and no less than half of them are
> Asian cuisine. Never a single word is mentioned about this Dried
> Fish!?
>
> I am confused by this.
>
> An entire aisle of Dried Fish tells me Asian people must be eating a
> lot of it. Then why not a single word about it in any of my
> "authentic" Asian Cooking books?
>
> I would appreciate any light that could be shared with me on the
> subject. Any links, books or even section(s) of any books that spend
> any time talking about dried fish.
>
> Gratefully,
> Steven
>

"Asian food" is as you know a wide range.
I can only speak for Japanese food, but if the fish are reasonable "fish
size" usually
fileted flat then these are called himono (dried things) and are grilled and
eaten.
Sardines, small Jack Mackeral (Aji) may be dried whole.
If you are refering to quite small dried anchovies, these are usually used
to make dashi
or soup stock, including Miso soup.
I believe Korean foods are fairly similar to the above.

Musashi

starmaykr > wrote:
> Thank you all for your thoughtful replies.
> [ . . . ]
> Thank You Nick.
> I got a big Kick out of that "Uhuru, Goomba!" crack,that was really
> funny.

Hi, Steven,

Given the way you intro'd yourself, I couldn't resist, and thought you'd
get a chuckle out of it. That's the only Swahili word I remember from the
60's.

> Thatnk you for the recipe but another big question that arises when
> trying to use the Asian dried fish:
> The Bones ?!

They no longer concerm me, like they did when I was a kid during WW II. If
they're crisp, chew 'em up. Otherwise, pick 'em out of yer teeth. That's
the way I deal with them now. Have you had rustic, homemade, Thai chicken
soup (Tom Ka Gai), where the drumstick and thigh bone are broken across the
middle with the back of a cleaver? The marrow released during stewing
really adds a lot to the flavor, but those bone chips are a PITA!

> Of course I have eaten tons of dried shrimp and squid but with this
> Asian dried fish I do not see many filets. From what you have written,
> it does not seem like you needed to either soak the fish or to worry
> about it being too salty.
> This Asian fish is not heavily salted the way Europeans dry their
> fish?

As far as I know, Jun doesn't rehydrate them. They get rehydrated as they
bubble in the Tom Yum soup, or crisp up when they're sauteed. I've never
had any that were heavily salted. If anything, we'll sometimes have to add
a little (extra) fish sauce (Prik Nam Pla) to perk up the flavor.

I couldn't find any book recipes for dried fish. Those were from my Thai
wife, Jun. She measures by eye, adjusting flavor as she goes along.

HTH Let us know. You can also post pics at alt.binaries.food.


Mangia! Mangia!

--
Nick. Support severely wounded and disabled Veterans and their families!

Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops. You are not forgotten. Thanks ! ! !
~Semper Fi~

On Jul 9, 10:40 pm, "Musashi" > wrote:

> If you are refering to quite small dried anchovies, these are usually used
> to make dashi
> or soup stock, including Miso soup.
> I believe Korean foods are fairly similar to the above.

There's "Putkoch'u Myolch'ibokkum" ( ) - "Stir-Fried Anchovies
with Peppers". Delicious! http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/mb/sk/salto...rketsurvey.pdf
(pages 23 to 24) gives the right recipe. :-)

Ciao, Sanne.

In article >,
Steve Wertz > wrote:

> On Sun, 08 Jul 2007 14:42:56 GMT, James Silverton wrote:
>
<snip>
>
> > I have an old edition (about 30 years old) of the "Thousand
> > Recipe Chinese Cook Book" by Gloria Bley Miller. Given that Ms
> > Miller does not appear to be Chinese surprisingly, it is still
> > in print and must have something good about. There are several
> > pages on dried fish and its use.
>
> So can you give a brief synopsis? I've double-checked all my
> cookbooks and can find very little. I've seen the one you
> mention, but that's one of the very few I own.
>
> -sw

I have a copy of Miller's book (1994 printing) and can't find much
regarding dried fish. She mentions them under "ingredients used in
chinese cooking" and says in her glossary:

"Fish preserved by salting and drying. Some are immersed in oil; others
are not. Includes many varieties: flounder, haddock, blowfish, and the
sardine-like pilot fish and silverfish. Domestic dried flounder is
relatively bland, the imported varieties stronger and saltier. Can be
steamed with ginger or minced pork, combined with red-cooked meats or
cut in small pieces and deep-fried (smells like ripe cheese during
frying). Is often soaked first. Should be used sparingly. Sold by
weight."

On storing: "Needs no refrigeration but should be wrapped well in
plastic because of its penetrating odor."

On soaking: "Soak 4 hours in cold water. Rinse. (For Steaming): Soak 10
minutes in cold water. Rinse and drain."

This is a big book (over 900 pages) and she may well mention dried fish
here and there but I didn't notice any deeper account of them than what
I typed above.

I only found (stumbled on, actually) one fish recipe in Miller's book
using dried fish:

Steamed Dried Fish

dried fish
2 slices fresh ginger root
2 tablespoons peanut oil

1. Cut dried fish in 3/4 inch strips. Rinse in cold water; then place in
a shallow heatproof dish.
2. Shred ginger root and arrange over fish. Sprinkle with oil.
3. Steam 15 to 20 minutes (the author here refers you to her chapters on
steaming techniques.
Miller comments re. the above recipe: This pungent dish is essentially a
flavoring for rice and should be eaten accordingly, in small quantities.
Allow about two 3/4 inch strips per person.

It is a pretty neat book, but I must admit I seldom refer to it. Perhaps
I'll start using it now that I pulled it off the shelves.

Best regards,
Dave W.
In the Ozarks

The bones - if you deep fry the fish in oil to cover, the bones become
crispy and therefore you can eat the entire fish (including most of
the head); in fact we ate dried salted fish last night with pumpkin
curry;

In Thailand we do not rinse the fish before frying (unlike Bacalhau).
Salted fish is not included in cookbooks because it is plain home-
style food that needs little introduction. You can also fry very tiny
fishes and make a incredible Thai yam (salad), with sliced lemongrass,
shallots, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, etc. (btw better avoid
Chinese origin Dried fish it sounds like!)

wrote:
> The bones - if you deep fry the fish in oil to cover, the bones become
> crispy and therefore you can eat the entire fish (including most of
> the head); in fact we ate dried salted fish last night with pumpkin
> curry;
>
> In Thailand we do not rinse the fish before frying (unlike Bacalhau).
> Salted fish is not included in cookbooks because it is plain home-
> style food that needs little introduction. You can also fry very tiny
> fishes and make a incredible Thai yam (salad), with sliced lemongrass,
> shallots, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, etc. (btw better avoid
> Chinese origin Dried fish it sounds like!)

Mmmm. I've been eating like that for ages, In two days, Jun leaves for
three weeks in Thailand. My kid'll feed me.

--
Nick. Support severely wounded and disabled Veterans and their families!

Thank a Veteran and Support Our Troops. You are not forgotten. Thanks ! ! !
~Semper Fi~

starmaykr wrote:
> I am half African-American, half Italian-American and although I have
> no Asian heritage, I have been obessed with Asian food stores for as
> long as I can remember. I bought several books an Asian ingredients
> and they have been helpful. I have this one Asian ingredient that I
> cannot find any help with.
>
> I am a fish and seafood fanatic. I walk down really huge aisles in the
> Asian food stores and marvel at all the different varieties of Dried
> Fish but I do not know how to cook them? I guess some may have more
> salt in the drying process and maybe others do not but I am still
> tottaly clueless as to how to cook this Dried Fish. What are the
> conventions for possibly soaking them and preparing them?
>
> I own no less than 300 cook books and no less than half of them are
> Asian cuisine. Never a single word is mentioned about this Dried
> Fish!?
>
> I am confused by this.
>
> An entire aisle of Dried Fish tells me Asian people must be eating a
> lot of it. Then why not a single word about it in any of my
> "authentic" Asian Cooking books?
>
> I would appreciate any light that could be shared with me on the
> subject. Any links, books or even section(s) of any books that spend
> any time talking about dried fish.
>
> Gratefully,
> Steven
>
Salt fish in Asian food stores come either bottled with pieces emersed
in oil or in dried form. Becsuse the fish is usually quite salty one
has to eat this judiciousliy. I usually like to cut and dice up some
pork loin into a patty and place it on a shallow dish. I them place a
piece or two of dried fish, about a half inch in width on top of the
chopped meat. I then cut into thin slices of fresh ginger and green
oions on top of the meat with the fish. I then steam them in a pot on a
raised dish for about 20 minutes. Be sure to avoid any additonal
seasoning such as soy sauce as the dish is quit salty with the fish.

Try it. You might like it. This dish is a staple in the agraian
regions of China and SE asia.