Life Life

19/06/2019 - 08:05

Missing mom’s simmered yellowstripe scad

In the middle of an afternoon’s sudden thunderstorm, I phoned dad right away, just to remind him not to head for the sea to avoid danger in the thunder.

On the other end of the phone line, mom’s warm voice interrupted me: "Wanna phone dad and tell him not to go to the sea, right? Your dad’s home. He’s off today. Since there’s thunderstorm, why not come here with me and I’ll treat you to simmered yellowstripe scad?" mum laughed. It is true that when it rains, I desperately miss mom’s simmered yellowstripe scad.

Sweet and salty simmered yellowstripe scads that thrill my taste buds

Here in my hometown, yellowstripe scads are caught all year round but more often in July and August. After a sea trip when dad came back with a lot of yellowstripe scads, moms often sorted them out to cook in fresh tomato and pineapple soup while the rest were split and sundried for rainy days.

Fresh yellowstripe scads split in halves, head and intestine discarded then sundried can be mouth-watering with a proper recipe. People often think of crispy fried, baked, tomato sauce simmered styles... but not many choose to simmer the fish as mom and aunties in my village often do.

To simmer the fish so it absorbs all the spices well without turning chewy, mom often soaks it in warm water for about 5-10 minutes before boning. Longer soaking softens the fish and spoils its flavor. The fish is then drained and let sit before quickly fried with oil.

Spices to simmer yellowstripe scads are simply sugar, fish sauce, garlic, and chili. To enhance the flavor, mom fries onion and garlic before adding previously quick-fried fish, stirs well, then pours the prepared sauce over. When the fish start to absorb spices, the fire is lowered, chili added and stirred well until the mixture is thickened. 

Born in a sea village, I have tried several dishes with the freshest and tastiest fish, yet my brother and I often look forward to the rain to ask mom to make simmered yellowstripe scad. Apparently in our immature thoughts, only the rain can bring about this delicious dish as we often eat freshly caught fish from dad on the other days.

Simmered yellowstripe scad often has an indescribable charming, sweet, salty, spicy blending flavor that satisfies every eater’ appetite.  Every time the meal came with simmered yellowstripe scads, dad often jokingly said, "I must eat lots and lots of rice today."

And that’s true. Simmered yellowstripe scad goes perfectly well with steamed rice on rainy days. Not only is it suitable to pair with hot rice, yellowstripe scad can also make an ideal snack with cool beer.

Every time I go back to my hometown, I’ll ask mom to make simmered yellowstripe scad to side with a few bottles of beer. Mom often showed us how to choose the best yellowstripe scads in the market: only crispy and well sun dried could make a good dish.

Best and freshest sundried fish should have lozenge shape, flattened sides, a light-colored back, and a characteristic shiny yellowstripe extending from the back of its eyes to the tail. On the other hand, a dark yellow color means that the fish has been on sale for too long and marinated, so it loses its inherent freshness and doesn’t taste good when simmering.

Born in a sea village, we grew up with tons of fresh sea fish delicacies but simple dishes available only in the seaside such as cranoglanis fish in cactus soup, braised squid eggs, or simmered yellowstripe scad …have engraved deeply in our childhood memory of the sea village. That’s why when we parted, our minds were always filled with the taste of the countryside and the scent of mom’s simmered yellowstripe scads.

Story and photo: Thanh Tran