Buying fish in Singapore

[Lisafuller]

Today I went and bought a whole Batang(spanish mackerel) from the wet market. It weighed slightly more than 1kg, the price was $12 per kg and the whole fish cost $14. Batang is a very good fish for Indian style cooking.

Actually we dont do the elaborate Indian curry on a regular basis, more of a fast food fry on a frying pan with very little oil after coating it with masala.

This link shows a western style frying of the fish, which looks very similar to the Indian style

https://cookpad.com/us/recipes/1833152- ... atang-fish

This one is Malay cooking, but actually entirely derived from Indian style of cooking

https://www.kuali.com/recipe/fish-dishe ... ried-fish/

Do you happen to know what kind of fish is used in the sour Indian fish curry? I'm not sure if there's a name for it (I'm thinking Assam but could be wrong) but it's the one that you would typically order at Indian restaurants.

[Wd40]

Today I went to the wet market and bought Lady fish. This is the picture I took. It cost $10 for this much, almost 1kg pretty cheap. Although, they dont descale or clean it. My wife spent like half day to descale clean and cook it



This is a delicacy in the part of India I belong to. This is how we fry it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMiRFFA ... ingchannel

Wow! They look like a larger version of the capellin fish we usually see in Japanese restaurants.

This fish is really awesome, it has a milky taste to it. Seabass is crap in comparison.

[Wd40]

Today I went and bought a whole Batang(spanish mackerel) from the wet market. It weighed slightly more than 1kg, the price was $12 per kg and the whole fish cost $14. Batang is a very good fish for Indian style cooking.

Actually we dont do the elaborate Indian curry on a regular basis, more of a fast food fry on a frying pan with very little oil after coating it with masala.

This link shows a western style frying of the fish, which looks very similar to the Indian style

https://cookpad.com/us/recipes/1833152- ... atang-fish

This one is Malay cooking, but actually entirely derived from Indian style of cooking

https://www.kuali.com/recipe/fish-dishe ... ried-fish/

Do you happen to know what kind of fish is used in the sour Indian fish curry? I'm not sure if there's a name for it (I'm thinking Assam but could be wrong) but it's the one that you would typically order at Indian restaurants.

I think it is batang.

[Lisafuller]

Today I went to the wet market and bought Lady fish. This is the picture I took. It cost $10 for this much, almost 1kg pretty cheap. Although, they dont descale or clean it. My wife spent like half day to descale clean and cook it



This is a delicacy in the part of India I belong to. This is how we fry it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMiRFFA ... ingchannel

Wow! They look like a larger version of the capellin fish we usually see in Japanese restaurants.

This fish is really awesome, it has a milky taste to it. Seabass is crap in comparison.

What do you mean milky? Do you mean sweet like condensed milk or creamy like cows? Never heard any fish described that way... sounds interesting.

[Lisafuller]

Today I went and bought a whole Batang(spanish mackerel) from the wet market. It weighed slightly more than 1kg, the price was $12 per kg and the whole fish cost $14. Batang is a very good fish for Indian style cooking.

Actually we dont do the elaborate Indian curry on a regular basis, more of a fast food fry on a frying pan with very little oil after coating it with masala.

This link shows a western style frying of the fish, which looks very similar to the Indian style

https://cookpad.com/us/recipes/1833152- ... atang-fish

This one is Malay cooking, but actually entirely derived from Indian style of cooking

https://www.kuali.com/recipe/fish-dishe ... ried-fish/

Do you happen to know what kind of fish is used in the sour Indian fish curry? I'm not sure if there's a name for it (I'm thinking Assam but could be wrong) but it's the one that you would typically order at Indian restaurants.

I think it is batang.

I see, most of the recipes I've referenced call for tilapia or snapper.

[Wd40]

Wow! They look like a larger version of the capellin fish we usually see in Japanese restaurants.

This fish is really awesome, it has a milky taste to it. Seabass is crap in comparison.

What do you mean milky? Do you mean sweet like condensed milk or creamy like cows? Never heard any fish described that way... sounds interesting.

Yeah more like creamy like cows.

I did some google and image search and found that this fish is actually called as smelt or smelt whiting fish or even Silver sillago fish in Singapore.

https://shopee.sg/product/262106046/445 ... BgQAvD_BwE

https://www.vitaminseafood.sg/products/smelt-fish

It is funny, there is no standard names for fishes to be referenced across countries, there are so many names, so difficult to identify, when you cross countries

https://blog.suvie.com/a-beginners-guide-to-smelt/

This is how the taste is described:

"Poetically, Eat Wisconsin Fish describes their aroma as “like freshly cut cucumber.” For a fish so rich in oils, smelt are praised for their fresh, sweet flavor and white flesh that becomes soft and flaky when cooked."

[Lisafuller]

Oh my, sounds delicious. Will have to give it a go.

[Wd40]

Has anyone here tried tilapia? How does it taste? Is it firm like pomphret and batang or is it soft and bland like sea bass?

[NYY1]

Has anyone here tried tilapia? How does it taste? Is it firm like pomphret and batang or is it soft and bland like sea bass?

Like Sea Bass. I think Sea Bass is a very generic term; have actually wondered whether some were Tilapia.

[Lisafuller]

Has anyone here tried tilapia? How does it taste? Is it firm like pomphret and batang or is it soft and bland like sea bass?

Nice, common white fish. Flaky and slightly firm.

[Lisafuller]

Has anyone here tried tilapia? How does it taste? Is it firm like pomphret and batang or is it soft and bland like sea bass?

Like Sea Bass. I think Sea Bass is a very generic term; have actually wondered whether some were Tilapia.

So similar... it's actually most similar to the Chilean sea bass. Remember a while back I read an article about bass being mislabeled as tilapia. No one noticed.

[Wd40]

Like Sea Bass. I think Sea Bass is a very generic term; have actually wondered whether some were Tilapia.

We went to Connie island(near Punggol beach) last weekend and there we saw a guy brought his son along and was fishing by casting a net in the beach. In front of us he caught a sea bass which looks exactly like the one we get in the wet markets/fairprice here. He also caught a baby stingray. It was quite exciting for us to watch it especially for my daughter. I never saw anyone catch fish like that in a beach, like just walking few feet away from the shore. The guy looked like a white collar properly dressed guy, not those typical fisherman type of look. He said they go there and fish quite often as a hobby and also they cook and eat it.

So the sea bass we get here in Singapore seems to come from the local seas nearby, while Tilapia is a fresh water fish isnt it?

[NYY1]

Like Sea Bass. I think Sea Bass is a very generic term; have actually wondered whether some were Tilapia.

We went to Connie island(near Punggol beach) last weekend and there we saw a guy brought his son along and was fishing by casting a net in the beach. In front of us he caught a sea bass which looks exactly like the one we get in the wet markets/fairprice here. He also caught a baby stingray. It was quite exciting for us to watch it especially for my daughter. I never saw anyone catch fish like that in a beach, like just walking few feet away from the shore. The guy looked like a white collar properly dressed guy, not those typical fisherman type of look. He said they go there and fish quite often as a hobby and also they cook and eat it.

So the sea bass we get here in Singapore seems to come from the local seas nearby, while Tilapia is a fresh water fish isnt it?

Nice experience, a long way from where you stay though (although still not too far in the grand scheme of things)!

I don't know the specifics that you are asking about. I think the two are fairly similar; neither is high on my list but they are OK steamed (whole fish), although I guess that is just as much about the sauce/additional flavouring as anything.

If you are buying them whole at the market and know what you are looking at, that is one step ahead!

[Wd40]

I don't know the specifics that you are asking about. I think the two are fairly similar; neither is high on my list but they are OK steamed (whole fish), although I guess that is just as much about the sauce/additional flavouring as anything.

If you are buying them whole at the market and know what you are looking at, that is one step ahead!

I was just wondering if Seas bass is a salt water fish and Tilapia is a sweet water fish, how could they be similar? Or may be I am completely wrong and the it doesnt matter.

[NYY1]

I don't know the specifics that you are asking about. I think the two are fairly similar; neither is high on my list but they are OK steamed (whole fish), although I guess that is just as much about the sauce/additional flavouring as anything.

If you are buying them whole at the market and know what you are looking at, that is one step ahead!

I was just wondering if Seas bass is a salt water fish and Tilapia is a sweet water fish, how could they be similar? Or may be I am completely wrong and the it doesnt matter.

Sorry, I am not sure but not entirely sure why the waters of origin would make a huge difference (not saying it doesn't). To me, both are mild and fairly soft texture; the latter being something I'm not in love with.

For "Sea Bass," I'm just not sure exactly what one is buying. If you buy one, like it, and can get the same thing over and over from the same guy/stall, then it is OK. Generically, I have a sense that the name could be associated with many different species of fish, all of which are slightly different.

Also not sure if it matters but many of the fish sold are often farm raised too, no?