"Mommy, I want to eat bangus". He just tasted it once and he liked it! Now Roo is asking for more. Unfortunately, bangus is scarce here in Bangkok. I don’t think Thai people eat it. You won’t find it in the menu of Thai restaurants. It’s seldom sold in the wet market, and when it is, it disappears very fast because Pinoys here buy it in kilos! You can buy it in Foodland only once a week. "If only we’re in Roxas anak, we can eat bangus anytime you like".
For more than half of my growing up years, bangrus we call them, was a staple food at home. My dad grew them in fishponds, and we saw them grow from really tiny fry (when they’re like strands of hair swimming around) to really big ones (I think the biggest one I saw was about one kilo per piece) that are ready for harvest.
Harvest times were exciting times! Besides the fact that daddy would get to earn money, when we get to go to the fishpond, we had a lot of fun watching the bantays (caretakers) round up the fish, catch them, count them and store them in ice chests. What was even more fun was eating the bangus that the bantay’s wife cooked in woodfire, with the wind blowing on our face! Whether it’s fried or grilled (both really good with vinegar and chilli by the way), relleno, paksiw, or sinigang, fresh bangus really sells well in our family. We don't care that this fish is bony--we know where the not-so bony part is, hehe. We would always race to get that part first because that’s the easiest to eat, and it's the most yummy. The black stomach section is devoured in seconds :D If you're late, poor you, you will have to be patient and careful with the very fine bones of what remains of the fish.
All this talk about bangus is making me hungry. Can hardly wait to check in Foodland this week if they have it. That is, if I can remember what day it's available.
10 comments:
Hi IA =)
Milkfish! Nowadays I rarely eat bangus but everytime I'm home with my parents, I always have a treat. I can say that Bangus is one of my favorite fishes but the "tinik" gawd!! they're so annoying hehe And I remember when I was little, I stuck one bangus eye inside my nose hehe crazy :)
I am a fan of sinigang bangus. Too bad I haven't had any in a while. Fried bangus is also great. Wonder why the Thais aren't fans of the bangus.
Sounds like fun to have a fish farm. We had a small pond at our house in BAguio way back when but it was mainly for pet fish. We had a catfish in there once though. hehe
Milkfish are also my kids favorite, boneless tinapa and daing na bangus are available here in our place. They're from Pangasinan I think. But we don't have fresh from the market. I saw one time with a tag "fresh bangus but previously frozen." They are imported from UAE.
Verns, nice to see you here!
Naku, don't do that bangus'eye-in-the-nose thing again, ok? Good thing you lived to tell that story. Ayan umandar ang pagka mommy ko, hehe.
About the tinik, you can always eat the boneless. Hey, did you know that there are people who think that bangus are 'naturally' boneless?
Wil, you must be a very patient person! Yes, the soup of the sinigang can taste really good, but the bones of the bangus seem to multiply when it's in sinigang:D
I haven't really asked any Thai why they don't eat the milkfish. But I have this theory that when they did try it, it was when whoever cleaned the fish ruptured the apdo (gall, is it?) and that made it taste really bad. But that's just what I think.
Ann, buti pa kayo diyan may bangus na, may boneless pa! The ones we get to buy here are also frozen because they're shipped from Indonesia. I heard that there are fish farms growing bangus in the South of Thailand but I'm not sure how true it is.
We buy bangus here at Oriental and Filipino stores. A little on the expensive side though. A marinated boneless bangus costs about $6.00. The bones are really cumbersome so we buy the boneless type.
Greymom, I guess where there are Filipinos, there's bangus. It's also expensive here, and it's not even boneless!
At least you have Foodland. Here, wala talagang bangus. :( Everytime I go home to Manila, I eat bangus for breafast, lunch, and dinner. :) Next time, I go to Bangkok, maybe I should ask for bangus from you... now I'm getting hungry too. :)
Toe, here's an open invitation to come and eat bangus with Roo next time you come to Bangkok. Let us know ahead of time so we can hound the staff at Foodland to save us some.
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