Deep-fried Tenggiri Fish
Childhood favourite: Deep-fried Tenggiri Fish
I grew up on these deep fried Tenggiri fish. It is a common fish in South East Asia cooking, and besides being known as Tenggiri, my mum refers to it more often as “ma jia” (in Chinese) or “beh ga” in Hokkein. For those who reside out of Asia, the fish may be more commonly known as Spanish mackerel. Growing up, there are not many fish I liked because I find them all fishy (I’m not much of an adventurous eater back then), but this fish is an exception because it is naturally sweet and not fishy at all. The bones are relatively large and few, so they are a little less cumbersome than other fish to eat. I remember enjoying it with rice or porridge. Looking back, I realised my mum’s meals are wholesome, unpretentious, and super yummy. So naturally, when I tried to re-create this now in my kitchen, I kept the recipe really minimalistic. For the ingredients, there are just three – fish, salt and oil. And to cook it, just heat the oil and fry the fish fillets (deep fry or pan fry) till golden brown. In this simple recipe, there are no excessive marinade, seasonings or ingredients so no risk of complicating or masking the natural good taste of the fish.
Like Noob Cook on Facebook | Recipe Updates via Email |
How to know if your fish has been deep fried to perfection? A nicely fried Tenggiri fish is crispy to the bite. I can hear the delightful ‘crunch’ as I sink my teeth into the fish, and the sound is music to my ears. The best part is, the fish stays crunchy even a few hours after it has been fried.
Ingredients
- Tenggiri fish steaks (cut cross-section), rinsed & patted dry
- vegetable cooking oil (example canola oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil)
- sea saltAdditional tools
- kitchen tongs (to hold the fish to check its progress)Directions
1. Sprinkle a bit of salt over both sides of the fish.
2. Deep frying method. Heat some oil (enough oil to cover the fish) in a wok (or saucepan or deepfryer). Add fish steaks and deep fry till golden brown and crispy.
3. Pan frying method. If you prefer to pan fry, heat some oil (generous amount to cover a layer of the entire wok or pan. Add fish steaks to cover a single layer in the wok. Pan fry for a few minutes on one side till golden brown and crispy. Turn over and pan fry till golden brown on the other side.
| If you enjoy this article, please share, tks! |     |
{ 57 comments… read them below or add one }
Hmm…my mom cook this too. Love to have it with sambal. :)
I hope this is not too off topic but I would like to share how my grandma did hers. She use a ginger knob and rub the base of a heavy based wok and pan-fry the fish with low heat. This way, the fish will definitely not stick to the pan even with minimal oil. Try not to flip even if you have the tendency to do so. Only flip when the fish is cooked on one side. She drizzle soya sauce over the fish while still hot and garnish with very finely julienne ginger that are fried till crisp. It’s my favourite childhood food of all times!!!! Food at its simplest!
Ok, I am totally drooling over the description. Your grandma is a really good cook! Thank you for sharing your grandma’s version. I am going to try it out. :up:
Don’t we all love deep fried tenggiri? :))
My childhood food which I recalled vividly, I had them with sambal kecap (a mixture of kecap manis, sliced shallots and chilies, drizzle with lime) or with sambal terasi as well as steam warmed rice. yummmm.
My family’s way to cook this, marinate the tenggiri with ground coriander, turmeric and garlic.
The Indonesian version sounds awesome! Love kecap on anything. I think from the comments alone, I collected a few neat recipes for cooking this fish
yea ginger is a great way to get rid of fishiness. One delicious way is to coat the fish with a bit of ground ginger and curry powder and frying it. We grew up eating fried fish this way. Definitely got rid of the fishiness. Yum. Great recipe. Thanks for reviving nostagic memories.
ok collecting recipe no. 3 – coat with ginger and curry powder. Thanks for sharing :D
We called it tenggiri too here and my mom cooked it too since our little. My mom version is a little bit different, she will marinate it with tamarind and kaffir lime before frying it. After that eat it with sambal belacan … huah I’m hungry now :)
clipping recipe 4: marinade with tamarind and kaffir lime. Sounds tangy, love this. Thanks for sharing :)
WOW! You know what makes this really stand out? The green leaf that you used for the “plate”! :D It really gives it an earthy look without typical dinnerware. Great choice for this photo…..love the charred edges on the fish too. :up:
The green leaf is called banana leaf. It’s quite common in South East Asia where we used it to wrap foods such as fish, rice etc … it also gives a heavenly fragrance to the food. Thanks for your kind words hehe
That’s neat! Thanks for the bit of history. :) It’s always interesting to read.
Hmm I grew up with this as well. Except the fried fish would have a onion dark soya sauce gravy. The gravy itself is made of dark soya sauce, a bit of light sauce, sugar and white pepper. Really delicious with rice.
clipping recipe no. 5 from comments – hehe love the sound of the quick gravy! Thank you for sharing :)
I know exactly what you mean. I’ve been eating simply fried fish lately too. Except I dip mine in fish sauce. :)
yummy! I’ve been looking for Vietnamese fish sauce but no luck. heard it’s better than Thai fish sauce for dipping.
Although fried ma jia is not my most favorite dish, it has been a homey dish I have enjoyed. I adore your presentation.
This is also what I grew up with….half a piece with a big plate of rice. We were just so happy even to have that and some vegetables.
Look crispy and delicious. My mum did this dish about the same way…fried one tastes good.
Looks like King Fish and I use it in my Escaveche (pickled fish)
PERFECT with rice! I drizzle Vietnamese fish sauce with lime over mine fried fish.
I grew up eating lots of this. My uncle was a fishmonger so we get to eat this fish often. My grandmother fried this too with lots of ginger with soy sauce. We will eat it with our rice porridge.
Oooh, I also grew up with this fish, except that what I ate taste fishy (it depends on how it’s done). But…. with well made chilli sauce to dip with, it will distinguish this dish as delicious or bland.
Ate this when I was young too, but never had it for donkey years.
Hmmm….I was thinking back to the days when salmon was not popular (and DHA, omega was not the “IN” thing for kids), this fish was used for feeding kids cos’ like what you said, not many bones! In my family, we don’t have any sauce with it, we just eat the fish (side-dish) with plain porridge + other non-deep-fried side dishes to balance out the “dryness” of the fish.
same here same here. last time no salmon! and I think I like this better, more savoury. Me too, I have it plain with porridge. love the natural sweetness.
Wiffy,
I love tenggiri too. I wish it is available here in the US but it isn’t. The Indian Mackarel is available but they’re small, bony, and fishy :(
The fish is so versatile… I miss this fish.
oh my, totally took this humble fish for granted – didn’t know it is not avail. in US. next time u visit Asia, bring some frozen tenggiri fish steaks back :)
This is lovely and easy to prepare. My mom made this a lot, we also like dipping in mayonnaise or Miracle whip. Salmon is also a great alternative.
Haha.. One of the usual dish which I normally have for my dinner. My mom likes to cook this for me :D Nice post!
I love these easy and speedy recipes!
Hey Wiffy, I grew up eating a lot of easy fried fish too. My mom stuck to mild fish for us ‘fried’ b/c we actually wolfed it down. Your photo makes the texture of this mackerel look so good…
been ages hey! but this is the fish that I would eat with rice porridge when i was growing up!
The way you describe them with the little ‘crunch’ has my mouth-watering! So delicious! :XO:
Simple and nice, I miss this kind of fish.
Love tenggiri esp deep fried like this. I don’t think I can find the same here :(
I like to eat with sambal and white rice.. hehe
My grandma used to cook this whenever we have porridge! She fries with some soy sauce..yummy!
I coat it with some tumeric powder and chilli powder for some colour and spicy oomph!
just like my grandma did it, yummy as it is
goes well with hot piping porridge.
I love this fish and it’s one that I cook very often. There’s also a very similar looking & tasting kind called Batang, I’m not sure if these two are the same. Can’t find this in Beijing (where I live now) though. *sulk* ::-*:
No Batang and Tenggiri is not the same, but yes they look similar. Batang is the cheaper fish over here. I think Tenggiri is less fishy and sweeter :)
Haven’t had tenggiri fish for the longest time! Can’t find them here in Sydney :( The golden crisp is the best!
Oh oh, but in Australia, you have access to good fish like barramundi at great prices. I’m jealous ;)
LOVE! my dad’s favourite fish and my childhood lunch dish – always paired with a bowl of watery plain porridge. MMMM
oh and i’m not sure what the name of this fish is in Chinese, do u? but it’s a Teochew favourite.
Hey diva, the Chinese name is ma3 jia1 yu2 … I’m not sure how to write ma3 jia1 in Chinese though hehe
*馬鮫魚 sorry about the typo! :p
It’s otherwise known as 馬交魚 :-)
i also grew up with deep fried “beh ga”, dip it with soy sauce and eat with a bowl of porridge, simple delicious !!
Growing up in the Philippines, I also really enjoyed fried fish! Never the Spanish mackarel – we used to have it grilled which was also delicious. Next time I come across this fish, I’ll try frying it. Yum!
My grandma and mom used to cook fish this way, it is true that you can really taste the fish and its sweetness…great pictures!
Is Tengirl Fish another name for what we call in the US Mackarel( King Mackarel)? That’s what this fish looks like to me.
Hi I’m not totally sure about that. According to Wiki, they are not the same though very similar.
Love the pictures and this post. Brought back fond memories of my childhood =) Maybe I’ll cook some this week…
I used to eat this dish very often when i was a child.. Would love to eat more often again…
Dear all. thanks for sharing. I’ve tried most of your ideas and my wife and daughter love the fish. Thank you for your great help :)
i would like to prepare non veg recipes