A lot of times when I cook fish, especially frozen batang/ kite fish, I get put off by the stinky odour. The odour doesn’t mean that the fish has gone bad though. Find out how to get rid of it in this post.

The other night, I was feeling quite bad for not cooking for the longest time. I don’t like to come up with new dishes for dinner because the lighting is bad and the pictures usually turn out crap. And so when I do fix dinner, I don’t take photos.. not as often as before. How did I do it?

I was talking to a friend the other day about working mums. I am lucky that 1) I’m not a mum and 2) I get off work at 5pm and reach home by 6. And even so, I sometimes (most times these days) just want to spend all the time I have listening to all the music I can listen to, or read all the books that I haven’t read. And even before doing these two things, the time on the clock reads 11pm. Where did the time go? So, I really applaud working mums who really have a 24/7 job. When and if I become a mum, what’s gonna happen to my me-time? It’s not even enough now. I’m not sure I can handle it.

And you know, lazy working girls fix lazy dinners. I wanted to use up the frozen fish in my fridge so I can restock with new stuff to cook, so I placed four pieces of batang fish in a large bowl of milk and left it to defrost in the fridge. The idea was also to use up the curry paste, laksa paste, and coconut milk that Ayam Brand generously sent over. Honestly, I had no idea how I wanted to cook the fish, but I opened my treasure box of sponsored sauces and got inspired when I saw laksa paste + coconut milk. Ok! Laksa fish it’s gonna be!

I’m gonna cook this weekend so look out for new recipes coming your way! In other news, I foresee busy weeks ahead, with lots of writing + proposals (for work), recipe challenges + advertorials (for the blog) and accommodation booking + itinerary research (for Spain!!!!) coming up. I’ll be in Barcelona, Seville, Cordoba and Madrid from mid November for about two weeks. I cannot wait! Let me know if there are must-eat places? I promise to eat your share!

The post Curry Laksa Fish appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

I can almost taste the fish right now.

You know when they say you could taste the freshness of the sea? I know exactly what that means when I take a bite of this Saba Fish.

The firm but moist mackerel flesh seems to disintegrate when it touches your tongue, the flavour of the fish melting into your whole mouth.

The strong garlic flavour contrasts with the hint of lemon.. and the fresh chilli gives it just the subtle kick that it needs. Don’t use chilli padi for this. You don’t want the heat to overtake the flavour of the fish.

I’ve been whipping up quick and easy versions of Saba Fish in my Philips Airfryer, ever since we discovered no-frills filleted portions of it from Song Fish. The fish is sold in a packet of seven, and are individually wrapped for convenience and hygiene. Everytime I need to fix a quick dinner, I defrost a portion, clean it, pat it dry, season it lightly, and into the airfryer it goes. Eight minutes later, I get this wonderful, wonderful dish that never fails me.

I’ve tried out Saba with home made teriyaki sauce.. or with a bit of mirin and sake.. or just lightly salted and plain. I love them all ways. Today I tried it with olive oil, garlic, lemon and some fresh red chillies. I don’t regret it one bit!

There is no other dish that can be easier than this. I cooked this in the airfryer lined with aluminium foil, and after eight minutes, I transferred the perfectly cooked fish to a serving plate and threw the foil away. No splattering oil, no grief, no mopping the floor afterwards. This is one of my favourite ways to cook Saba. If you have a favourite recipe, please leave me a comment below. I’d love to hear from you!

The post Garlic-Lemon Mackerel (Saba Fish) appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

I have a love-hate relationship with Saba (mackerel) fish. Sometimes I love it, sometimes I don’t. Most times I do, depending on my mood. The same can’t be said about my relationship with fried chicken or hainanese curry png. I always love fried chicken and hainanese curry png. There’s no two ways about it.

Eating fish is “supposed to be” a healthy affair. Fish is good for you yes, but before you order that saba fish set from the food court Japanese stall, have you wondered how it is prepared? Peep into their kitchen next time you order Japanese food and you’ll most probably see the cook drop a perfect saba fish into the deep fryer. Yes, most of these “healthy” saba sets are deep fried to save time.

The fish above was airfried for 8 minutes. No oil was added and the “fishy smell” wasn’t too bad at all as compared to panfrying. There was minimal clean up (just soak the airfryer basket, wash and go!) and the fish came out perfect. With the Philips Airfryer, I never cook fish any other way, unless if the fish is too big to fit, then I use the oven.

The fish was moist and flaked beautifully. If you prefer, you can add some grated ginger plus ginger juice to your teriyaki sauce. I left that out because I was pressed for time, but this fish was still amazing and flavourful as it is. I’ll never order deep fried saba fish outside ever again. This is the absolute best way to enjoy fish.. lightly prepared with zero oil. Try this, I promise you won’t be disappointed!

The post Teriyaki Saba Fish (mackerel fish with homemade teriyaki sauce) appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.