Acar Fish - Nyonya style pickled fish

I remember quite vividly of a curiously yellow dish on the table. Hands were dirtied and tainted yellow with the mix of rice and fish. A big dollop of sambal on the side of the plate and a satiated silence permeates the dining table.

Acar Fish was the order of the day, it's loaded with turmeric which gives it that distinct yellow color and a spicy acidic flavor from the vinegar used. It's a very simple recipe really, and a tasty one. My father loves this dish and would never fail to have at least a second helping when this is cooked.

I used smelt for this recipe because they were so fresh in the market when i bought them. I couldn't help it but get reminded of this pickled fish dish (Mind you, in Malaysia, you don't use smelt. It's a fish that looks like smelt though - i just don't know what it's called). So, I bought 6 smelts to make this dish.

**edit: My dad told me the fish they use in Penang is called "belanak" or "beranak" cos it's usually filled with eggs or something. Hmm...maybe it's a cousin of the smelt. AND apparently i have missed a very important step in making this fish: Drying it under the sun before the dry rub and frying. Crucial, apparently. But i made this during winter and there was no sun at 6pm in the evening :P SIGH... it tasted good though. I think i made up for the sun-bathing process by frying till it's crisp :D

I shall share this Nyonya recipe with you because it's just delicious with rice and I'm a generous girl ;)

Acar Fish recipe:
5 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
8 slices of ginger, thinly julienned
1/4 teaspoon of turmeric
1/2 cup of white vinegar
1 tablespoons of sugar, or to taste
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 cup of oil

1 teaspoon turmeric for marinating fish
salt and pepper
1 cup of Oil for frying.

Method:
1. Marinate your fish with some salt, pepper and turmeric powder for about 30 minutes--it's like a dry rub. You can prepare the other ingredients in the mean time.
2. Heat pan with 1 cup of oil on medium high. Once the oil is hot enough, if you have a cooking thermometer, reading should say 300F, fry your fish until it is crispy and golden brown.

Now the trick here is to fry the fish on medium high heat (turn the heat down to medium if it gets too hot) until the fish becomes crispy. You want to fry the water content of the fish away so that it will become a sponge for later cooking. This is how the fish will absorb all those flavors of ginger, turmeric and garlic. The vinegar cuts the oiliness and imparts a nice appetizing bite to the dish.

3. Once the fish is done, take it out of the oil and lay them on a kitchen towel to absorb the excess oil.
4. On a different pan, heat with 1/4 cup of oil. Saute the garlic and ginger until fragrant. Add turmeric powder and vinegar in. It'll be splashy for a few seconds so be careful.
5. Add the fried fish into the pan and let it come to a simmer. Add salt, sugar to taste. Let the dish simmer for about 15 minutes and then serve.

This Acar Fish can last for a long while and it actually tastes better as time goes by. You can make a big batch of this and keep it refridgerated for weeks. But i doubt it'll last a week in the fridge - i'd eat it everyday ;)