Two Women

This is a story of two women. I do not know them personally but somehow they are part of my world.

On the 25th July 2003, at 3:09:48 AM a short message beeped me into consciousness from a deep slumber. It was a short message from my friend Vi An. He said 'My mum pass away'. I kept this message until today. I just received a new cell phone and I do not know how to transfer my old messages. So when I read this I felt kind of sad. For this is my last link with her and what her death meant to me. At that time I felt good that Vi An had placed me as someone important enough to let me know of his grief. It gave a defination to our friendship. Now he does not call me anymore. Such is the transitory of human relationship.

On the 20th July 2005, at 7:55 AM the wife of our current Prime Minister died from breast cancer. Her illness is public knowledge but her death still shock Malaysian collective consciousness. I watched a little of the funeral in the evening news. According to Muslim rites she was buried on the same day. Very soon she too will be regulated into the past.

Nothing is permanent .........

A most disgusting man.

I live in a very working class neighborhood. What is a working class? To me it means that most of my neighbors have to work very hard for their livelihood. Normally they have very little time for social niceties. Take for instance the family that lives on the floor below me. I do not know much about the husband. He squats by the drain every morning while waiting to send his kids to school. The wife runs a noodle stall on a five foot way. I don't think it is the lack of money but rather the environment they live in. For instance they talked to each other at the top of their voice. Also they swear alot using very colorful language. The funny thing is that they do it all the time among themselves. For example when the mother is angry she will used very lurid terms even referring to her own private parts while scolding her children!

There is a older man who lived in the next block. I called him the 'most disgusting man' because of his behavior. In the morning, on the way out he will drive by with a bag of refuse dangling from his open car window. Just as he gets near the rubbish bin he will throw the bag onto the ground and drive off. He even does this when the cleaner is standing by the bin. He could easily just stop his car and give the bag to her. Instead he just fling in next to her as if to say 'hey its your job, pick it up'. The poor cleaner must feel really bad being treated this way.... and she has to pick up after him. What a bastard! This is one case of third world mentality. I wonder how we can even begin to build a civil society with these people in it?

A Fish Story

How to dress a Cincaru. (Scienticfic : Megalaspis Cordyla, English : Hardtail Scad, Malay : Ikan Cincaru, Cantonese : Ngan Mei Chee)

I like to eat this fish. I remember my see koo (4th Aunt) always cooked it for me when I visited her. She will stuffed the fish with a spicy paste made from chili, onion, garlic, dried shrimps and belacan (prawn paste). This recipe is called 'Hu Chee Rumpah - Sambal stuffed fish'. Of course she made it all look so easy. I found out this is a Nyoya (a Peranakan woman) recipe. My grandmother was a Strait Born (Peranakan - a Chinese who is borned in the Straits Settlement - speaks and dresses like a Malay) so I guessed my auntie learned this from her.

Two nights ago I was invited to a pot luck party. Thinking it was the Ramadhan (fasting season) I wanted to make something local. So I bought a dozen Cincaru. I told the guys at the fish counter to help clean my pickings while I go buy other stuff. When I got home I discovered the fish were gutted but with the scales still intact. This fish is aptly named. It possessed an armor like cover - one scale over the other in a continuous chain. I have limited culinary skills, I thought in order to fry the fish I must take off the tough exterior. So I tried to remove the skin. It was so tough the knife could not even penetrate the scale. Out of desperation I used a pair of pliers. While pulling off the skin I took out the meat too. By that time I was hot, sweaty and totally frustrated. Besides time was fast running out, so was my confidence. I knew I was doing it wrong because by then I had a fish without meat staring at me. I raced up to my PC and keyed in 'How to dress a Cincaru?' but zilch, absolutely nothing on this matter. In the end I packed all the fishes into the freezer.

So here I am posting this article. Hopefully one day it may rescue someone. Now take heed - you do not need to remove the scale at all! If you fry this fish without the scale the meat will all fall off from the bone. After cooking, the armored skin can be removed easily by just lifting it off! Aaaaaaaaaaargh.

Anyway for whatever reason you may need to remove the skin this is how you do it. I consulted a colleague and she taught me this way.

Method :

Make a cut next to the gill, just at the beginning of the first scale. Do not cut into the tough scale because it will only blunt your knife. Take a piece of newspaper or any protective medium (to prevent cutting your hand) and grasped the first tough scale. Pull the scale towards the tail in one smooth motion. The scales should come off in one long section. Of course you may use pliers!

Is there anyone out there who would like to share recipes for Cincaru? Please reply to this posting and I shall be eternally grateful.