Friday, January 8, 2010

FISH FLOSS ~ SERUNDING IKAN


When a warm tropical thunderstorm ceases I'm happy. I feel as fresh as a cold, squirmy fish soaking in a sharp, chilly lake in the lush, mountain jungles of Borneo. With a camera. Snapping cheerfully at my bowl of fish floss. Knees in a puddle, slipping about on wet leaves.

It's the after rain feeling I'm having now. A little bouncy, blithe, light and gurgly. Its the ions. You know ~ the negetive ions~.



And strangely enough my fish floss look almost like fish food. Fish food fit for a Fish King. Or for the Queen of Fish. 

That's how gurgly I'm feeling right now.......pheash forgive me.


Tuna is what I used. 3 whole tunas, filleted, skinned, poached and crumbled. And spiced up with some chillie, coriander seeds, onions, garlic, ginger and tumeric. 



It's an appetizer, a side dish, a sandwich filler. It can be eaten as a topping for fried rice, with steamed glutinous rice or with bread for breakfast or as a snack. I love it. It's one of my favourite appetizers. If only it requires less time to make and if it lasts longer around the house.



This is one of those childhood food that I remember fondly of but rather vaguely because it was always presented to us or bought for special occasions but never made.



The light, airy flossed meat, fish or chicken that I remember is not something one can achieve at home. It usually looks like it has been shredded into strands and then beaten to a pulp until it's looks light and fluffy. Like it was done by a machine. Or a maniac.




But if you make it at home it will almost always look a little grainy not light and floss like.


Now..... Zurin here didn't want that. So to achieve that lightness that she does so covet I pulsed the cooked fish floss in the food processor until the little balls of fish floss became fine, light and airy. 


I thought it looked much better. You're welcome.



The recipe..................


650 gm of cooked fish meat (tuna, mackeral or any meaty fish) I used 3 whole tunas about 12 inches from tip to tail. You could also use an equal amount of minced beef or chicken.

6 medium onions
4 garlic
1 inch ginger
1/2 inch galangal
2 stalks lemon grass (white part only)
3 T coriander seed, pounded coarsely
1 T or more chillie paste (bottled or fresh)

2 tsp tumeric powder 
1 T sugar

250 ml coconut milk or cream
5 T any vegetable oil

salt

Poach the fillets of fish in pan of water until cooked. Drain and let cool. Remove bones and crumble the meat until it is as fine as you can get it....like breadcrumbs. Keep aside.


Peel onions, garlic ginger, galangal. Slice the white part of the lemon grass. Place them all in a food proccesor and process until quite fine.


Heat up the oil in a thick based medium pot. Saute the processed spices, while adding the chillie paste, tumeric powder and pounded coriander seeds, until fragrant and the paste turns a darker colour. About 10 to 15 minutes.



Put in the crumbled fish meat, pour in the coconut milk or cream and mix well. Let it cook on the stove on small to medium heat, stirring now and then to prevent burning. Ad sugar and salt. Stir and mix.


The mixture should not have any sauce or gravy but should be quite like a thick wet paste. Cook until it becomes slightly drier and it is no longer too wet.


Transfer the mixture to a large baking tray that has been lined with foil or baking paper for easier cleaning.

Bake in an oven at 170 C, checking and stirring every 15 minutes until the fish floss becomes golden all over. 


Stirring the floss as it bakes is important so that the floss browns evenly. I didn't time the baking but I think it took about an hour. 


Remove and let it cool completely. Pour half the floss into a food processor and pulse until the floss becomes fine, light and airy. Do the same for the rest of the floss.


Store in an airtight container and in the refrigerator.


Top or Snack.


58 comments:

Kana said...

Zurin:
I adore serunding ayam and always lug some bakc from Kl to New York. It never occued to me that I can make this at home. Thanks for the ikan version!

Elin Chia said...

Zurin..you are awesome!...those fish floss you made are mouth watering. I love them but too much work involved :) Whenever my colleague goes back to Kelantan for holidays, I will tumpang beli the serunding. The State is famous for this serunding :) chicken, beef and fish :) Thanks for sharing...I might make this one day...added to my To Do List :))

La Table De Nana said...

Top or snack:) It looks like a prized delicacy!

You will smile but in a small way it reminded me of Bonito Flakes:)~
Pretty photos Zurin..

How long will this last you?

Ju (The Little Teochew) said...

Oh, tell me about all these flosses. Fish floss, prawn floss, meat flosses ... they make any dish come alive. The perfect topping. And certainly, an delicious sandwich filling! FANTASTIC shots, I might add, Zurin. They do justice to this dish! :)

Zurin said...

Maya, u welcome :)

Elin, ur awesome too! n ur welcome..lotto work.. yes.:)

Monique, tq..gee I was thinking bonito flakes too. I meant to mention it in the post but I 4got to :) it'll last bout 2-3 days I guess.

tq dear Ju, very appetizing..prawn floss are even better...oh yum. :)

3 hungry tummies said...

I made some pork floss last week, the way to make it is very similar! It looks really good!

Angie's Recipes said...

Wonderful! I love both pork and fish floss!

ann low said...

Zurin: Thanks for sharing this recipe. Never thought this can be so flavourful ;D

Marysol said...

If fish really do like to floss, then why do they always squirm recklessly at the end of my hook?


Zurin, I guess I'm also feeling a little gurgly this morning because your first paragraph reminded me of the movie "The Incredible Mr. Limpet."

I feel a little strange uttering these words, but, I can't wait to try Fish Floss. It looks absolutely delicious!
And I could picture it on top of fried rice. Not to mention, it would make a delicious (and healthy) snack on its own.

You have inspired me again, with your amazing photos and educational posts!

Federica Simoni said...

ciao!! straordinario questo piatto!! complimenti!

Linda said...

I have never had this but I would love to stick my fork right into the screen and have some of yours...oh that looks incredible!
L~xo

Kitchen Butterfly said...

Love it........fish sambal :-) love it. Tastes yummy. Need some....

Anonymous said...

I haven't tasted fish floss but serunding ayam is my faovurite. Thanks for sharing this recipe. Now I really want to try to make it :)

Su-yin said...

I never knew fish floss existed! I'm so excited now! I love chicken floss so I'm sure I'll enjoy this, thanks for enlightening me.

Mary Bergfeld said...

What an interesting recipe. I've never had this but it would take no work to convince me to try it. Your photos are terrific.

Quinn said...

Zurin, I could have say my favouriye is this and that but I really really gotta say that my favourite is serunding daging and that top my list of all favourite! I really gotta make this. Thank you!

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

Thanks dear for sharing, I wanted to make this Malay style of Serunding long time ago, but have been waiting for a good recipe, I must quickly copy down this recipe and will sure make this soon. Have a nice weekend..

pigpigscorner said...

Looks so good and so versatile! I've always wanted to know how they make this. Thanks for the recipe!

Unknown said...

What a wonderfull idea, you're a Queen !
I doen't know this and its so fantastic, I have to try so quickly and you write so well, I can imagine the mountain jungles of Borneo, bravo

Shirley @ Kokken69 said...

Sorry Zurin, I am not going to comment on your fish floss for I still couldn't get past that surreal, dream-like opening... I am beginning to suspect that your fish floss carries a hypnotic spell.

pierre said...

I would like so much to have more heat here in Paris !!
your dish is scrumptious Bravo !! cheers from snowy Paris Pierre

Zurin said...

3 tummies, oh how nice..same minds we have :)

Angie, tq angie!:)

Ann, welcome :)

Marysol, Tq, Yes its sounds strange~ fish floss..as if fish floss...:D

we are gurly girly girls arent we? :) there I go again...

Federica, TQ :)

Linda, TQ :)

Ozoz, yes a litle like smbal but dry :)

Ellie, hope u make some :)

Su yin, ur welcom :)

Mary, oh hope u make some !:)

Quinn, U too Quin!:)

Sonia, u to Sonia! :)

Pigpigs corner, ur welcome!:)

Chapot, Gosh I can't believe so many would like to try this! I thought it would be like no one would bother to try. :)tq please try :)

Shirley, awww, what a pity u didnt get past that ~ its the ions ~ u know ~ the negetive ions~ :))

Pierre, I love SNow...wish we had snow here and now :)

Mari @ Once Upon a Plate said...

Wow Zurin, I had NO idea this could be made at home. I now see how much work it takes to make it, but that was brilliant to use the food processor to achieve the lovely texture.

Beautiful photos!! :)

fimere said...

ça à l'air très appétissant, j'en prends note
bonne soirée

Unknown said...

Discovered your blog today and it is fantastic. I have never before heard of, or had fish floss. Gotta love the internet for opening up a whole new world of food and flavours. Bookmarked to try.

Nadia said...

LOL maniac

Nadji said...

J'ai déjà mangé du Meat Floss chez des amis indonésiens à Paris et c'est très bon.
A bientôt.

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

You are SO clever! I never even considered being able to make these-like most of us mere mortals we buy this and love it but to make it is a brilliant idea. It looks so fluffy and flossy! :D

Barbara said...

Great post, Zurin. I've never heard of it, loved reading about it and probably will never make it, BUT I can think of a lot of things to put it on!
The pork floss comments were interesting too. Sometimes I wonder where I have been...there are so many things I have never tried!

chow and chatter said...

oh wow this is awesome I bet it tastes amazing, and so many uses for it, yummy, let me know if you would like to share this recipe on chow and chatter
rebeccasubbiah at yahoo dot com, its great to share with everyone

thanks for your sweet comments Zurin

Rebecca

Divina Pe said...

This is amazing. We usually have pork floss which is store bought but grandma used to make this from scratch. Fish floss sounds even better.

Anonymous said...

hi zu!
was just looking at ellie's post on pineapple rice.
with would go so well with it! heehee.

Pei-Lin said...

Zurin, thanks for the recipe!! I love meat floss of all kinds!! Agreed. Meat floss is great in sandwiches, porridge and so many other great dishes!! It's just so sad that they are hard for others to get notice of ... LOL!

As usual, great style of writing & photography!! Keep it up!

Pei-Lin

nazarina said...

This is such a unique and tasty recipe,I would love to try.This fish floss is by far better than dental floss LOL!!!

Hélène (Cannes) said...

I have to try that ! It's absolutely new for me and it seems so good !
Have a nice day
Hélène

Sook said...

Wow this looks really cool! I've never had anything like this so I'm intrigued by all the beautiful photos of your dish.

Faida said...

GOODNESS SAKE that was a tedious process. It took so much of passion and patience. Promise me aunty that you will take care of my uncle.

Kate at Serendipity said...

Zurin, this is amazing. I've never heard of fish floss. As I read the ingredients, they sound absolutely fabulous together. Like Monique, when I first saw the photo, it reminded me of bonito flakes (maybe because I've been trying to find bonito flakes in Belgium). This, however, sounds like a perfect thing to keep around for garnishing and snacks. Over rice?

Unknown said...

It's me again, I have a surprise for you on my blog

Anonymous said...

You know what, I've never heard of serunding ikan! But it sure sounds good, and most definitely looks great!

fimere said...

bonne journée
à bientôt

WendyinKK said...

One friend of mine used leftover laksa gravy to make serunding ikan.
She thought I didn't know, but one taste of it, I asked her, how come it tasted like laksa??? She laughed and admitted it.

I miss Kelantan's serunding daging...

Term Papers said...

Hi, thanks for the tips. That was a great help to me.it's great to see fresh, creative ideas that have never been done before.

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Paul said...

Hi
just found your blog. Great recipe but as I am from a different country could you please confirm that 5T is teaspoons not tablespoon?
many thanks

Zurin said...

Hi PAul. im so sorry I just saw ur comment. Yes 5 T . with a capital T is Tablespoon.

Zurin said...

Its not teaspoon....its Tablespoon :))

Research Papers said...

FISH FLOSS SERUNDING IKAN, is good thing to have for eating, I think such thing is very testy and has good to take the recipe of it, I think this can be now possible to make it at home.

Custom Home Detailing said...

These are some very nice dishes. Thank you for spending time on the blog.

Rain Gutter Cleaning said...

We think the class will really like this. We will show the class. Good post.

Web Design said...

Incidentally, I like the way you have structured your site, it is super and very easy to follow. I have bookmarked you and will be back regularly. Thank you

Study in UK said...

This is truly a great read for me. I have bookmarked it and I am looking forward to reading new articles. Keep up the good work

ghufxpert said...

serunding ikan ni boleh buat isi mini popia,karipap mini,makan ngan nasi pun okay jgk..time bulan puasa makan ngan sahur jer dah boleh bukak selera

http://serundingasli.com

Anonymous said...

I love your blog! You will be in our prayers and thoughts! Nice and informative post on this topic thanks for sharing with us.Thank you

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pat said...

Was looking for serunding ayam recipe and found yours. Looks delicious! Will try this instead. :-)
Do i need to bake it or can i continue to cook it over a stove top on a low flame?

Zurin said...

Hi Pat, :) I think if you followed the recipe to a T everything wld be fine. Hope you'll try :) Thanks for dropping by.

Atta Rehman said...

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Sabra Allsbrook said...

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phoebeluv said...

i dunno what to do with all the fishes that hb caught, so i am attempting this. but i find it a bit bland for me so i doubled the sugar, added bonito powder and a tbsp of soya sauce. thank you so much for your recipe. it is cooling right now, can't wait to blitz it.

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