Ikan api neraka (Hell fish)
I bump into Airine on my way back from the grocery store so we both go to get sugar cane (tebu) because it’s been awhile since we get to be so uncivilised. I go back and get a machete (parang) to trim the sugar cane cortex so that we can munch the sugary fibre straight away, and we devour the sugar cane on the bridge, underneath of which there is a stream (parit).
Because there’s a fishing net nearby we set it up in the stream hoping to get any fish that we can eat. While waiting we continue eating the sugar cane and called Shukri next door to join us.
I ask Airine what are we goona do with the fish, if we do get any. Burn it, of course. But that’s troublesome because we’d have to pull out the guts and put it in lemon juice to get rid of the stink of freshwater fish and then the spices and everything.
Oh, we don’t need all that. We can just take some coconut husks (sabut kelapa) and burn the fish in it.
I dunno what he means by that, just burn the fish in coconut husks, but then I think wouldn’t it be mightily grand if we also roast clams (bakar kerang). Once we both went to the sea and get so much fresh clams during the day, that during the night we call all of our friends and cook the clams in coconut husks. That was one heck of a clams galore.
But how are we goona get clams it’s already late afternoon, if we set out to the sea in the morning probably it’s a good idea. We can always try buy some, we’d get good amount even if we just buy RM2 of clams.
But there were no clams on sale that afternoon and it’s fast getting dark we’re not goona spend more time going to other places looking for clams for sale. At this time of the day people are all abuzz buying fish and sea products but looks like it’s not the day for clams for sale.
When we get back Mahbub is already there and then we picked out the trapped fish from the net, three of them all tilapia. I go to get coconut husks although I’m not sure how are we goona burn the fish threesome.
I hand Airine some dry cane leaves because it’s good fire starter and we use Shukri’s lighter. When the leaves burning we put it in the coconut husk so that we can get the fire going step by step. Because everyone take things step by step.
When the flames in the husks dies down there’s amber so Airine wanted to put the fish straight away onto the amber. The fish is not all dead but still literally breathing air and the gills are not made to breath air, as in air air, innit? It flicked itself from the heat. This is crazy and violent. Animal rights people might come and do a demonstration if they know. I take a heavy rock and knock out the fish dead so that we can relieve their suffering and put them to sleep, before into fire ha ha ha and it’s for God’s sake but it is still humane.
I dunno if I want to eat fish that is not washed, not lemonised or not even pulled the gut out but the fish is already in the husk amber. After a while we pulled out the fish and put it onto banana leaves and Airine and Mahbub eats it. The fish is obviously black covered with ash and still hot from the transfer of energy. I can’t help it but to try some too but when I tried to pick the lower part of it Airine says that’s its gut, stay away from it.
Okay.
Then we proceed to another fish and I pulled out the lower part forgetting what Airine says and here it reveals the curly gut and it looks nasty as if it’s a green worm inside a fish. Plus the fact that we do not wash, lemonise and even scale the fish, I feel squeamish and decided I’m not goona be like some pre-historic people eating fish uncivilised.
Then those people also do not feel like eating anything when there’s something that looks like a worm near it so we all go home and leave the burnt fish for the cats next door.
Because there’s a fishing net nearby we set it up in the stream hoping to get any fish that we can eat. While waiting we continue eating the sugar cane and called Shukri next door to join us.
I ask Airine what are we goona do with the fish, if we do get any. Burn it, of course. But that’s troublesome because we’d have to pull out the guts and put it in lemon juice to get rid of the stink of freshwater fish and then the spices and everything.
Oh, we don’t need all that. We can just take some coconut husks (sabut kelapa) and burn the fish in it.
I dunno what he means by that, just burn the fish in coconut husks, but then I think wouldn’t it be mightily grand if we also roast clams (bakar kerang). Once we both went to the sea and get so much fresh clams during the day, that during the night we call all of our friends and cook the clams in coconut husks. That was one heck of a clams galore.
But how are we goona get clams it’s already late afternoon, if we set out to the sea in the morning probably it’s a good idea. We can always try buy some, we’d get good amount even if we just buy RM2 of clams.
But there were no clams on sale that afternoon and it’s fast getting dark we’re not goona spend more time going to other places looking for clams for sale. At this time of the day people are all abuzz buying fish and sea products but looks like it’s not the day for clams for sale.
When we get back Mahbub is already there and then we picked out the trapped fish from the net, three of them all tilapia. I go to get coconut husks although I’m not sure how are we goona burn the fish threesome.
I hand Airine some dry cane leaves because it’s good fire starter and we use Shukri’s lighter. When the leaves burning we put it in the coconut husk so that we can get the fire going step by step. Because everyone take things step by step.
When the flames in the husks dies down there’s amber so Airine wanted to put the fish straight away onto the amber. The fish is not all dead but still literally breathing air and the gills are not made to breath air, as in air air, innit? It flicked itself from the heat. This is crazy and violent. Animal rights people might come and do a demonstration if they know. I take a heavy rock and knock out the fish dead so that we can relieve their suffering and put them to sleep, before into fire ha ha ha and it’s for God’s sake but it is still humane.
I dunno if I want to eat fish that is not washed, not lemonised or not even pulled the gut out but the fish is already in the husk amber. After a while we pulled out the fish and put it onto banana leaves and Airine and Mahbub eats it. The fish is obviously black covered with ash and still hot from the transfer of energy. I can’t help it but to try some too but when I tried to pick the lower part of it Airine says that’s its gut, stay away from it.
Okay.
Then we proceed to another fish and I pulled out the lower part forgetting what Airine says and here it reveals the curly gut and it looks nasty as if it’s a green worm inside a fish. Plus the fact that we do not wash, lemonise and even scale the fish, I feel squeamish and decided I’m not goona be like some pre-historic people eating fish uncivilised.
Then those people also do not feel like eating anything when there’s something that looks like a worm near it so we all go home and leave the burnt fish for the cats next door.
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