Daing: Dried Fish
I bought dried fish from the Filipino Sari-Sari Store the other day…my craving for a Filipino breakfast overcame my apprehensions about getting one of good-quality. This wasn’t so bad. But man…was it salty! My tastes must have changed more than I realized. I used to enjoy dried fish.
This was dried “bisugo” fish. It’s very potently fishy. In fact, I remember we would sometimes say it tasted like iodine, “lasang iodo” we would say. I opened all the windows in the house and turned on all the exhaust fans so it wouldn’t stink up the house so much. But when I put those fishes in the hot oil…..wheeeee….it reminded me of home! I started salivating as I was frying it up.
I have a theory this package was actually saltier than what you can get in the Philippines because it was meant to last longer…being for export and all. I hope so…because I always enjoyed my daing breakfasts…with that native vinegar…yummy. I’m not put off totally…disappointed yes. More so because this package of 4 dried fishes cost $3.99 – before the 6% sales tax!
I also have another theory that my predisposition to salt was affected by my conscious efforts to use less salt and sugar in cooking as a consequence of an experience with a family member’s health concerns.
Before I moved to the US, that family member got sick and the doctor ordered a strict, no-salt diet which I had to oversee. I was just terrified of going back to the hospital after several confinements and was determined we were going to have the blandest diet the other side of Salt Lake City. I even came up with this theory that one should drink as much water as could possibly manage only to find out water retention is another detriment to your health!
August 17th, 2006 at 10:20 pm
[...] This is a common way of preparing rice in the Philippines. “Sinangag” as we call it, is great for breakfast with virtually anything you can fry. We use plenty of garlic…perfect way to wake you up if you really think about it. I made this to go with the dried fish I posted about yesterday. [...]
August 22nd, 2006 at 10:38 pm
Even here in the Philippines, the consistency of the saltiness in the “daings” being sold in the supermarket and palengke varies. I prefer the less salty kind too…for health reasons.
August 24th, 2006 at 6:20 am
exactly…that’s why it took me 5 years before i bought a pack. besides, i was shocked at the price. we can get it so cheap back home, diba?
August 25th, 2006 at 2:15 pm
hi! i came across your blog via jmom. try washing your dried fish and then drying it for a while before cooking. or it’s really really salty, try soaking it first in water, drain and cook
August 25th, 2006 at 6:11 pm
Hi Honey…thanks for checking out my blog.
I rinsed the fish in hot water but you’re right, I shoulda soaked it before cooking. There were leftovers and I steamed it with my fried rice…that seemed to help. Actually, it was much better and was eaten “kamay-kamay”…mmmm!