The Terubuk Fish

This is no fish to eat if you are afraid of fish with fine hairy bones. The closest relative is the parang.

Terubuk is well liked by the Malay community and are often roasted or deep-fried and eaten with some chili-onion-dark soya sauce dip.

I started eating terubuk this year after buying one from Mydin Hypermarket in Subang Jaya.

The flesh of this fish is certainly tasty and flakes off easily. In fact, you can say it practically 'melts' in your mouth as the flesh is soft and tender.

Whatever you do, just eat the fish carefully and gingerly. Do not ever attempt to eat it together with rice at one go because chances are, if you are unfortunate, you will get choked with an irritable terubuk bone sticking somewhere down your throat. Believe me, the experience can be most unnerving.

I remembered clearly what my mother said: the only way to get rid of it is by swallowing dollops of rice to dislodge it! Yes, it does work for me in bygone days- a frightful and painful procedure I could recall.