Bukit Merah View Teochew Porridge: Will the Real Teochew Ah Hia please stand up?
With FashionFoodie, smart, liverpool, tag, iwatch_ueat and damien
Today was the day I found out I did not qualify to be a True Blue Teochew Ah Hia! Oh, don't misunderstand me. I am pure bred. Both sets of Grandparents came direct from Swatow. However, I failed the ultimate test of the Teochew Ah Hia. I failed to appreciate freshly steamed Peh Dou Her (Rabbit Fish).
My idea of a perfect Teochew porridge lunch was porridge with stuff like Chye Poh (preserved veg) Omelette, Braised Pork, Sliced Lup Cheong (Chinese sausages) and Braised peanuts. But I found out that that only qualifies me to be an entry level Teochew Ah Hia. The True Blue, Hard Core, Fair Dinkum, No Play Play Teochew Ah Hia loves stuff like steamed Peh Dou Her, steamed mullet and steamed baby squid dipped in Tau Jnior (fermented bean sauce) and chilli.
Peh Dou Her (Rabbit Fish) $4 each
Peh Dou Her is especially prized during the Chinese New Year period when they are about half the size and full of roe. Teochew Ah Hias like Fashionfoodie tell me that the stomach is bitter and when taken with the roe, it is supposed to bring you to the heavenly Swatow. (Area where the Teochews come from)
Here is where I failed. I never did like all the steamed fish that my parents love. In fact it was the fishiness of fish like Peh Dou Her that put me off steamed fish for most of my younger life. But I was game to see if my tastebuds are indeed as Teochew as I thought. Perhaps, as I get older, I might actually like fishy fish?
Not.
Even as the Teochew Ah Hias are attacking the fish with gusto, I found the fish to be too fishy for me. I tried my best but only finished a few mouthfuls. I guess it really is an acquired taste. So, are there many Peh Dou Her afficianados out there?
My rating would be 2.5/5 whereas the other guys rate it 4.5/5
Similarly with the steamed squid. My first bite of it was ok. But it wasn't something I would rave about. So I asked Fashiofoodie again just how to appreciate the dish. He told me that not many people can actually steam it until it was just so soft and tender. Ok. My rating 3/5, his rating 4.5/5.
I was told the beauty of these baby squids is that they are full of roe. Smart especially liked it and kept raving about it. Again for me, it was plain 
steamed squid. I still prefer it deeped fried till crispy with black sweet sauce. My rating 3/5, Smart's 4.5/5
Conclusion
So will you pass the True Blue Teochew Ah Hia test? My three Teochew Ah Hia friends certainly passed with flying colours. That's not to say that people of other dialect groups would not like Peh Dou Her, it's just that if you claim to be a Teochew Ah Hia, you should pass the Peh Dou Her test. Agree or not?
Bukit Merah View Economic Teochew Porridge
#01-377/379
115 Bukit Merah View
10am to 7pm
Closed on Sunday
Recommended by FashionFoodie
40 comments:
Loved the rabbit fish, mum usually coats them with a light layer of oil before steaming...needs a good chilli garlic lime sauce to accompany it though...
Oh.. simply love them, I could easily eat 1/2 dozen small to medium sized ones at a go... and for the squids, my family usually dipped it with sweet plum sauce...
I agree, seems only the teochews know how to eat the rabbit fish. Many of my other dialect friends stay far far away from it. We eat the squids with a kind of orange sweet sauce, call...."gek u" 吉油 best!
my mom fries the peh dor her, and I love eating it at the new year. Not sure how I'd take to it steamed though. I generally don't like very "fishy" smelling fish but my mom's fried peh dor never seem to smell fishy? maybe the steamed ones smell fishy...
To take away some of the fishiness of the PTH, use either a vinegar-chopped garlic or cut chilli-lime dip, avoid the stomache area where the fishy taste is stronger... taste heavenly! ..and so is the steamed squid dipped in the sweet "kek u" sauce
Haha, I too don't appreciate this fish. However, I love steamed fresh grouper/snapper.
I have never eaten this fish before because my mum used to say "very expensive, cannot afford" many moons ago.
It was also recently that I saw what a PTH looked like, and that was on a kelong fishing trip in April last year. I gleefully brought some home and thought "at last, get to try this expensive fish". But when I tried to clean it up, it produced such a stink in the kitchen that I ended up throwing them away. So....no PTH to eat again.
By the way, I'm not Teochew, so no loss :-)
I used to love rabbit fish when I was young, but I lost the taste for it after a while.
Its too bland for my liking now. Perhaps you could do what the others have suggested; dip in sauce to remove some of the fishiness?
My dad is a real Teochew Ah Hia. We have this fish for dinner, every other night, steamed with ginger, garlic, some soy sauce and black vinegar.
Growing up in a Teochew family, we have steamed fish every night. So, no choice. Like it or not, still have to eat.
My goodness, aint this the fish whose price would shoot up sky high during CNY (especially those with 'bao') - I eat it only during CNY because of its perceived worth but still found it very fishy lol =x must eat with either plum sauce or some sorta garlic chilli to take away that... stinko stench (no offence hor)
The steamed squid? I'd love it when it's stuffed with bak chor ;)
Even at only 50% Teochew, I *love* steamed baby squid, especially when the squid is really fresh. I can take down a large bowl of porridge with just squid alone.
PTH on the other hand is an acquired taste. I do eat it, but not a huge fan.
Oh.. then I am quite a true blue teochew although I can't speak proper teowchew. But I can recite some teochew poems. lol ;P
It's a standard sunday lunch fare at home. Steamed squids, rabbit fish and sometimes prawns all bought from market that sells them. The fish tastes good with the garlic chopped chilli with lime juice or white vinegar. And definitely 'gek yu' for the squids. Hee.. this is so nostalgic.
even though i'm not a teochew, i do like to eat this fish! however, i've never find tis fish to smell fishy at all..
usually when i eat any fish, it's without e skin...
when u dip e flesh into a saucer of soya sauce, wif chilli padi n chopped garlic & put it into ur mouth, it taste heavenly!!!! i never eat near its stomach as i'm told tat e area taste bitter..
is tis fish still expensive? i have no idea! luckily my bf's a teochew, so occasionally i do get to eat tis fish in his house! =)
Love this fish to bits :) I usually steam it at home with lotsa ginger, garlic and sesame oil :)
During the CNY period, this fish cost up to a whopping $75 a kilo.
The steam baby sotong and the minced pork at this stall rocks too.
Luckily around my area got Teo Heng at Amoy FC. Their steamed fish with kiam chye is a must have for my lunch at least one a week.
Khim, u "jia bee murn chai bee kwee" eat rice dont know rice expensive ah.......hee hee
PTH not my cup of fish....
Dr Tay, try dipping Peh Tor Her with a mixture of white vinegar (or lime), with chopped garlic and chilly and steamed baby squid with plum sauce (kit yiew.)
This is the way a Traditional Teochew Ah Hia eat
Rgds
Steven
Yes, that's what we did!
i'm teochew but the rabbit fish is not one of my faves either. But i do love the roe though...it's not the usual 'eggy' kind but the smooth creamy white type? Yummy, especially when dipped in the sour plum and lime sauce. That's the only way i eat it. - blu
I'm also 50% teochew and love PTH with chopped garlic/chilli soy sauce dip and steamed sotong with kek u! Yummilicious!
If u wanna eat cheap Teochew food, go to Ah Seah's eating House at Yio Chu Kang Road, juz opp the Catholic Archdiocesan Education centre at Highland Road, somewhere near de durian 717 too. It's the best Teochew food I ever eat since I was a kid. Food still taste de same after all these years. if u go, u must order their stingray, bak chor too. and the lor gravy is given free too. The chilli is heaven! ;)
hi oliver&kate, is the malay stall still there at ah seah's?
Hey..i recognise one of the guys in the photo.. John! The food looks very delicious btw.
@
Yes, the malay stall is still around.
wah, at last you visited this stall, and listen to the chatter, fantastic! The PTH here is a a must have with my teochew makankaki. We would finish one each. According to my makankaki, ex fishmonger, there is a certain way to steam it which he refused to say. It is only here that I can stomach the fish stomach. But never forego the seung nee hiam. It goes well together. ieat, this seung nee hiam is not the real mcCoy. Teo Heng of Amoy FC has it.
Yesterday 11 of us ex Saints had great fresh PTH. Truly worth eating there if you want PTH (Uncle knows how to clean n steam the PTH, no bitter taste near the stomach). Their lor arh (duck) is also delicious.
Eh... actually I think the "PT" of "PTH" doesn't mean "rabbit" but rather "white belly" in reference to the white belly of this fish. Checked with my Teochew grandma.
IM A TRUE TEOCHEW AH hIA CAUSE I LOVE BOTH FOOD THAT YOU MENTION!! HAHAHA. new year its coming and time for more Peh Dou Her!!! (:
this looked sooo yummy. I'm not teochew and far from it but I think I can qualitfy to be a teochew za bo?? haha. I like the PTH too! I cannot take fishy fish like steam sheng you, patin, tilapia - these are the fish that taste fishy to me. I absolutely love squid too in whatever way you cooked it, steam, fried calamari style, malay chilli style, chinese sambal style.... :) must go try must go try~
Sure we can make you an honarary Teochew! But first you should not call yourself Za Bo - tis too Hokkien! You should call yourself a Teochew Ah Niah!
ya ya ah niah not za bo ke ke. My dialects CMI. I grew up eating fish and fish parts of all sorts cuz my dad though a through and through hainanese loves FISH to bits and he always cook teochew porridge and cook simple dishes to go with it for lunch and that's what I typically have when I visit on Sats. Regan apparently inherited that from him and started eating fish with bones since 1 year old - even I am amazed. She will chew chew and swallow all the meat and spit out the bones~
Had this for lunch today. No baby sotong today :( I ate an entire $3 plate of steam normal sized plate of sotong though (as my girl is lazy to chew and sotong gets tough for her after awhile). Sotong was fresh and springy but I didn't like the oil based sauce that they have on the squid shown in ieat's pic. I like it plain. Never like the gek yu also (again always find it too sweet and kills the food taste) so I dip it in the chilli sauce to eat. The PTH was very good, sweet and fresh, should have ordered 2 fish and skip the sotong ha! Nothing of the PTH was left, including the tiny fish brain and eyes and what have you heh. Halfway through my meal they brought out a fresh load of newly steamed PTH. Dang!! Should have waited a lil then it'll be hot and fresh and nice~~ Other than that also had a salted egg and a plate of veggies. Total damage was $8.60
oops calculated wrongly, if PTH was $4, then the sotong should be about $2.50? Quite good value cuz the portions were all quite big to me at least
You more teochew than I am!
Jems, u made a mistake again. If u go there always jio yr teochew bah like John, Damien, Les n Smart. FYI his PTH is from Indonesia there are better quality from the fresh market but steam yrself.
hmm uncle smart, jio you I get a better deal?
Guess more dishes to share.The Uncle of this stall recognise me n John. He will try pick the better PTH. He always keep some PTH inside his stall.
okies okies noted :)
Love peh dor her,didnt even though i'am cantonese, mother is a teochew though, always steam them. Love the fishy taste(chao chow) with chilli, shoik!
Didn't know it's called rabbit fish..haha
peh dou her must be eaten with the sauce... a mixture of lime + chilli + garlic + a bit of sugar. If im not wrong the roe is not as priced as the "sperm" which is soft white creamy and absolutely delicious when dipped in the sauce?
Peh dou her is called Rabbit Fish because they have two distinct similarities to the animal, the rabbit, which have given this fish its name.
One is the amazing mouth that slightly protrudes, baring its sharp teeth. These teeth are used for munching on dead coral branches and flora that is found on rocks.
The fish’s feeding behavior is the second of the similarities to the rabbit. It is a continuing action that gives the appearance of constant munching. This is a fascinating family to observe as they move among the coral reef chewing off bits and pieces with their teeth.
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