Hi gang!
I saw a jar of these babies in the store the other day and wondered
what they were for. Google-age only shows where to buy them, not what
to do with them. They're listed as a condiment for Filipino dishes.
Could they be mixed with sambal, kind of 'ikan bilis style'? Do you
just munch 'em straight out of the jar? How are they compared to
anchovies flavor-wise?

monroe(fish curious)

"Monroe, of course..." > wrote in message
...
>
> Hi gang!
> I saw a jar of these babies in the store the other day and wondered
> what they were for. Google-age only shows where to buy them, not what
> to do with them. They're listed as a condiment for Filipino dishes.
> Could they be mixed with sambal, kind of 'ikan bilis style'? Do you
> just munch 'em straight out of the jar? How are they compared to
> anchovies flavor-wise?


You can eat them right from the jar with rice. That would constitute a
meal, much like kim chee and rice is for a Korean. And you can cook with
it -- yard-long beans cooked in coconut milk and flavored with bagoong, for
instance. It is also used as a sauce/dip on the side for dishes like
kari-kari. Filipinos also like to eat fruit, like mangoes, with bagoong. I
don't see anything wrong with mixing it up with a sambal--sounds good. What
is ikan bilis? Can't find it in my books.

Peter

"Peter Dy" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Monroe, of course..." > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > Hi gang!
> > I saw a jar of these babies in the store the other day and wondered
> > what they were for. Google-age only shows where to buy them, not what
> > to do with them. They're listed as a condiment for Filipino dishes.
> > Could they be mixed with sambal, kind of 'ikan bilis style'? Do you
> > just munch 'em straight out of the jar? How are they compared to
> > anchovies flavor-wise?


Forgot to reply to the flavor question. Are you talking about Western
anchovies? Bagoong is fermented fish (I guess anchovies are slightly
fermented too, but they seem more "salted" to me), so it has more of a
"transformed" taste, more powerful taste dimensions. I'd give it a try if I
were you--can't be more than $2. I've never had that particular kind of
bagoong though, the padas kind.

Peter

In article >, "Peter Dy"
> wrote:

> What
> is ikan bilis? Can't find it in my books.

I think ikan bilis simply means 'little fish'. I know it chiefly as
sambal ikan bilis, the anchovy relish served alongside nasi lemak.
The dried anchovies are soaked, fried, mixed with ginger, shallots,
balacan,tamarind (&salt &sugar)and sauteed with onions.
I see the potential for the use of these salt packed ziganids as a
substitution for the dried anchovies. They're about the same size...

In article >, "Peter Dy"
> wrote:

> Forgot to reply to the flavor question. Are you talking about Western
> anchovies? Bagoong is fermented fish (I guess anchovies are slightly
> fermented too, but they seem more "salted" to me), so it has more of a
> "transformed" taste, more powerful taste dimensions. I'd give it a try if I
> were you--can't be more than $2. I've never had that particular kind of
> bagoong though, the padas kind.

I don't know Western from Eastern anchovies unless the Western ones are
the canned or pasted ones used in caesar salads and pizza.(oh yeah i
almost forgot those that are rolled around capers!)
These ziganids are simply packed in salt (not a dry pack) and it is
amazing how they line up so well in the jar-it's very pretty. I would
guess they <are> fermented, and that the juice would pack a pretty
fish-saucy punch.
'Bagoong padas' is the label info under the line saying 'salted ziganid
fish'.

"Monroe, of course..." > wrote in message
...
> In article >, "Peter Dy"
> > wrote:
>
> > What
> > is ikan bilis? Can't find it in my books.
>
> I think ikan bilis simply means 'little fish'. I know it chiefly as
> sambal ikan bilis, the anchovy relish served alongside nasi lemak.
> The dried anchovies are soaked, fried, mixed with ginger, shallots,
> balacan,tamarind (&salt &sugar)and sauteed with onions.
> I see the potential for the use of these salt packed ziganids as a
> substitution for the dried anchovies. They're about the same size...


Oh, ok! Malaysian. I was thinking it was something Indonesian. The
bagoong padas is fermented fish in a liquid, so I'm not sure if it would be
a good substitute. Copeland Marks says you can eat ikan bilis "out of hand
with, perhaps, a glass of wine, as I do." I doubt you'd want to do that
with the bagoong. But like I said, I've never had bagoong padas; there's
lots of different kinds of bagoong.

The Philippines does have fried little fish that sound similar to ikan
bilis, but I forgot the name for them. You can get them at Goldilocks
though.

Peter

I've seen Bagoong in jars with a little preserving liquid here as well (UK)
& know them as a Filipino ingredient but have never really tried it. Your
best bet for getting your hands on ikan bilis which are allows sun dried is
to try a Thai, Malaysian or Indonesian supermarket. Apart from that... it's
a long shot but you can try making them yourself if you live in a very hot &
sunny place. We use to as kids, go fishing with nets along the beach & catch
small fish/ikan bilis/silver fish, shrimps etc. which we would use to make a
variety of sun dried ingredients for later on in the year. The tiny silver
fish (2-3cm) would be left to dry in the sun fresh from the sea & when dried
has a natural saltiness from the sea water. You would simply fry it in oil
until golden brown & you would eat it with your nasi lemak. Ikan Bilis are
slightly larger (5-10cm) & prob. known as anchovies in the West. It too is
dried w/o washing & has a slight saltiness to it. The tiny shrimps & prawns
are used for Chincalook, blacan & prawn crackers.

Pedas in Malay means hot/spicy & i don't know if it means the same in
Filipino... if it's any help.

> Copeland Marks says you can eat ikan bilis "out of hand
> with, perhaps, a glass of wine, as I do."

Sun dried ikan bilis fried with sugar & chilli is a reg. bar snack, normally
drunk with locally brewed beer. But from what i hear, silverfish & ikan
bilis are not in abundance as it use to be before in the 60's/70's. Maybe
it's over fished or the local waters are polluted.

DC.




Peter Dy > wrote in message
m...
>
> "Monroe, of course..." > wrote in message
> ...
> > In article >, "Peter Dy"
> > > wrote:
> >
> > > What
> > > is ikan bilis? Can't find it in my books.
> >
> > I think ikan bilis simply means 'little fish'. I know it chiefly as
> > sambal ikan bilis, the anchovy relish served alongside nasi lemak.
> > The dried anchovies are soaked, fried, mixed with ginger, shallots,
> > balacan,tamarind (&salt &sugar)and sauteed with onions.
> > I see the potential for the use of these salt packed ziganids as a
> > substitution for the dried anchovies. They're about the same size...
>
>
> Oh, ok! Malaysian. I was thinking it was something Indonesian. The
> bagoong padas is fermented fish in a liquid, so I'm not sure if it would
be
> a good substitute. Copeland Marks says you can eat ikan bilis "out of
hand
> with, perhaps, a glass of wine, as I do." I doubt you'd want to do that
> with the bagoong. But like I said, I've never had bagoong padas; there's
> lots of different kinds of bagoong.
>
> The Philippines does have fried little fish that sound similar to ikan
> bilis, but I forgot the name for them. You can get them at Goldilocks
> though.
>
> Peter
>
>

On Sat, 10 Jan 2004 03:38:40 GMT, "Monroe, of course..."
>
>I think ikan bilis simply means 'little fish'. I know it chiefly as
>sambal ikan bilis, the anchovy relish served alongside nasi lemak.
>The dried anchovies are soaked, fried, mixed with ginger, shallots,
>balacan,tamarind (&salt &sugar)and sauteed with onions.
>I see the potential for the use of these salt packed ziganids as a
>substitution for the dried anchovies. They're about the same size...

Ikan bilis = anchovies


SIAOGU

The husband is the head of the house. The wife is the neck. And the neck turns the head.

"DC" > wrote in message
...
> I've seen Bagoong in jars with a little preserving liquid here as well
(UK)
> & know them as a Filipino ingredient but have never really tried it. Your
> best bet for getting your hands on ikan bilis which are allows sun dried
is
> to try a Thai, Malaysian or Indonesian supermarket. Apart from that...
it's
> a long shot but you can try making them yourself if you live in a very hot
&
> sunny place. We use to as kids, go fishing with nets along the beach &
catch
> small fish/ikan bilis/silver fish, shrimps etc. which we would use to make
a
> variety of sun dried ingredients for later on in the year. The tiny silver
> fish (2-3cm) would be left to dry in the sun fresh from the sea & when
dried
> has a natural saltiness from the sea water. You would simply fry it in oil
> until golden brown & you would eat it with your nasi lemak. Ikan Bilis are
> slightly larger (5-10cm) & prob. known as anchovies in the West. It too is
> dried w/o washing & has a slight saltiness to it. The tiny shrimps &
prawns
> are used for Chincalook, blacan & prawn crackers.


I love your stories, DC. Thanks!


> Pedas in Malay means hot/spicy & i don't know if it means the same in
> Filipino... if it's any help.


Looking at a Tagalog dictionary, doesn't seem like it means that in
Filipino. Though, I wouldn't be surprised if it was so in some other of the
many Filipino languages...

Anyway, most bagoong (fermented fish and shrimp) use rather small critters.
The bagoong padas uses these nice, fingure-sized things, so I'm guessing
"padas" refers to that fish.


> > Copeland Marks says you can eat ikan bilis "out of hand
> > with, perhaps, a glass of wine, as I do."
>
> Sun dried ikan bilis fried with sugar & chilli is a reg. bar snack,
normally
> drunk with locally brewed beer. But from what i hear, silverfish & ikan
> bilis are not in abundance as it use to be before in the 60's/70's. Maybe
> it's over fished or the local waters are polluted.


I think I'm born to love the Malaysian cuisine to death, but I have very
little experience in it, unfortunately.... But the more I read about it,
the better it gets. I'll need to head out there sometime.

Peter

"Peter Dy" > wrote in message
m...
v> Anyway, most bagoong (fermented fish and shrimp) use rather small
critters.
> The bagoong padas uses these nice, fingure-sized things


Oh, that was an embarrassing spelling of "finger"!!! Lo siento,
muchachos!!

Peter

<snip>
> I love your stories, DC. Thanks!

Oh... It's just me reminiscing & remembering the good old days... & perhaps
give you folks here a little cultural info & also an idea of how things were
not so long ago.

> > Pedas in Malay means hot/spicy & i don't know if it means the same in
> > Filipino... if it's any help.
>
> Looking at a Tagalog dictionary, doesn't seem like it means that in
> Filipino. Though, I wouldn't be surprised if it was so in some other of
the
> many Filipino languages...

Yes i was thinking about that too, i don't know Tagalog at all except for a
few words but i was thinking maybe the people living further south (Palawan
& Sulu Sea) nearer to East Malaysia & Borneo/Indonesia.

<snip>
> I think I'm born to love the Malaysian cuisine to death, but I have very
> little experience in it, unfortunately.... But the more I read about it,
> the better it gets. I'll need to head out there sometime.

Well there's basically a 'modern' malay cuisine & a 'traditional' although
some would argue as being only one. I think there's definetely 2, a modern
city fare & a traditional 'kampong'/village fare. Also the further out you
are in the country, you'll discover ingenious cooking methods & foodstuff.
And in certain areas, a strong Arab influence or a strong
Minangkerbau/Sumatran/Indonesian influence. and in the North you'll get Thai
influences. That's just in Peninsular Malaysia. East Malaysia on the island
of Borneo is different again. There's influences from the local native
tribes & when you cross into Indonesia with it's 13,000 islands + many
different 'tribes', well... that's where it gets interesting. Indonesian &
Malaysian cuisines are quite similar as they share same basic ingredients
like rice, coconut & certain spices.

Yes you'll need to head out there sometime to really appreciate it. I
occasionally find the food in the city a little bland while in the country,
you might be having jungle fodder like young wild fern tips, fried river
fish, fresh water prawns, jungle fowl etc. It's making the best from the
land & is always different.

DC.

On Mon, 12 Jan 2004 09:32:35 GMT, "Peter Dy" >
wrote:


>
>I think I'm born to love the Malaysian cuisine to death, but I have very
>little experience in it, unfortunately.... But the more I read about it,
>the better it gets. I'll need to head out there sometime.
>
Should you decide to do that, avoid those posh, classy eating joints.
Go for the ordinary local fare. The best would be to make friends with
a local Malaysian who knows where the good local food is. Don't trust
the tour guides too much. They usually take you to places where they
can get something out of it, so it's gonna cost you more, and it
doesn't mean the food is really good. I could email you the contact of
a friend of mine and he will be able give you the information you
need. But his specialty is in KL and Penang. You should not miss out
Malacca. Lots of cheap and good food there too. THat's where you get
the best cincalok.
SIAOGU

The husband is the head of the house. The wife is the neck. And the neck turns the head.

<snip>
> You should not miss out
> Malacca. Lots of cheap and good food there too. THat's where you get
> the best cincalok.

Mmmm..... i can just about hear the fermenting bottles of Cincalok about to
pop it's cork! Watch out for those noxious fumes too.

> SIAOGU

How's the consumption & importation of beef in Singapore? has it been
affected by the case of 'SiaoGu' from the states or do you still import
heavily from NZ?

DC.

ps. 10 days to CNY.... hope you've got your house spring cleaned.

"Peter Dy" > wrote in message
m...
>
>
> Looking at a Tagalog dictionary, doesn't seem like it means that in
> Filipino. Though, I wouldn't be surprised if it was so in some other of
the
> many Filipino languages...
>
> Anyway, most bagoong (fermented fish and shrimp) use rather small
critters.
> The bagoong padas uses these nice, fingure-sized things, so I'm guessing
> "padas" refers to that fish.
>

According to http://www.wholelattelove.com/articles.cfm?articleID=29 (7th
paragraph), you'd be right.

----begin paste----
These fish, which can be consumed fresh, unsalted or processed into bagoong
are dilis (silver sprat), padas-1(fusescenes rabbitfish), padas 2 (forktail
rabbitfish), terong (fusiliers), alamang (shrimp fry) and dalagang bukid
(fusiliers).

----end paste----

My mother (who speaks Visayan) thinks it's fish, too.

rona
--
***For e-mail, replace .com with .ca Sorry for the inconvenience!***

On Tue, 13 Jan 2004 16:10:20 -0000, "DC." > wrote:


>
>How's the consumption & importation of beef in Singapore? has it been
>affected by the case of 'SiaoGu' from the states or do you still import
>heavily from NZ?
>
>
Can't help you there because I don't take beef. But I believe most of
our beef does come from NZ


SIAOGU

The husband is the head of the house. The wife is the neck. And the neck turns the head.

> wrote in message
...
> On Mon, 12 Jan 2004 09:32:35 GMT, "Peter Dy" >
> wrote:
>
>
> >
> >I think I'm born to love the Malaysian cuisine to death, but I have very
> >little experience in it, unfortunately.... But the more I read about it,
> >the better it gets. I'll need to head out there sometime.
> >
> Should you decide to do that, avoid those posh, classy eating joints.
> Go for the ordinary local fare. The best would be to make friends with
> a local Malaysian who knows where the good local food is. Don't trust
> the tour guides too much. They usually take you to places where they
> can get something out of it, so it's gonna cost you more, and it
> doesn't mean the food is really good. I could email you the contact of
> a friend of mine and he will be able give you the information you
> need. But his specialty is in KL and Penang. You should not miss out
> Malacca. Lots of cheap and good food there too. THat's where you get
> the best cincalok.


Thanks for the help! I doubt, though, that I could head out there anytime
soon; though I'd love to, especially to visit Malacca... It will probably
Mexico again this summer, so I could finally bring my Spanish up to the
Advanced level (it's right there). And my little sister is saying I should
go with her to China, especially since the food scene is so awesome there
now. But I will be sure to check out Malaysia soon!

Peter

"DC." > wrote in message
...
[...]
> > > Pedas in Malay means hot/spicy & i don't know if it means the same in
> > > Filipino... if it's any help.
> >
> > Looking at a Tagalog dictionary, doesn't seem like it means that in
> > Filipino. Though, I wouldn't be surprised if it was so in some other of
> the
> > many Filipino languages...
>
> Yes i was thinking about that too, i don't know Tagalog at all except for
a
> few words but i was thinking maybe the people living further south
(Palawan
> & Sulu Sea) nearer to East Malaysia & Borneo/Indonesia.


Well, even up north, there are common words. "Bawang" (garlic) and
"kambing" (goat), for instance.


[...]
> Yes you'll need to head out there sometime to really appreciate it. I
> occasionally find the food in the city a little bland while in the
country,
> you might be having jungle fodder like young wild fern tips, fried river
> fish, fresh water prawns, jungle fowl etc. It's making the best from the
> land & is always different.


Yeah, I'll head out there. In the meantime, I'll try out more Malaysian
dishes at home. What you describe reminds me of my trip to my home town in
the Philippines... And that's the only region in the country that regularly
features coconut milk and cilies, so the "bland city food" part you describe
rings true. (Though I love Manila.)

Peter

"Rona Yuthasastrakosol" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Peter Dy" > wrote in message
> m...
> >
> >
> > Looking at a Tagalog dictionary, doesn't seem like it means that in
> > Filipino. Though, I wouldn't be surprised if it was so in some other of
> the
> > many Filipino languages...
> >
> > Anyway, most bagoong (fermented fish and shrimp) use rather small
> critters.
> > The bagoong padas uses these nice, fingure-sized things, so I'm guessing
> > "padas" refers to that fish.
> >
>
> According to http://www.wholelattelove.com/articles.cfm?articleID=29 (7th
> paragraph), you'd be right.
>
> ----begin paste----
> These fish, which can be consumed fresh, unsalted or processed into
bagoong
> are dilis (silver sprat), padas-1(fusescenes rabbitfish), padas 2
(forktail
> rabbitfish), terong (fusiliers), alamang (shrimp fry) and dalagang bukid
> (fusiliers).
>
> ----end paste----
>
> My mother (who speaks Visayan) thinks it's fish, too.


Thanks, Rona! Have you ever had such large bagoong fish? I've only had
the tiny fish and shrimp versions.

Peter

On Thu, 15 Jan 2004 11:57:11 GMT, "Peter Dy" >
wrote:


>
>Well, even up north, there are common words. "Bawang" (garlic) and
>"kambing" (goat), for instance.

Bawang is for onions. GArlic is called bawang putih (letrally means
white onions). Kambing refers to mutton. Could be goat or lamb.


SIAOGU

The husband is the head of the house. The wife is the neck. And the neck turns the head.

> wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 15 Jan 2004 11:57:11 GMT, "Peter Dy" >
> wrote:
>
>
> >
> >Well, even up north, there are common words. "Bawang" (garlic) and
> >"kambing" (goat), for instance.
>
> Bawang is for onions. GArlic is called bawang putih (letrally means
> white onions). Kambing refers to mutton. Could be goat or lamb.


Not in Talagog.

I was just saying that the languages (Philippine, Malay, Indonesian) are
related and have many cognates.

Peter

Greetings brothers and sisters,

Sir DC, we seem to have a similar culture with Malays and other inland Bornean people in terms of foodstuff and language similarities. Though we Kapampangan people live up north in the Philippines (Pampanga province) we had a pre-Hispanic historical ties with the Sultanate of Brunei, Java and other ancient Sultanates in Malaysia...So it is through ancient trade and diplomatic ties we had shared these...


Pedas in Malay means hot/spicy & i don't know if it means the same in
Filipino... if it's any help.

In our language, spicy and hot is called "Paras" and I doubt it was pronounced 'Padas' before because we interchange the consonants "D" and "R" resepctively. Throughout our country, we are the only ethnic who call cooked rice "Nasi."


I think ikan bilis simply means 'little fish'. I know it chiefly as
sambal ikan bilis, the anchovy relish served alongside nasi lemak.
The dried anchovies are soaked, fried, mixed with ginger, shallots,
balacan,tamarind (&salt &sugar)and sauteed with onions.
I see the potential for the use of these salt packed ziganids as a
substitution for the dried anchovies. They're about the same size...

We call Ikan Bilis, or the anchovies as "Asan Diris" They can be bought fresh and can be mixed with flour and egg and made as patties. Some are dried to be made as a form of flavoring for bean soup and that with an inch in length are fried crisp with chilli powder and sugar and is made as a finger food when drinking beer.


Yes you'll need to head out there sometime to really appreciate it. I
occasionally find the food in the city a little bland while in the country,
you might be having jungle fodder like young wild fern tips, fried river
fish, fresh water prawns, jungle fowl etc. It's making the best from the
land & is always different.

The food you mention, are also widely eaten in our place, especially those young fern tips that can be made with delicious fresh salad, while the older leaves are dried to make a beverage like tea...

Cheers!

'Ikan Bilis' are small, green fish with blue reflections due to a silver stripe. They are very famous in this part of the world.