Pangasius Hypothalamus is a riverine catfish cultivated in the Mekong region of SE Asia. Laos, Vietnam and Thailand are the main producers. Recently, the fish has gotten a lot of negative publicity. More objective info can be found here.

Guess what? I bought some frozen Pangasius fillet. It’s cheap and I’ve also heard that it’s delicious. Check out the packaging. Reputable company and sold by a reputable supermarket in Singapore. Can’t be that bad, right?

This is what frozen Pangasius looks like. Rather decent looking. I used one fillet for Chinese style steaming and two fillets for Thai style pla nerng manao.

For Chinese style steaming, I used tomatoes, ginger, mushrooms. The seasoning included light soya sauce, white pepper, sesame oil and hua diao wine. Nothing spicy here as this is meant for the kids.

Very decent results here. I don’t think anyone can tell that it’s a cheap freshwater fish. The flesh is soft, juicy and has very nice texture.

For Thai style steaming, I have lots of chopped garlic, green chilli, red chilli, lime juice, fish sauce and water. Cilantro is added after the fish has been steamed.

Pangasius seems to be a reasonably good alternative to sea bass for this Thai style pla nerng manao. Fragrant and spicy, it’s actually quite good. Try it.

Fried rice is seldom done with planning. Most of the time, it’s a last minute decision when you find the queue at the zer cha too long. Thus, the ingredients are normally what you happen to find in your refrigerator. Quick, simple, unpretentious. That’s what fried rice ought to be like.

However, it would be a mistake to think that fried rice is idiot proof. It certainly isn’t and you do need proper technique to make a good plate of fried rice.

Here, I have egg, vegetables, some razor clams left over from Chinese New Year and some fish tofu left over from breakfast last month.

First thing you do, fry the garlic and shallots till they’re brown. Be generous with the oil!

Next rule. Egg first. Scramble it nicely and let it cook well before you add the other ingredients.

Add the vegetable, put in some oyster sauce, toss it around, then add the cooked rice. Make sure the rice is not steaming hot or it will be taste soggy.

And here’s the finished impromptu fried rice. I don’t think I need to assure you that it tasted great.