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Monday 25 January 2016

#ewew makes Dried Fish Fillet Snacks

It was last year when I first saw some blogs making this dried fish fillet snacks (yeah, I know I'm "slow" as it has been done some years back already) but I knew that I wanted to attempt it the following year.

So, this is the following year.....and I'm attempting it!  Little did I know how labour intensive it was going to be as the blogs (those that I read anyway) didn't highlight this point! >.<  I guess that's why people don't make this to sell as it just wouldn't be profitable enough since it's too time consuming.

And so, yours truly went to the nearest supermarket in my neighbourhood and bought these Dahfa Dried Fish Fillet (120g) at a promotional price of RM5.88 a pack.

Back home, I got down to business and tried to tie the dried fish fillet as best I could.  Most of the blogs said to start with 3 strands....and so I did.

But after a few failed attempts on the way it should be tied (shown in the blogs) was too difficult for me, I tried to just knot it but found that the fragile fish strips easily broke apart when I tried to do that (even though I used as little force as I could).  

Finally, I decided to just fold 3 strands into half and used another strand to tie the strands loosely together (don't try to make a tight knot).  You have to be very delicate and use as little force as possible in the process, otherwise the strands will break apart.

After one painstaking hour, this was what I got....about half of the packet done! O_o  OMG, what a lot of hard work!  Why didn't any blog forewarn me to the difficult task at hand or that it'd be so time consuming! :(

As I was already tired from all the tying, I decided to fry these first.  Make sure the oil is not too hot.  I threw them in, flipped them over once (since I didn't use much oil) and fished them out immediately....and all this have to be done in a window that's just mere seconds....probably no more than 5!  So, you have to be very quick, otherwise you'd be dealing with a lot of burnt snacks.

Fish them out and drain on paper towels.  When you first take them out, they'll be limp but let it cool and they'll crisp up nicely...you can see some overly browned ones on the top! >.<

I was able to fill 1 1/2 small containers with half a pack of dried fish snacks since they need to be loosely packed.  Even at the point of packing, you have to be very gentle or risk smashing them to pieces!

The second half of the pack took me only half the time (30 minutes) to complete (a definite improvement). Eh, that's not too bad...a lot quicker than I thought, I must be getting the hang of it.

For this half, I decided to bake it instead (as some blogs did too).  I layed it on a tray (with baking paper underneath) and baked it at 150C for 7 minutes (some blogs say to bake it at 140C for 10 - 15 minutes).

Since all ovens' temperatures may differ slightly from one another, use the timing suitable for you to achieve the desired browning (just watch your first batch to find the optimum timing) and take it out once slightly brown.

I was able to fill a medium-sized container with this half of the snacks.  So, I guess one packet of dried fish fillet snacks will probably fill up two medium-sized containers....not bad at RM3 a can with a lot of work...but ultimately a cheap snack for Chinese New Year! ;D  Was it worth the hard work?  Yes!!

What's the best thing about these snacks?  They're super, super crispy...both versions!  But I'd have to say the ones fried in oil has a more "hiong" (fragrant) taste but they're also more oily.  As for the baked ones, the faint taste of the dried fish fillet comes through a bit more.  My spouse likes the fried ones...my preference.....the baked ones...somewhat healthier snack and a lot less work compared to frying!

However, I also found out another thing about these snacks....and that they're meant for your own consumption only.  Why?  Coz 1) they're so time consuming to make and 2) they're so fragile (because of their super crispiness), you can't gift them to someone coz you can't transport them anywhere as they'll break up and disintegrate from all the moving and bumping along the way (unless you hold on to it with your dear life throughout your "balik kampong" journey)! :p

So, think carefully if you want to make these dried fish fillet snacks for your family's own consumption over the festive period...it's a lot of work.....but it's also very good.  Excuse me while I go make some more! ;D

16 comments:

  1. I salute you for continuing with the second half of the pack. I would be so depressed I would not bother. They make a good snack even without crisping hahaha!

    I don't think I've seen a lot of this crispy Dahfa snack. Usually people use those fake crab sticks to make similar snacks, I think... :/

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    1. Yeah, the fake crab stick snacks are commonly sold but this crispy Dahfa snack is not. I had to shoulder on since I've already bought 7 packs of these...haha! :D

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    2. 7!!! This was half of 1 pack, right?? Goodness...

      Maybe you can give it to relatives or friends when you visit them/they visit you. I mean the unopened Dahfa hahaha! But if they read your blog then your tembelang pecah. Actually maybe you have already finished frying all 7 packs by now so this is pointless also @.@ ...

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    3. I have not finished frying all but I'm halfway there already. I've done 3 packs and the first pack is almost gone (as in eaten), so I must push on to finish frying the balance packs. Haiz, eating is very fast compared to the painstaking task of making! :D

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  2. I also saw this snack on many blogs but I was not motivated to make them. But somehow after reading your post I am becoming curious hah..hah... I think I have seen this dried fish fillet at 99 Speedmart. I ignore it but tomorrow I'm going to look for it hah..hah...

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    1. I'm happy when my blog post can motivate someone to try the food I ate or cook what I made. Hope the making is a breeze for you and the eating an utter enjoyment! ;)

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  3. Wow, you are very diligent to make this. I guess this makes eating them more enjoyable as they are the results of your effort. My spouse insists that he has seen this fried snacks sold in CNY containers in Aeon Big. I am going to check it out this Thursday, just to confirm for myself, not buying any though.

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    1. I've not noticed this selling in supermarkets but then I wasn't looking for it specifically either. But I did see it selling at Selections by Urbanfresh in G Village and it was very expensive (it was laid out in a single row on top of some bubble wrap) if I remember correctly.

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  4. I thought this is super easy but after reading your blog I have to think twice before I making it :P
    By the way, I decided to make another snack which is seaweed popiah skin crisp :P

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    1. Don't let me deter you from trying. You could be better at it than me! If you can attempt to make the seaweed popiah skin snack, you can attempt this! ;)

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  5. wah, a DIY version ... i remember the first time i ever had these snacks was in pangkor, i think (if it's the same as what i recall) ... i would never dream of making them myself though ... definitely requires patient and meticulous work, based on your process! :)

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    1. Yeah, you'd probably find a lot of dried fish or cuttlefish snacks from Pangkor but this one surprisingly is manufactured in Kuching (as what's stated in the packaging). Yes, definitely require hours of making but only seconds in eating! :D

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