Raw seafood

[touaregsand]

I assume that raw seafood preparations are commonly found outside of Japan. My travels in Asia have unfortunately been limited. I love raw seafood, prefer it to the cooked stuff. In Korea raw seafood is called hwe and if it's served on top of vinaigered rice it's called cho-bap, literally meaning vinaigered rice. Over the past 30 years or so Japanese style (some aim to be more authentically Japanese others are more Californian Korean versions of Japanese sushi) has overtaken traditional Korean hwe and cho-bap restaurants, at least in Seoul. In the port town of Pusan, I recall that there were more Korean style restaurants with live fish tanks. There were also some "shacks" on the beaches serving "the days catch."

Korean style hwe is served with vinaigered kochujang. Sometimes it is wrapped with rice in lettuce leaves with the requisite condiments. We also eat sea squirt, sea cucumber and a bunch other non-fish things raw (I just can't recall the names right now).

Anyway, I love raw seafood and I want to expand my ways of consuming it.

How is it prepared/served in Thailand, Malaysia, Vietname, Burma, Cambodia, Singapore, etc? (if at all )

[lannie]

In Malaysia, in Sabah (on the island of Borneo), the Kadazandusun (indigenous group) have a ceviche-type dish that is very popular. It's called Hinava, and is usually made with mackerel.

[Laksa]

In Malaysia, in Sabah (on the island of Borneo), the Kadazandusun (indigenous group) have a ceviche-type dish that is very popular.  It's called Hinava, and is usually made with mackerel.

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Also in Malaysia, also on the island of Borneo, also a recipe of an indigenous group: the Iban of Sarawak make umai from most types of white fish.

The list of ingredients appear to have many items in common.

Here's a link to a couple of versions my wife made, but recently I enjoyed a very good umai in Malaysia which did not have any pickled vegetables and chili powder. They used a lot of ground (with mortar and pestle) chilis instead. I'm salivating just thinking about it.

[touaregsand]

Red Umai looks like Korean Hoeng Hwe. Hoeng Hwe is made with skate though. Thanks for the inspiration!

[Yuki]

In the Thai restaurant in Hong Kong, there is a popular dish where raw shrimp is served with a dipping sauce made out of lime juice, fish sauce, garlic, and chili. I am not sure if it is authentic but it is quite good.

[aprilmei]

In the Thai restaurant in Hong Kong, there is a popular dish where raw shrimp is served with a dipping sauce made out of lime juice, fish sauce, garlic, and chili. I am not sure if it is authentic but it is quite good.

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I ate something similiar to this in Bangkok several years ago. Extremely tiny live shrimp, less than 1cm long, tossed with the ingredients Yuki mentioned. It was wonderful; I've looked for it every time I go back but I haven't been able to find it. It was a street food dish and the vendor had the shrimp in a pile at least 20cm high.

[SuzySushi]

A Singapore Chinese New Year's tradition is to eat yu sheng (recipe), a raw fish salad, which the diners all toss together with chopsticks at the table. The higher you toss, the better your luck in the New Year!

[PCL]

The yu-sheng or 'yue-sang' dish originated with ex-patriate Chinese tin miners in Malaysia, something which obviously made its way to Singapore with the Chinese given the extreme proximity of the two countries.

Should note that the raw fish is traditionally a freshwater type, either a form of carp or perch, tropical of course! The fish is generally briefly marinated with 5-spice and lime juice to 'kill' nasties. Modern day variations may do it with salmon even.

On another note, lobster/crayfish sashimi has really taken off in Australia, and among the Chinese in Hongkong, Malaysia, Singapore etc. It's a luxury item of course, but very very good. Some say best when the thing's still wriggling.

Live abalone sliced thinly is also popular at 'steamboat' places, sometimes known as Chinese Fondue, not to be confused with Fondue Chinois.

[touaregsand]

Some fisherman in Korea eat live baby octopus, the super tiny ones. Part of the pleasure they say is the wriggling mouthfeel. I don't think that I can eat anything that's still alive though.

[=Mark]

I don't think that I can eat anything that's still alive though.

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Never had a green salad?

[Mooshmouse]

Here's a link to one recipe for kinilaw with coconut milk, as well as a second version without it. Kinilaw (or kilawin) is the Filipino equivalent of ceviche: raw fish marinated in vinegar and kalamansi or lemon juice. It can be made with or without chilis; personally, I prefer mine on the spicy side.

[ellencho]

Good god I love hwe with a passion. Last summer my dad's friend caught some seabass (I think) and he drove it home to us that same night and my mom sliced it up thin and served it with the sweetened seasoned kochujang and shredded lettuce. That was my first experience with "caught that day" fish EVER. Now when I look at raw fish, whether it's sushi grade or for regular home cooking, it looks so limp and sad.

[Suburbanpeasant]

My suspicions are that it is a variation of the Teochew raw fish salad, Hu Say. Like you say, it's paper thin slices of fresh water fish "cooked" with an acid, like vinegar - and served with vegetables like pickled turnip and chinese celery...the dressing includes a delicious Teochew plum sauce called tiam mui...this is the sauce that's used in the Yue sang today. The Singapore yu sang is getting more elaborate and influenced by sashimi...so you can even have a choice of Tuna or Salmon yu sang today.

The yu-sheng or 'yue-sang' dish originated with ex-patriate Chinese tin miners in Malaysia, something which obviously made its way to Singapore with the Chinese given the extreme proximity of the two countries.

Should note that the raw fish is traditionally a freshwater type, either a form of carp or perch, tropical of course! The fish is generally briefly marinated with 5-spice and lime juice to 'kill' nasties. Modern day variations may do it with salmon even.

On another note, lobster/crayfish sashimi has really taken off in Australia, and among the Chinese in Hongkong, Malaysia, Singapore etc. It's a luxury item of course, but very very good. Some say best when the thing's still wriggling.

Live abalone sliced thinly is also popular at 'steamboat' places, sometimes known as Chinese Fondue, not to be confused with Fondue Chinois.

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[origamicrane]

i got a question is here any danger in eating pre-frozen uncooked prawns raw??

I'm asking as had thai raw prawn salad last night

kung chae nam pla ( rawn prawns in chilli , lime and fish sauce)

and there are no fresh prawns in london so they must be from frozen.

also anyone got a recipe for this as i want to try making this at home

cheers

[trillium]

In northeastern Thailand, Issans eat a lot of raw fish, including a lime juice cooked "salad". Kasma Loha-unchit has a recipe for it in her book Dancing Shrimp: Favorite Thai Recipes for Seafood. You can buy it from the author at her website too.

I think if the prawns were frozen properly, there is less danger eating them raw then prawns that were never frozen. Freezing at low temps for long periods of time can kill many parasites.

regards,

trillium

[PCL]

Yes, but the texture penalties are high.

Some say thawed frozen prawns are bouncier.

However, there are unconfirmed rumours bounding about that much of the frozen prawn haul in London, well, Europe in general, are injected with preservatives and also some kind of 'chew' enhancer. I snooped around a bit when I was living over there and most of the frozen prawns are from Bangladesh or Thailand.

[trillium]

You're right about the texture penalties, you always lose some with freezing. Sadly it's really hard to find good fresh shrimp a lot of places in the US anyway. And even if you get the tasty gulf shrimp, they're already a couple of days old.

Don't the preservatives have to be labeled? I always use what I think of as a Cantonese trick whenever I cook less then perfect shrimp, whether or not they've been frozen. I sprinkle them with a little salt and an even smaller amount of sugar. It keeps them crisp after cooking. If that was all that was added to the frozen shrimp I wouldn't mind, but if it was something nasty it would be good to know about, huh?

regards,

trillium

[PCL]

Totally agree. that' why we only used the shrimp we bought in London for like, spring roll filling, baked garlic butter prawns, etc etc etc.

This is an aside, but the best ever raw prawn I ever had was in Italy, just north of Pisa, well further up actually, past Viareggio. The Tuscans like their seafood raw too. The critters were still twitching on the half shell. Ate 'em veins brains and all... sweet as honey I tell you, with a hint of seaweed. SEXY.