Most of the salted fish we see in the market are saltwater types from the sea, and they tend to be extremely salty. The reason their producers make them this way is to allow them to be stored for long periods of time without spoiling. Many kinds of fish can be salted, each with its own flavour and texture. Given their variety it is not surprising that they are so popular.
Worth its salt: Above and right, salted ‘plaa insee’ at Tuke’s house.
But even though people love the flavour of salted fish, there are many who are less fond of the way it smells, especially when it is being fried. The odour is powerful and pervasive. People who live in condos sometimes forget this fact when they fry salted fish, and even at home it is a good idea to close the kitchen door so that the smell doesn’t disturb those in other parts of the house. Of course, there are others who can do without both the taste and the smell. It is a question of personal preference.
One of the better-known kinds of salted fish is salted plaa insee (a sea fish with firm, white meat), which is usually available in the part of seaside markets devoted to dried seafood products. It is sold in two forms. Customers can buy an entire fish, or pieces of one, priced according to weight. Purchasing the fish like this can involve the problem of packaging it in a way that keeps the smell from getting out and bothering people during the trip home. Salted plaa insee is also available cut into pieces and packed in vegetable oil, packaged in jars. This is how it is usually sold in areas farther from the sea.
Despite the smell, salted plaa insee is widely popular. The meat is soft and there are many recipes that include it. It can be fried and eaten with khao tom (rice soup), prepared as khanaa plaa khem (stir-fried with Chinese broccoli), or made into yam plaa khem by frying it and then sprinkling sliced shallots, phrik khee nuu (hot chillies) and lime juice over it. It is also tasty when prepared as a fried rice dish. First the rice is fried with egg, then fried salted fish is added, with the meat torn into strips. Fried kunchieng (a sweet Chinese pork sausage), cut into small pieces, goes in next, followed by Chinese broccoli stem. Some cooks include it in a Western-style salad like Caesar Salad, replacing the anchovies with the fried salted plaa insee.
The plaa insee is a deep-sea fish caught from large boats that go out to sea for long periods. These vessels usually have spaces below filled with ice where the fish can be refrigerated to stay fresh. But if the boat has a client who buys the fish to salt, there will be a similar compartment to hold salt. When the boat is out at sea the fish spend the time marinating in the salt, so that when it goes back to port, the salted fish only needs to be sun-dried before being sent off for sale.
One woman who salts plaa insee commercially is 80-year-old Tuke Kasemala. Her home is located behind Wat Vipasanaram at amphoe Baan Laem in Phetchaburi. She has been salting fish all her life and is well-known among fishermen. She takes plaa insee that have been sitting in salt from their boats and soaks them three times in fresh water. Each time she soaks them overnight, discards the water the next day and repeats the process to reduce their saltiness. After these soakings she hangs them in the breeze to air-dry. Ms Tuke does not like to sun-dry them as most others do, so her fish are not extremely salty, and the flavour of the plaa insee comes through fully.
Frying salted plaa insee requires a certain degree of expertise. It should be done using a lot of oil over a medium flame. When the fish begins to turn golden it should be turned over, and when it is golden brown all over it is ready to take off from the stove. If it is turned over again and again, however, it will break up and fall apart and lose its appetising appearance.
Another sea fish that is popular in salted form is the plaa kulao (or “fourfinger threadfin”, according to Google). It is a medium-sized fish that lives close to the shore and is caught from boats that stay near land. The meat is firm but not hard.
Like salted plaa insee, the plaa kulao can be eaten with khao tom, but it isn’t suitable for stir-frying with phak khanaa. Leading Chinese restaurants that offer khao phat plaa khem (fried rice with salted fish) use plaa kulao instead of plaa insee. They cut the salted fish into small cubes first, then fry it quickly in a lot of oil. It holds its cubic shape well, and when refried with the rice looks more appetising than salted plaa insee would if prepared the same way.
Under the sun: salted plaa see siad is left outside to dry.
Another local sea fish, called plaa see siad (or plaa sala) in Thai, is also popular in salted form. Its body is flat and the meat is hard and separates into long strands. Most salted plaa see siad is made in the South, with the fish first marinated in salt, then sun-dried.
The ones made by a housewives’ group at amphoe Sikao in Trang province are special because of an unusual feature. The platforms on which the fish are dried are covered with woven white cloth-like mosquito netting to protect against flies and to keep the heat down.
Like other types of salted fish, the salted plaa see siad go well with khao tom, but like plaa kulao they should not be stir-fried with phak khanaa. One way of preparing them that is especially delicious is as muu saam chan tom khem waan kap plaa khem (streaky pork cooked in a salty-sweet broth together with salted fish). To make it, the pork is first cut into large square pieces and fried with garlic and coriander root, then stewed in a pot together with palm sugar and soy sauce. Salted plaa see siad cut into cubes is put in and the stewing continues until the pork is tender enough to cut with a fork. When fully cooked, the dish combines sweetness and saltiness, like a phalo recipe. Some cooks also add pieces of mara (bitter melon).
These are just a few kinds of salted fish. There are many others, each with their own special flavour and texture.
With its potent flavour and aroma, salted fish can be seen as the Danish blue of Thai cuisine, and like that whiffy cheese, once you cultivate a taste for it, nothing else will do. n
