I hold my hands up, I made a mistake this month – I purchased Hamour! What is the matter with that, I hear you ask?
Whilst researching Hamour recipes and how I could cook this lovely chunky fish, my web browser revealed an article, which stated; “Hamour is currently being fished at seven times the sustainable rate and is the most overfished species in the UAE!” I was racked with guilt and scolded myself for not being aware of the UAE’s fish crisis, how could I be so ignorant? I was also reminded of UK’s Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s “Big Fish Fight” Channel4 Series and “The Fish Fight Campaign” of which I watched and signed the online petition! I was compelled to write this article as my reaction was, if I did not know then, I am sure there will be others – especially with our society being so transient.
I was eager to learn if the UAE was taking any action to protect their fish reserves and I was relieved to discover that there is a charity called ‘Choose Wisely’ (supported by WWF) – that is based in Abu Dhabi – to address such issues. I invite you all to visit www.choosewisely.aeto learn more about what is being done to protect the UAE’s reserves. The website includes a handy consumer guide to assist when choosing your fish and a recipe book in English and Arabic – both can be downloaded.
For this month’s clean recipe I have decided to use Yellow Tail Scad as this is on the ‘green’ scale of the consumer guide. I purchased my fish from one of the large supermarkets… the cost was Dh 20.50 per kilo – which I thought was very reasonable and affordable by the majority of families.
Yellow Tail is a ‘medium’ tasting fish and when poached, the meat comes away quite easily from the bones. The fish can be baked, fried, barbecued and grilled, therefore, making it quite a versatile fish.
Thai Style Yellow Tail Scad poached in Coconut Milk. (Serves 4)
– Fillets from 2 large fish
– Juice of 1 lime
– 1tsp each – fresh ginger, garlic & lemon grass
– 4 spring onions – green parts only, chopped
– 1 heaped tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley
– 3 tablespoons of nut oil.
– Season with black pepper and sea salt
Mix the ingredients together and cover both sides of each fillet, place in an oblong dish, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Remove fish from the fridge to come to room temperature. In the meantime, empty one tin of coconut milk in a large pan – allow to simmer. Gently place the fillets and the juices in to the pan. Don’t allow the sauce to boil or the fillets will fall apart. Simmer for 5 minutes – turning once (ensure cooked). Remove the fillets on to a warm plate and cover. Boil the sauce to reduce the liquid (approx. 5 minutes), lightly drizzle the sauce over the fish and serve immediately. The remaining sauce can be served on the side. The fish would work well with steamed brown rice or brown noodles, served with green vegetables.
A fabulously, healthy dish for the whole family! Enjoy!
By Donna Howarth, November 2014
