Occasionally you may get very small ikan kuning, up to 10 cm in length, from the market.  The meat is very thin and little meat to eat, but if fried till crispy, you can eat it whole with the bones.  For those who go fishing, you will catch them around Singapore waters or the region quite easily.

Ingredients

1. Small Ikan Kuning  (important to be small in order to make it crispy)
2. Salt
3. Cooking oil for deep frying or pan frying

Method

1. Clean and remove the scales by scraping the skin with a knife.
2. Cut open the gut and remove the internals and the gills and wash.  You may cut away the head too if you are not eating them.
3. Rub with some salt.
4. With medium to low heat, deep fry or pan fry the fish until it is crispy. You need a lot of patience here. Important not to use high heat, as it will burn before it turns crispy. 
5. Serve by eating the whole fish with bone, if you have fry it really crispy.

Goes well with Nasi Lemak (rice cooked with coconut milk, pandan leaves and some salt).

Scale of fish is removed simply by scraping it in the opposite direction, ie from tail to the head.  Using the fish scaler or knife always make the scales flying all around, on your face, hair, and everywhere around the kitchen sink, worst, leaving a fishy smell in the kitchen sink.  To prevent this, simply fill up a basin of water, and scale the fish underwater, all the scale will be in the water.  After scaling, simply pour the water over a sieve, and discard the scales in the sieve.  Another way is use a big plastic bag, hold the fish 1 hand, and scaler in the other and do the scaling under cover of the plastic bag to prevent the scales from flying all around.

These 2 kinds of fish is best pan fried with oil and serve by dipping into ketchup and eaten with plain rice porridge.  This is really simple dish, ideal for a quick lunch.

Ingredients

1. Fish
2. Salt
3. Cooking oil for pan fry
4. Tomato ketchup

Method

1. Wash the fish.  For ribbon fish, cut into 5-10 cm sections (they could be already been cut by your fish monger).  For Batang, use mid cut of 1-2 cm thick.  Rub the fish with some salt.
2. Pan fry till cook (or deep fry is also fine)
3. Serve by dipping into a plate of ketchup.

The fry fish is the same as the basic fry fish, and we added soya sauce gravy to go with it.  Most fish is ok for this cooking, but I particularly like threadfin (午鱼) for this.

Ingredients

1. Fish
2. Salt
3. cooking oil for pan frying
4. 3 table spoon light soya sauce
5. 1 table spoon sugar
6. ½ table spoon dark soya sauce (optional or reduce amount)
7. 1/3 cup water
8. 1 clove garlic

Method

1. If processing whole fish, de-scale the fish, and remove the gut and gills.  Lightly brush the gut wall with a brush to remove the blood clots.  If processing fillet, just rinse with water.  Drain dry.
2. Rub some salt on the fish surface, (and the gut wall if whole fish is used). 
3. Peel and cut the garlic into small pieces.
4. Mix the sugar, soya sauces and water in a bowl and set aside.
5. Pan fry the fish.  It is important the oil is very hot (with some light fumes coming out), and you put the fish down slowly.  This will ensure the fish surface contact the oil first and sufficiently to have the outer layer coated before it touches the pan.  This will prevent the fish from sticking on the pan. Leave it frying with low flame till fish is almost cook before flipping over. (see prevent fish from sticking to pan)
6. When the fish is cook and brown on both sides, remove the fish and place in a serving plate.
7. With the flame on, add in garlic, and when garlic is fragrant, pour in the mixed soya sauces.  Let it boil with high heat till bubbling furiously. High heat cooking of soya sauce brings out the fragrance of the sauce. Off flame and pour over fish.
8. Serve hot.

This is good with fish chucks, fish fillets or whole grouper fish.

Ingredients

1. 600-800gms Fish
2. ½ teaspoon Salt
3. ½ teaspoon white ground pepper
4. cooking oil for deep frying
5. Corn flour enough to coat the surface of the fish.

Sauce (reduce by proportion if fish is small)

1. 6 table spoon of tomato ketchup (option: replace 2 table spoon of ketchup with plum sauce)
2. 2 table spoon of sugar
3. 2 table spoon of soya sauce
4. 1/4 teaspoon of salt
5. 1 teaspoon corn flour
6. 1/3 cup water
7. 1 teapspoon of minced garlic
8. 2 tablespoon cooking oil
9. 1 teaspoon of chilli paste, or 2 table spoon of chilli sauce (optional for making it spicy). 

Method

1. If processing whole fish, de-scale the fish, and remove the gut and gills.  Lightly brush the gut wall with a brush to remove the blood clots.  If processing fillet or chucks, just rinse with water.  Drain dry. For fillet with skin attached, using a very sharp knife, cut shallowly the flesh at 45 deg at about 2cm interval without cutting the skin, both directions to give diamond shape cubes, of 2×2 cm.  Do not cut too deep so that the skin is still holding on the flesh cubes (it will looks nice after frying).    
2. Rub some salt and pepper on the fish surface, (and the gut wall if whole fish is used).  Coat the fish with corn flour sufficiently and shake off excess flour.
3. Deep fry the fish till golden brown, put on serving plate.

For the sauce

1. Mix the sugar, ketchup, plum sauce, chilli sauce, salt, soya sauce, water and 1 teaspoon corn flour in a bowl and set aside.
2. Heat up wok or pan, add cooking oil and garlic, and fry till fragrance. Pour in the mixed sauces, and allow it to boil till required consistency.
3. Off flame and pour over fish.
4. Serve hot.

As option, you may also add into the sauce (while cooking) any of the following

1. Handful canned pineapple cubes. 
2. ¼ cup pre-boiled carrot cubes and peas ( buy frozen ones in supermarkets)
3. ½ teaspoon finely chopped green lime skin, or lemon or lime leaves or curry leaves. (give it a little Thai style)