Ikan Sumbat

The word ‘sumbat’ or ‘tersumbat’ means ‘gulp’. Whenever one of my baby nieces or nephews ate something chunky or had a mouth full of food, my mother could be heard screaming “Pelan pelan, nanti tersumbat”. (Slow down or you will choke.) In this case, the fish should be ‘choked up’ bulging with the chilli paste, then fried until the fish skin is slightly crispy. We had this fish often enough that it was a staple feature in our dinner menu. Sometimes, my mother would spread the