Porridge - "Sashimi Ala Cantonese"

Just two days ago, Peter and I headed to Ah Chiang's Porridge in Tiong Bahru for breakfast. This is a no-frills coffeeshop that serves Cantonese styled rice porridge eaten with plates of raw sliced fish - "Sashimi Ala Cantonese". The fish that is used to make this raw-fish salad is the 'Chirocentrus dorab' otherwise known as Wolf-Herring or Ikan Parang as the locals call it.

The Wolf Herring is served sliced really thin due to the fact that they have really tiny bones which ran longitudinally down the length of the fish and it is really difficult to remove them. So by cutting it really thin and across the grain, you will make the fish-bone hardly noticeable. Just slap on the red chilles, slivers of ginger, chives, drowned with sesame oil, and sprinkle a little soya sauce to complete the taste. I usually plonk the plate of raw-fish salad into my bowl of steaming hot porridge and leave it to cook themselves. Accompanying this with a bowl of sliced 'you tiao' (deep fried crullers) and you will be in heaven. I find that the deep fried crullers is an excellent companion to the porridge.

Besides the raw sliced fish, Ah Chiang also serves porridge with various toppings such as minced pork (bak chor), fish belly, innards and century eggs.