Have you heard of ayungin or silver perch? It’s a popular and sought-after fish in the Philippines because of its delicious flavor. But because it is so scarce and very expensive, not all can immediately buy it and enjoy its deliciousness. And, if you happen to find the elusive ayungin, they are so small they are hard to eat. Not the ayungin of long ago — big, plump, fresh, and inexpensive.
Today’s silver perch is like gold in price. But people don’t mind the high price and still buy it because of its distinct flavor. Be careful though when eating ayungin as it is full of hard thorny bones.
Ayungin or silver perch is perfect cooked with a little amount of water, vinegar, chopped onion, garlic, tomato, and slices of ginger. Sprinkled with peppercorns and a bit of salt, and topped with finger chili and then boiled, you have paksiw as your viand for the day. And if you like it with coconut milk, you may have the silver perch boiled in it with labong. Or, cook it in a sour broth using kamias and boil together with bok choy and cabbage. Best eaten with steamed rice.
Eating ayungin is akin to eating lechon; we devour every bit of it, as we have no idea when we can have the pleasure of eating it again.
We just hope that our fishermen let the silver perch grow big first and multiply in number before they are harvested for all to enjoy. We hate to see the day when this delicious fish becomes extinct.
