To eat or not to eat?

Steamed I think it's coral grouper
cantonese style. Very yummy.

An omnivore's dilemma. To eat meat or not to eat. I ate. R doesn't have any problems eating meat. I do. I prefer to eat vegetables but eat meat once or twice a week. I find eating meat more of a social habit than a dietery necessity. If it is served, I will eat it. It is about being grateful for the food especially if an animal has unwillingly died to be on my dining plate. Being wasteful is really a big no-no for me. I usually do not go all the way out to eat meat unless it's my once a month Ayam Penyet at the hawker centre. It's that beautiful combination of moist fried chicken and that sinful sambal. Shilin fried chicken and Arnold's fried chicken too! My, my blood thirsty cravings.

Why do I choose to eat less meat? Firstly, it's healthier diet. Nuff said. And of course, less guilt. Do I feel weaker from eating less of meat? No, in fact, I believe I am stronger with this diet preference. Whole vegetables, nuts, fruits and once-a-week meat works for me, I am more alert and have less allergies.

What about fish? I don't about you, have you dived before? Fish like groupers do not come in big schools. They come in two or threes, or are loners. First, you have to understand how fishes are caught. Either they are trawled from the seabed or are caught from a long drift net. Of course, you will not get only edible fish per catch. You get a lot of bycatch. I mean a lot, a lot of inedible bycatch. If I didn't remember wrongly, it's almost 70% of the total catch as written in a National Geographic magazine a few years back. Consumers will never see the wasted bycatch as they are thrown away by the fisherman. You must see the pictures to believe the amount that is wasted. Then, I didn't give a thought about what I was eating, never questioned what was served, it was just food to me. We humans are very good at emptying our once bountiful oceans...

This fish was given by in-laws. Looks like a coral grouper to me. It was very delicious and fresh. I steamed it with ginger and after the fish was cooked, I drizzled it with hot oil and the soya sauce/ mushroom sauce/sugar gravy. Super yummy.

Steamed fish, fish soup, chicken rice, fried chicken, satay, why do you make it so hard to eat less of you? I am so thankful I like vegetables. Can't imagine if I don't, mealtimes would have been a chore.