Samaral / Rabbitfish / Spinefoot
I have only eaten fried Samaral or Spinefoot or Rabbitfish. Its skin sometimes 
has a weird texture when fried but the flesh itself is firm, clean tasting and great with vinegar or other sawsawan. These specimens were from the Batangas market the other weekend and you can see from the eyes just how fresh they were (clear eyes, fresh fish, most of the time). An incredibly thin fish, my previous post on Samaral suggests they come from the same family as danggit (talk about anorexic sea dwellers) which are, well, FLAT … Nevertheless this is considered a sort of premium fish in the markets today and at PHP140 a kilo it was pricier than some of the other choices in the market. It is found in waters from the Philippines through Indonesia and onto Northern Australia. I almost always consume at least one whole fish for myself since the meat to bone ratio is relatively low…
i’m always confused about the difference between samaral/kitang/kitong and danggit. kitang is supposedly the prime variety of the two (because it is usually fleshier?) but am not sure. those in the know, though, insist that there’s a difference. i’m almost always turned off by the bitter taste that’s left in the abdominal cavity, no matter how thoroughly the fish have been cleaned.
November 22nd, 2006i agree with millet about the bitter taste of their “tiyan”. Cleaning these type of fish is an ordeal with their sharp fins and ultra stinking innards….
November 22nd, 2006I used to think that Samaral and Danggit is the same. We call it Samaral here in Luzon,Danggit in Visayas and Kitong in Davao and I thought Danggit is a “baby” Samaral. Well that was years ago, apparently Samaral and Danggit belongs to the same family. Kitong being different from Samaral…hmm, I think its the same if not, same family then. They are more than 5 species under the same family if Im not mistaken and most of the time even fishermen doesnt really know the difference.
November 22nd, 2006M, this post brings back nice memories of childhood summers, camping out on the beaches of northern Zambales. The fishmongers offered freshly caught samaral right off their little boats at the cdrack of dawn. MM, fried samaral eaten with julienned green mangoes, chili, chopped onions and fish sauce, and steamed rice spells summer bliss. I also like it rubbed with a bit of sea salt and cracked peppers and grilled over hot coals. Millet, I remember a cousin poking a tiny slit in the belly with a knife tip, then using kitchen shears to open up the belly, cutting through the bones. Slitting the belly with a knife cuts up and cause the innards to spill. Using shears will allow you to cut around the unpleasant parts, making it a breeze to take out the innards. Give it a try :)
November 22nd, 2006I always thought that samaral/kitang/kitong and danggit are one and the same. They all look the same to me=) I have to re-orient myself about the fish variaties found in our markets. Whenever we have this at home, we always have it “sinugba” or grilled paired with blanched Camote tops and tomatoes salad with a vinegar/sugar/salt and pepper dressing. Yummy!
November 22nd, 2006wow that fish looks ultra fresh. reminds me of childhood summers as well. why is it that the best tasting fish one has ever eaten is the one he has caught himself? - as anybody who has gone fishing will attest..
November 22nd, 2006I think I had grilled samaral in “Dampa”, if I’m not mistaken. At first I didnt know what it is called so I used to call it as “big fresh danggit” because they look alike. As for kitang, isn’t it a fresh water fish? I thought that kitangs live in the river. If so, could they still be related to samaral?
November 23rd, 2006I like this as sinigang but only tomato for acidity, with ginger onion and patis. . . its great, we call this fish “malaga” in Ilocos and it has a nice taste but be careful not to make the soup bitter. . . clean fish, remove the insides. . . hehe
November 24th, 2006I have a taste of this in ZAMBOANGA CITY, yummy! very fresh
November 27th, 2006Would you be able to send me a picture of a Kitang Fish… or more info about it?
January 12th, 2008In Dagupan City where I grew up we call this fish ‘malaga’. I was assigned to Southern Tagalog when I was a salesman and so I got to taste their samaral from Palawan, Marinduque and Batangas. The ones from Dagupan are the best, in my opinion, because the flavour was stronger whereas those from Southern Tagalog, while being a bit bigger, were more bland. This fish is great pan fried with just salt seasoning it or as a sinigang. It is premium priced even in Dagupan.
One of my favorites!
February 2nd, 2008I miss eating kitong/samaral and danggit. It is so delicious specially if kitong is cook inihaw (or sinugba, as we call it in cebu) style.Too bad you cant find those kinds fish here in the US….:-(
February 28th, 2008