• English: Silver/White Pomfret
  • Scientific name: Pampus argenteus
  • Chinese:  鲳鱼
  • Bahasa melayu: Ikan Bawal Putih
  • Thai: ปลาจะละเม็ดขาว
  • Vietnamese: Cá chim trắng
  • Cebuano: Salay
  • Winaray: Sandatan
  • Malayalee: വെളുത്ത ആവോലി

Silver pomfrets thrive in the warm seas of the Indian Ocean, and are an important source of food for the inhabitants here. It is so fresh and its meat is so delicate and versatile, you can basically use it in any recipe and it will turn out delicious.

From the distribution of its name, you can tell that it is eaten by people in the coastal regions of the Indian sub-continent, throughout Southeast Asia and the sub-tropical coastal areas of Southeast China.

In Southeast Asia, it is often pan-fried  often covered with a sweet or tangy sauce. In Southern Chinese recipes, they are steamed or cooked in a clear broth.

I strongly recommend that you obtain your fish from a sustainable source as this fish is being over-harvested at the moment, through deep-sea trawling.

My two recipes for Chinese-style steaming work well for the silver pomfret: Classic Chinese-style steamed fish 清蒸鲷鱼 or Teochew-style Steamed White-spotted Rabbitfish 潮式清蒸白肚鱼