Dried Fish Is a Filipino Cuisine With a Strong Odor

Tagged with fish, food, foot odor, philippines, united states on June 23, 2024

While I wouldn’t be one to call dried fish (tuyo or daing in Tagalog) a cuisine, more Filipinos than I can count will disagree with me. It’s extremely salty and the odor it produces when it’s being fried is really strong. The first time you smell it, you could end up running in the other direction.

Many non-Filipinos can’t stand the smell or the taste. While I can now stand the smell, I still can’t eat more than one fish at a time. It’s too salty for me, and I prefer not to eat any at all.

My First Experience

Prior to getting married to my wife, Josie, I had never tasted or even smelled dried fish. One day when we were living in our first apartment in the United States, she started cooking some. I don’t remember where she got it from, but I think it was from one of the other Filipino women living in our apartment complex.

Our apartment was on the second floor and the front door and picture window were next to an outdoor hallway that looked more like a sidewalk, kind of what a lot of motels look like. The smell of it while it was cooking was horrible, at least that was my opinion at the time.

Our next-door apartment neighbors didn’t think the smell was even tolerable. The wife came out of her apartment, said something like “What’s that awful smell?”, ran back into her apartment and slammed her window shut.

Dried Fish in the Philippines

Before moving to the Philippines, I avoided dried fish as much as possible. I had tasted it at least once, and it was way too salty. I couldn’t taste the fish. When I moved to the Philippines, I could no longer avoid it.

While living in the Philippines, I’ve smelled dried fish regularly (while it’s being cooked, and after it’s already cooked) and I’ve watched relatives munching down on them as ulam (the main dish) with their rice. I can eat it now without wanting to spit it out immediately, but I still can’t eat more than one fish at a time. The smell doesn’t even bother me anymore.

Too Much Salt

I don’t know exactly what species of fish they use (and there are multiple species used). A dried fish is a corned, sun-dried fish popular with Filipinos because it won’t spoil for weeks, even without refrigeration. The fish is very small, slightly larger than a sardine, and it’s usually eaten whole.

It’s extremely salty, and most Filipinos like salty foods. I only like salt on fries, popcorn and as a seasoning on certain foods. I like the taste of fish (if it doesn’t taste too “fishy”), not the taste of salt. Canned tuna tastes better to me than dried fish.

The smell of it while it’s being dried or while it’s being cooked, reminds me of the smell of stinky feet. Back when I had horrible foot odor, Josie would tease me that my feet smelled like dried fish, and it made her hungry. I really can’t tell you which smell is worse.

Image by Michel Bertolotti from Pixabay