Hot Chilli Fishy on my Little Dishy (Princes Mackerel Fillets Hot Chilli)

Member Name: Zmugzy

Product:	Princes Mackerel Fillets Hot Chilli
Date:	05/06/09 (165 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Makes a tasty filling meal with rice

Disadvantages: Can be messy

With the exception of Tuna, up until a few years ago, tinned fish wasn't something I'd put on the top my shopping list. And I would never have thought of buying Princes Mackerel Fillets in Hot Chilli sauce. Then one winter evening whist lodging in a dark dank terrace in the outskirts of Durham, I was invited at midnight by the lodger himself to share in some Princes Mackerel fillets on toast. Although I wasn't that hungry, I wanted to be sociable... you know how it is, so I accepted the offer with a forced smile of gratitude. I was also weary of the lodger's inebriated condition and muscular stature and the last thing I wanted was to be thrown out into the dark streets of Durham - a treacherous place at the best of times. Even so, when I saw the oily runny red mess of fish bits being tipped out of the can, I must say that I wasn't too excited. And my mouth definitely wasn't watering in anticipation as my intoxicated friend began spreading the fillets onto half a slice of burnt bread. The one saving factor perhaps was the spicy smell of chilli sauce. It was only upon taking my first mouthful that I realised with pleasant surprise just what a tasty fish supper this was, not to mention a very filling one.

Tinned Princes Mackerel Fillets in Hot Chilli sauce soon became a regular addition to my shopping basket and initially I would always have them on toast. After a while though I found this to be a rather heavy meal as there is a lot of oil in the tin and if like me you've been brought up to always apply butter or margarine to your toast no matter what, then oily fish fillets on toast can turn out to be a bit sickly. It also makes a mess as you bite into the mackerel fillet toasted sandwich and the oil drips down your chin. Furthermore, if any the oily hot chilli sauce drips onto your white cotton garments, or worse still, onto your green suede shoes, then the stubborn stains can be a nightmare to remove. It was partially these reasons that led me to seek an alternative method of culinary preparation.

I always remembered my time in Thailand and Malaysia eating with the local poor folk who had holes in their shoes as well as holes in their bellies. The culinary method these locals used was to always pile their plate high with rice and add just one or two skimpy slices of pork or chicken on top. The only further addition to this simple but filling dish would be some very spicy sauce or hot thin curry. So it was following my eviction from the terraced lodgings in Durham and when I found myself going hungry for longer periods and when I had holes in both my Reebok trainers (see earlier review), that I decided to see if I could make a cheap meal by using a similar method. By simply boiling some long grain rice and adding the Princes Mackerel Fillets and sauce straight from the tin, I discovered that I could make a delicious tasty filling meal and one of the cheapest, healthiest and quickest to prepare. If you choose this method it helps to place the fillet pieces in a bowl first and break them up with a fork before mixing this into the hot cooked rice so that all the oil and chilli sauce are evenly spread. One tin doesn't look much but if you make plenty of rice it can easily stretch to two meals. I was delighted to discover that my little experiment worked well.

Take care when opening the tin. Although there is the convenient ring pull, make sure you hold the opening end away from you. It's best to do this over the sink as I find it almost impossible not to make a mess. If you want to add the fillets to bread or toast you might feel the need to empty away some of the oil but if you're making rice you should keep all the oil as it really does make a tasty sauce when combined with the rice.

Princes Mackerel Fillets come tinned in a range of different dressings including tomato, olive oil, mustard sauce, lightly salted water and sunflower oil. The hot chilli is by far my favourite. Make sure you pick up the right variety as the tins are very similar. Last week I picked up a tin of fillets in sunflower oil and didn't realise till I had pulled back the key ring ready to empty the contents on my already prepared steaming hot rice. I tried rescuing the dish by adding my own chilli and some other herbs but the result was hugely disappointing - mackerel in sunflower oil is rather yucky. I have also sampled the tomato version but it doesn't come close to the chilli sensation.

The one down side is that a 125g tin of Princes Mackerel Fillets are now astronomically priced at £1.40 in my local KS (I can never find them in my local Tesco). I seem to remember only 12 months or so ago that they were available for 75p a tin before stabilising at the 99p level for a while. What was once a cheap meal for under a quid is no longer the case. If the price increases much more I might have to start boiling the old leather from my Reeboks and adding that to a plate of the rice... with seasoning of course.

Summary: Princes hot chilli mackerel can make a tasty filling dish.