Pla thu
| Short mackerel | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Scombridae |
| Tribe: | Scombrini |
| Genus: | Rastrelliger |
| Species: | R. brachysoma |
| Binomial name | |
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Rastrelliger brachysoma (Bleeker, 1851) |
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| Synonyms | |
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The short mackerel or shortbodied mackerel (Rastrelliger brachysoma) is a species of mackerel in the family Scombridae. Its habitat is the shallow waters of Southeast Asia and Melanesia, feeding mainly on small zooplankton. It is of major importance in the fisheries industry.
The short mackerel can attain a maximum length of 34.5 cm, but lengths of around 20 cm are more common. It reaches maturity at a length of about 17 cm. The species has the typical appearance of a medium-sized mackerel and is of silver colour. The snout is somewhat pointed.
The short mackerel is pelagic but prefers to feed in estuarine habitats, at surface temperatures of 20–30 °C (68–86 °F). It is a plankton feeder. The spawning season can extend from March to September, with individual populations spawning in batches.
The species is of major commercial importance, and is caught by various methods ranging from gillnetting to dynamite fishing.
Pla thu (Thai: ปลาทู) is a very important fish in Thai cuisine, where it is sold in the market with the head bent downwards, which gives it a characteristic shape. Pla thu is typically fried and eaten with nam phrik kapi, boiled and raw vegetables and leafy greens, as well as pieces of cha-om omelette, but it is essential in many other preparations. The name pla thu is sometimes also applied to the Indian mackerel (Rastrelliger kanagurta), which is prepared in the same way.
In the traditional way of processing the pla thu for preservation, the gills are removed and the head of the fish is bent downwards forcefully towards the belly by breaking its backbone. This is done to allow three fishes to fit into a small open-work bamboo basket of a predetermined size. Once in the baskets, the fish are boiled for a few minutes in large basins of sea-water with salt added at 1 kg (2.2 lb) of salt for every 4 litres (0.88 imp gal; 1.1 US gal) of water. In Thai cuisine, the thus processed pla thu is most often eaten fried in combination with nam phrik kapi, a spicy dip made with shrimp paste, dried prawns, lime juice, fish sauce, and the small pea eggplant, with rice and steamed, raw, or fried vegetables.
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Wikipedia