Crunchy Fried Hong Boi Fish or Ikan Gonjeng

Hong Boi Fish or known as Ikan Gonjeng in Malay, are the favorite of many.  It is normally deep-fried in hot oil until golden in colour and crunchy.  Most people will just prepare the fish in the normal way, but my late mother-in-law taught me this special way to prepare it so that when fried the whole fish can be eaten, without any leftover bones. Though it is more time consuming to clean and prepare the fish, but it is a worthy effort. Young children are also able to eat them without having to worry about small bones. The picture below tells it all....

How to prepare the fish:

1. Use a sharp knife, remove head and slice off the stomach area which are having sharp bones.
2. Scale the fish and wash clean.
3. Place the fish flat horizontally with the tail on the left side of our hand on the chopping board.  Run your knife above the middle bone, starting from the head area down to the tail (as seen in the picture), then turn over the other side and do the same, after which cut off the middle bone and discard.  Repeat until all is done.
4. Sprinkle some salt and grounded white pepper over the fish and mix gently, so that both sides of the fish will still remain intact.
5. Just before deep frying dust some corn flour over the fish, gently mix it to ensure that all the fish are well dusted.
6. Deep fry in a deep wok until golden brown.
7. Dish and drain on kitchen towel.
8. The crunchy fish is ready to be served!