Short Mackerel a.k.a. Pla Tu

Mackerel is a very common food in Thailand. We eat it fried with spicy sauce, boiled with raw vegetables, in soup and in many other dishes. This is the most common way to find them being sold in the market.

For preservation, the fish are placed in these small bamboo baskets and boiled for a few minutes in sea water with extra salt added. In the past, the mackerel could be kept for up to two weeks without refrigeration because the boiling process would be repeated every two days as the fish made their way to Northern Thailand.