how do you say 'gutted and cleaned' fish? trying to buy a whole fish

[trisha2766]

I'm going to attempt to cook a whole fish this year for Chinese New year.  Not only is my chinese bad but I also have laryngitis.  So I was writing out a note saying what I want.  The asian stores around here have been crazy busy and I expect tomorrow will be even worse than usual so between my voice not working and all, I thought it would be best to write a note.  But I have no idea how to say 'gutted and cleaned' fish.  I was told the stores around here will gut and clean them for you but I assume I will have to ask. 

 

So far I have:

 

对不起, 我有喉炎,不能说. 而且我的中文不好!

我要一条鱼给除夕反

– 小的

- 请剔掉鱼刺 和 cleaned (gutted and cleaned)

- 'sea bass' 还是 其他鱼少小骨头 ('sea bass' or other fish with few bones.)

 

Anything else I should ask for?  I don't know if there is differences in quality and if they will give me one of lower quality since they'll be able to tell I don't know what I'm doing and I'm not chinese.

 

Thanks

 

 

[skylee]

Consider  -

 

对不起, 我有喉炎喉咙疼,不能说话. 而且我的中文不好!

我要一条鱼给来做除夕反年夜饭

– 要小的鲈鱼或者其他少骨的鱼

- 请剔去掉鱼鳞、鱼刺 和内脏，然后洗干净 cleaned (gutted and cleaned)

- 'sea bass' 还是 其他鱼少小骨头 ('sea bass' or other fish with few bones.)

 

PS - Re tomorrow, do you mean the 30th or the 31st?  If you mean the 31st, please note that it is the New Year Day, not New Year Eve.  And the main meal on the New Year Day is not 年夜饭.

[trisha2766]

Thanks! I mean for the 30th, which is tomorrow here.  I will have to get up early and go buy the fish.

[abcdefg]

Gutted and cleaned = 洗干净

 

http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/43233-which-fish-to-buy/

 

(post #6)

[Kobo-Daishi]

Is it because of the whole "nian nian you yu" tradition. The whole fish and surplus being homophonous thing? 

Fish symbolizing surplus or plenty. And thus wishing a year of plenty for the coming new year?

https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&biw=1024&bih=516&q=年年有餘

Scene from the classic Taiwanese romance drama It Started With A Kiss.

In the scene, though not Chinese New Years, Xiang Qin's dad says "nian nian you yu" when setting the fish plate on the table. The occasion is Xiang Qin's restauranteur dad has cooked a special meal thanking the Jiang family for taking the two of them in after a devastating earthquake has leveled their house.

Growing up in a Taishanese-speaking family we never followed that fish on Chinese New Years tradition. The two characters aren't pronounced the same in Taishanese. Don't even rhyme.

Nor in Hakka, Minnan or Sino-Vietnamese. Or possibly Teochew (Chaozhou). Didn't have time to search.

Just happens that they're pronounced the same in both Mandarin and Cantonese.

Wonder if other Taishanese families, (or Hakka, Minnan, etc.) do the whole fish for Chinese New Years tradition or just Cantonese and Mandarinese.  

I think when you set the fish dish on the table the fish head should be pointing towards the head of the household.

Anyway, Gong Xi Fa Cai!!!!

Kobo.

[trisha2766]

Yes, I think so Kobo, fish/yu2/鱼 sounds like the word for surplus. 

[Kobo-Daishi]

How did you get on with the winter melon?

 

Winter melons are kind of big. You didn't buy a whole one did you?

 

Most Chinese ladies just ask the grocer to cut them off a wedge. Kind of like buying cheese at the deli.   

 

They don't buy the whole thing unless they're doing the 冬瓜盅 thing.

 

Kobo.

[trisha2766]

Haven't done anything else with the winter melon yet, it was just a small piece. I need to reply to that thread again. 

[skylee]

To achieve 有餘, you don't really eat the fish. IIRC this was what happened at home - mom pan fried a fish, waited till it was cool, then put it in the rice container (the rice container was an ideal place to keep many types of food, it seemed) and it stayed there until after New Year Eve. I can't really remember how it was then eaten. I guess it was cooked again in a think sauce or something.

[trisha2766]

Well, I got my fish!  Its a striped bass.  I haven't done anything with it though. 

 

And after all that trouble and your help here - there's a few asian stores in this area and this time I decided to go to one called seafood city, figuring maybe they would be better for fresh fish.  They probably were a better choice but the guy at the counter was young and had perfect English, I don't even know if he knew Chinese!  So I didn't have any problem asking for it.  I had only been to that store one other time, so didn't realize the people there know English better.  I don't think the people at the other one that I had planned to go to do speak much English, so I would have needed it there.  At any rate, I've learned some new vocabulary.