Local names:
Malay: Kerapu merah, Kerapu bara, Sunoh
Cantonese: Sai sing baan
Hokkien/Teochew: Ang gau
Mandarin: 西星斑
Most red groupers are known as star groupers in Cantonese and Mandarin as the many spots are said to resemble the numerous stars in the night sky. Sai sing baan translates to western star grouper as this grouper is believed to come from the western side of the South China sea. This has to be taken with a grain of salt as this species has a wide range covering most of the Indo-pacific.
Fisheries information:
Countries of origin: Indonesia, Malaysia
Fishing methods: Hook and line (Indonesia and Malaysia)
This species is not as common and is only reliably seen at Jurong Fishery Port.
Culinary usage:
Steamed, Soups, Fried, Asam pedas/Gulais
Groupers are particularly revered in Cantonese cuisine and are the top fish of choice for Cantonese/HK steamed fish. This species is often mistaken for the same species and sold as the leopard coral grouper (Plectropomus leopardus) which is one of the most popular fishes for steaming in Chinese restaurants.
When table-sized they are steamed whole. For larger-sized groupers, the fish is either butterflied or filleted before steaming. The fillets can also be cut into thin slices to be used in sliced fish soup. Groupers have plenty of collagen and the bones and head are used to make soup.
They can also be served fried. In Malay cuisine, groupers are often cooked in asam pedas or other gulais.
How to identify:
Bright red grouper with blue spots. Often mistaken for other similar looking groupers but has larger round blue spots with a thicker outline. The body is usually also a darker red.
A closer look at the squaretail coral grouper's spots. This species is usually only found in higher numbers at the Jurong Fishery Port.
Squaretail coral grouper is on the extreme right. The other two groupers next to it are barcheeked coral trouts (Plectropomus maculatus) for comparison. Note the darker red colouration and the round blue spots with thicker outline.