Posts Tagged "Fish"

Kinilaw na Isda (Filipino Ceviche)

As Sofia, from the Golden Girls T.V. series says, “picture this!”: the sun is setting over the horizon,  in one of the many beautiful beaches in the Philippines; the beer is chilling nearby, ready to slake your thirst; you just caught a beautiful tuna fish early this morning; the fish coruscating on the chopping board as it is prepared for Kinilaw na Isda; the mouth-watering scent of the pork and chicken as they are grilled over an open charcoal fire; and the cooling winds playing tag with the hair and clothes of your family and friends  frolicking on the sand — PICTURE PERFECT!  The best way to make this is to have very fresh fish; freshly caught is the most excellent. I like using calamansi juice because of its fragrance and lime can also be used. You can add more vinegar or calamansi juice if you prefer. Procedure: 1 kilo sashimi grade tuna or tanigue (Spanish mackerel) – sliced into 1/4-inch thick by 1 1/2-inch lengths 1 tablespoon sea salt 1 tablespoon finely julienned sliced ginger 1 cup chopped sibuyas Tagalog or red onion 10 – 15 pieces bird eye chilies – finely sliced in circles 1/2 cup calamansi or lemon juice 1/4 cup coconut vinegar or palm vinegar Procedure: Make sure you place the fish in a glass serving dish or enamel dish. This prevents the vinegar from reacting with either stainless or aluminum and keeps the flavor clean. Arrange the fish pieces on the glass dish. Mix all the other ingredients in a glass bowl and taste before pouring in. Adjust the salt or chilies to your liking. When the flavor is right, pour over the fish and stir around. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 to 2 hours. The fish and marinade will turn milky. This means it’s ready to serve. Serve with cold beer or chilled white...

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Whole Fish Baked in Salt

Beaches and summers go together during vacation time. My children and I spend many memorable holy weeks at the Bacnotan Vacation house in La Union. I had to rack my brains to come up with different ways to cook fish which was fresh and abundant in this area. If you enjoy going to the beach and buying freshly caught fish directly from the fishermen, you can make this very simple dish and actually feed the whole gang. The fish must be from the sea, and have thick scales. The fish I used was the El Dorado (it was about 2 kilos plus and 24-inches long). Straight from the fishing banca (boat), the El Dorado shimmered like gold – it had a golden stripe on its back. But another time, when I bought it from the fish market, the gold seemed to have faded away. So try it straight from the sea, it is much better. There is no need to scale or gut the fish. Just rinse the whole fish with water and pat dry. To cook the fish in the rough without an oven (remember you’re on holidays), you’ll need some stones or 3 hollow cement blocks, a piece of G.I. sheet, and about 2 gallons (32 cups) of salt. Build a makeshift barbecue pit by placing the G.I. sheet (flat type) over the stones or hollow blocks. Spread evenly, around 16 cups of salt on G.I sheet, to follow the contour of the fish. Lay the fish firmly in the center of the salt, then with the other 16 cups of salt, cover the entire fish with 1/2-inch to 1 inch thick crust of salt. Start a charcoal fire under the G.I sheet. Cook the fish until the salt is firm enough to knock on. You can use a wooden spoon to tap on the salt and when the sound is hollow, the fish is cooked. To oven-bake the fish, set the oven temperature to 350ºF or 180ºC and bake the fish till the crust of salt is firm enough to knock on. The fish retains its natural flavour and cooks in its own juice. The salt does not penetrate the fish. Carefully remove the salt crust with a knife and turner. Do not cut the fish open until all the salt has been removed. When all the salt has been removed, use a knife and fork to remove the skin. Serve the fish with garlic fried rice and any of the following sauces for dipping. Soy Sauce Dip: Mix together the following: 1 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup white vinegar 2 tablespoons calamansi juice or lemon juice 1 tablespoon grated ginger 1 tablespoon finely crushed garlic...

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Pesang Dalag (Mudfish Soup)

When I was a child, I used to look forward to my mother making this dish. My favorite part of the Dalag is the fish roe (puga); the taste and the tiny crackling sound, just sent me to seventh heaven. Many a time I would get into a fight with my siblings over it. I think this dish is as Filipino as can be. Ingredients: 1 big mudfish (1kilo plus) – to clean, thoroughly remove scales and then rub with coarse salt, about 1 to 2 tablespoons. Keep doing this till the slime goes away. Rinse with water and cut the fish diagonally into 1-inch thick pieces, except towards the tail and head; leave about 4 inches towards tail end and about 1 inch from head. 2 tablespoons cooking oil 1/2 cup sliced onion 1 tablespoon sliced ginger – jullienne 2 tablespoons fish sauce (patis) 4 cups rice water washing 1 potato – peel and cut into quarters 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 bunch Bok Choy (Chinese cabbage), (petchay Baguio) – remove stem part and segregate into leaves Sauce: 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic 1/2 cup finely chopped onion 1/2 cup chopped tomato 2 tablespoons salted bean curd (tajure) – mashed 2 tablespoons cooking oil Procedure: There are two ways to treat the mudfish. One is to quickly pan fry the fish before mixing in with the soup. The other way is to let the fish cook in the soup. The choice is yours. In a medium sized cooking pot, over medium low fire, pour in the cooking oil and warm up oil. Saute the garlic, onion and ginger till the onions are wilted looking. Add the fish sauce and continue to saute for another minute. Pour in the rice washing water and bring to a slow boil. Add the potato and cook till the potato is almost tender. Add the mudfish, and salt and continue to simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the cabbage and cook for another 2 minutes. Taste the soup and adjust to your liking, adding fish sauce or salt. Remove from fire. Serve with hot rice and sauce. Make sauce: In a small frying pan, over low fire, pour in cooking oil and saute garlic and onion till the onion is translucent. Add the tomato and continue to simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the salted bean curd and continue to simmer for another 5 minutes; stirring...

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Pinaputok na Isda

I first tasted this dish in San Fernando, Pampanga. C.G. Garcia, a realtor in San Fernando had a restaurant and that is where I first tasted it. The original recipe of this dish was too oily (it was deep fried twice) and as usual, I tweaked it to make it healthier. Fish Ingredients: 1 kilo fish fillet – labahita, ocean perch, sole – de-bone and slice into serving slices 2-inches x 4-inches or whole tilapia 1 tablespoon lemon or calamansi juice or mirin Sauce Ingredients: ¼ kilo tomatoes – blanch, skin, peel and cut into quarters 50 grams coriander – chop coarsely 2 cups onions – chop coarsely 2 tablespoons garlic – chop finely 2 lemon grass white stalks – chop finely 1 tablespoon ginger – finely chopped ¼ cup oyster sauce 1 tablespoon sesame oil 2 tablespoons cooking oil ¼ cup light soy sauce 1 teaspoon finely crushed black pepper 1 tablespoon cassava (arrowroot) flour dissolved in 2 tablespoons water Fish Preparation Procedure: Rub the fish fillets with lemon juice and lay out on over-proof serving dish lined with banana leaf. If you are using a whole tilapia, fry tilapia with a little oil, on both sides, just to seal it; about 1 minute per side. Procedure: In a medium sized sauce pan, over low fire, pour in the oils (cooking and sesame) and sauté the onions, and garlic for about 2 minutes. Add in the ginger and lemon grass; continue sautéing for another 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and simmer for 3 minutes. Add the oyster sauce, soy sauce and black pepper. Stir and continue simmering for 1 minute. Add the coriander and the cassava flour mixture. Cook for another minute and remove from flame. Pour sauce over the fillets and bake for 15 – 20 minutes at 180°C or 350°F. Serve with boiled...

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