Cailie and I had to rush to the wet market today as my stock in the fridge is dwindling. Since it's not the scheduled market day (it's supposed to be Wednesdays and Saturdays), I was a bit hesitant to go as the vegetables and fish there might not be as great as on market days. I was pleasantly surprised to see that I still had bountiful fresh veggies and seafood to choose from so I couldn't help but take photos of them right away. Because it's Holy Week already, I stocked up on fish and added more veggies than usual.
I've always been a "dried fish" fanatic. Even as a young girl, I'd be fascinated watching my Mom devour pieces of "hawot" (how dried fish is called in San Jose, Batangas) together with sinangag (fried garlic rice) drenched in hot barako coffee. It was when I tried to taste it for myself that I became to love this same meal that my Mommy so adores.
I guess it is really in the genes because even my 2 older children love to eat "tuyo". The minute they smell the aroma of frying dried fish, you'd see them almost drooling to get their hands on their platter of fried rice and fish. With some scrambled egg on the side, the meal was the perfect way to start a rainy morning.
Being a Tagala, I'm used to the Tagalog way of cooking Paksiw na Isda (usually Bangus) which is "masabaw". When I moved to the Visayas, I learned a different take on Paksiw called "Inun-unan". It's not soupy like its Tagalog counterpart, rather the sauce is almost dried up and whatever little that is left is actually sought after like liquid gold (all the yumminess is there) to be strewn over hot rice.
This post is dedicated to my Visayan friends who are now abroad and would like to re-acquaint themselves with an all-time favorite...
Inun-unan
1/2 kg fish (Bilong-bilong, Tulingan/Mackerel, Bariles/Tuna)
150 grams pork fat or 2 tbsp canola oil
2 pcs bay leaves (laurel)
1/2 head of garlic, crushed
1 thumb-sized ginger, sliced
1/4 cup fish sauce/patis
1/2 cup vinegar (white or tuba variety)
1 small red bell pepper, julienned
1 tsp black peppercorns or 1/2 tsp ground pepper
2 pcs eggplant, sliced (optional)
3-5 pcs siling pansigang/haba (optional)
In a thick casserole (a native palayok works best), layer the ingredients in this order: pork fat or oil, garlic, ginger, bay leaves, fish and bell pepper slices. Then pour the fish sauce/patis and vinegar and sprinkle peppercorns/pepper on top. Simmer over medium heat for about 30 minutes then switch fire to low. If you wish, you may add the eggplant pieces and chili fingers (for heat), simmer on low for another 15 minutes. Take care not to let the sauce dry up too much. Serve with hot rice.
Have you ever had a day so busy that you just didn't have the time to prepare a decent meal? Well, as a mom of three, this scenario pretty much happens often at home. So here is the first in my "Lutong Tamad" series - Sotanghon Sardines...
In a wok, heat up oil. Saute onions and garlic until translucent. Stir in sardines, mashing the sardine pieces while simmering. Drain the noodles then combine with the sardines. Add salt and water. Stir noodles while it soaks up all the liquid. Garnish with scallion pieces and serve hot with calamansi slices.
It has been raining here six days in a row and I'm pretty sure this kind of weather will drag on until early next week. Weather like this always prompts me to prepare food that's warming to the belly.
Ampalaya Guisado is always a winner for me and hubby, especially on a gloomy day like this one. Served on piping hot rice, nothing beats the taste of bitter, salty and downright yummy all at the same time!
To reduce the bitterness of the ampalaya (bitter gourd), I usually soak the sliced ampalaya pieces in salt water for at least 2 hours. To prepare the dish, I just saute onions, garlic and tomatoes in a little oil. Once translucent, I add some julienned red peppers and the drained ampalaya pieces. I like my ampalaya to retain its rich green color and crispness so I just let it cook for about 7 minutes on high heat before adding 1-2 beaten eggs. Once the eggs are almost cooked, I put off the heat and let the steam finish the cooking process. Voila! Comfort food at its best!
I haven't been successful yet in having the kids love eating ampalaya so they feasted on the leftover "Fish-tek" from dinner the night before. It's a simple dish of having "bariles" pieces marinated in some soy sauce, calamansi juice and a dash of pepper for about 30 minutes before pan frying them in hot oil. Once brown, just add lots of red onion rings and the marinade. It was even more delicious as a leftover since the sauce had already penetrated the fish pieces well.
I brought out a portion of frozen roundscad (aka galunggong) to thaw this morning. I was thinking of frying it for lunch. When hubby saw me in the kitchen, he asked what I planned to do with it. I quickly replied that I'd be frying it since it was quick and the kids always love it when we have fried fish. He asked me what I thought about making it into an escabeche (sweet & sour) dish. Hmmmm....I haven't tried making escabeche and just by the sound of it, I thought it'll be quite a challenge. I didn't have enough time on my hands...just an hour to prepare for lunch, is escabeche at all possible?
A quick search on Google revealed various ways of making escabeche...after browsing 2-3 recipes online, I realized that making escabeche wasn't that difficult at all! About half an hour later, the result yielded a feast featured in the photo above. It was raining the whole day and oh boy, the escabeche lunch was just perfect for the weather.
Here is the recipe I used:
8-10 medium sized roundscad (galunggong), fried *** you can use any other type of fish: lapu-lapu, matangbaka, anduhaw
2 thumb-size ginger, julienned
3 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 pieces medium-sized tomatoes, quartered
1 medium red onion, sliced
1 medium sized red bell pepper, julienned (*** you can also throw in a green one for color contrast)
1 small carrot, julienned (I didn't have this in my kitchen so I left it out but most recipes call for it)
1/4 cup vinegar (cane or white)
3-4 Tbsp tomato catsup
1 Tbsp corn starch, dissolved in 1/2 cup water
1-2 Tbsp sugar
Canola oil for sauteing
Set aside your fried fish. In a shallow pan, heat some oil. Saute ginger, onions ,garlic and tomatoes until translucent. Add carrot and bell peppers. Stir in vinegar, catsup until well combined. Bring to a simmer then add sugar. Slowly stir in the corn starch & water mixture. You should get a slightly thick sauce. Adjust your vinegar, water, catsup, sugar to taste. Pour over fried fish and serve with hot steaming rice.
