sarciadong bulad

last weekend we went to a friend who had just came back from his vacation in cebu. my parents sent some stuff for the baby and so we drove more than 2 hours to their house. it was also a time to visit close friends since we were not able to visit abu dhabi since december last year. before we left, jason gave us bulad (dried fish). we were actually glad since we didn't have bulad for some time now.

bulad/buwad is how we call dried fish/tuyo in my homeplace cebu. never mind the lingering pungent smell after frying the bulad as long as i'm satisfied eating the delicious bulad. i'll just spray some air freshner or light a scented candle. hehehe...

it's weekend here in uae and our refrigerator's empty. this is what i had in mind for lunch. we all liked it even m. but as for me, i just have to eat in moderation since it is dried fish and a bit salty.

to prepare, soak the bulad in warm water and rinse it in cool water for a few minutes to remove the excess salt from the bulad. fry the bulad until cooked, we like our bulad a bit crispy, drain on paper towel and set aside. in a frying pan, heat some oil and saute some sliced onion, garlic and julienned ginger until aromatic. then add several ripe chopped tomatoes, a few teaspoon of sugar, a little vinegar and a little water. mix well to incorporate the flavors. then the bulad into the mixture to let the juices infused with the bulad for 3-5 minutes.

thanks to intsik for the bulad... :)

fish sweet and sour

our former housemates in jabal brought some fish during our lechon night last weekend to be grilled. the smaller ones were grilled first and there are three larger fishes left ungrilled and salted already. we had to put it in the freezer and consume a.s.a.p. so as not to spoil it. for the past two days after that weekend, we had fried fish. now, i still fried it but put sweet and sour sauce over. i don't have an idea what fish this is but it's delicious.


i didn't measure my ingredients, i just seasoned and tasted according to my preference.

first, salt the fish and then fry (in our case, it's already salted so i just fried it). while frying the fish prepare the vegetables for the sweet and sour. sliced/julienned bell pepper (red and/or green), carrots, onion, ginger and garlic. in a small bowl, mix together vinegar, water, sugar, salt and pepper; taste according to your desired sweetness and sourness.

when the fish is cooked, transfer to a plate and set aside. in the same wok where you fried your fish, take out excess oil, retain only about 1-2 tbsp. oil. saute onion, garlic and ginger until fragrant. add the carrots and saute for a minute. then add the bell peppers and saute for another minute again. then pour the vinegar mixture, do not mix. let boil for 1-2 minutes before mixing. taste again according to your preference. put back the fried fish and let it absorb the sauce for 1-2 minutes and then serve.

we had a fishy dinner. everything were eaten. k consumed the head while makuy ate the eyes (yes... he likes the fish eyes... hehehe...).

simpleng pritong bangus

as i have said, kim bought this sooo large milkfish (bangus) in the souk last weekend but it's not fresh. here in our place al ain, uae, we seldom were able to buy fresh fish since we are far from the fishing port. although sometimes we get lucky. yes it's large but it's just good for frying. well... i haven't tried baking a bangus though. hehehe... kim likes frying the bangus rather than grilling it. when you grill it, you really have to consume all since for our experience, it doesn't taste that good anymore the next time you eat it and it become "malansa". therefore, we opted to fry the bangus for our dinner.

ingredients:
bangus, halved
garlic powder
salt
pepper
oil

procedure:
pat dry the bangus slices so that the seasoning would penetrate trhough the fish meat.

season with the two sides of the bangus with garlic powder, salt and pepper. spread well using your hands.

set aside for a few minutes.

heat oil in a pan. fry the bangus by batches so as not to overcrownd the pan, skin first, until golden brown and turn to cook the other side. do not fry too long since it will not make the meat juicy anymore.

drain on paper towel.

serve with your favorite condiments and side dish. i served it with tomato-onion salad and soy-vinegar dip.

kingfish tinola

kim just went to the souk this morning to buy fish. we wanted to have fish for most of the days this coming week. kim bought a large bangus (milkfish) and a few slices of king fish (sorry, we don't know the filipino term for kingfish). we've been buying, cooking and eating kingfish for almost two years now. it has white meat. if it's fresh just like today, then it's good to make into soup and fried.... mmmmmm... or maybe baked and steamed... i'll try that one of these days.

so, we wanted a soup for lunch and we did. simple dish actually, simmer everything all together, season and then it's done.

this recipe serves 3-4 persons.

ingredients:
1 large slice kingfish, quatered and discard the bones
4 leaves pechay, white part separated and leaves divided into 3
1/2 large tomato, sliced
2 tbsp. ginger, sliced
1 pc. sili haba
1 pc. spring onion, separate white part and slice green part into 2" long
salt and pepper
3 cups water

procedure:
boil the water together with ginger in a casserole.

add the fish, tomato, sili haba, white part of pechay and white part of spring onion. season with salt and pepper.

simmer until fish is cooked. turn off the fire and add the the pechay leaves and cover the casserole.

serve steaming hot. ;p

escabeche

category: main dish
servings: 4

this is a very simple dish. you can either use lapu-lapu or tuna; and for this recipe, i used hamor. unlike the other escabeche this one does not have sticky, reddish sauce. my sauce here was a mixture of soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, freshly ground pepper and ginger. and when you are add this soy-vinegar mixture let it boil first before mixing. as for the sugar, it's just a personal preference for me. i like brown sugar better than the white one. but you can also use white sugar if you like. you can always adjust the mixture of the soy sauce, vinegar and sugar according to your taste.

here, i stir-fry my ingredients before i add the sauce and the fish. when you stir-fry the vegetables makes sure that the pan is really hot when you are using a wok but skip this when you are using a non-stick pan as high heat will damage the coating. when stir-frying, also cut your ingredients in uniform size so that they cook at the same rate.

ingredients:
4 slices fish

for the sauce:
1/2 cup vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tsp. ginger, diced
2 tbsp. brown sugar
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup water (optional)

for the escabeche:
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 medium onion, sliced
1 tbsp. ginger, thinly sliced
1 medium bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 medium carrot, thinly sliced
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp. spring onion, sliced
oil for frying

directions:
season the fish with salt and freshly ground pepper. set aside for a few minutes to let the salt and pepper sip through the meat.

meanwhile, combine in a bowl the ingredients for the sauce and mix well. set aside.

heat oil in the pan and fry the fish until brown or crispy for me. set aside.

using the remaining oil, stir-fry garlic, onion and ginger until limp. then add the carrots and bell pepper. stir-fry for a minute. then add the sauce mixture. let boil before mixing. season with salt and pepper if desired.then add the fried fish and coat with the escabeche sauce for a few minutes. lastly, sprinkle with the spring onion on top.