FISH ESCABECHE with a hint of PINEAPPLE

My husband bought some fresh fish at the market and requested me to make it into sweet and sour fish. So here's what I did with it: FISH ESCABECHE with a hint of PINEAPPLE. =)

I'm not sure of the origin of the recipe but here's how it was done by my mother when she used to cook it for us. I just added some pineapples to it for a more sweet and sour taste, and adding Vitamin C to your dishes doesn't hurt too. =)

Here's how you can do this very simple fish dish:

Ingredients you'll need: (for 2-4 servings)

- 4-5 small-medium fish or 2 big fish (cleaned, scaled and innards removed)

*for this dish, my husband bought the freshest from the market and so we used 3 pcs. "Kaluping" and 1 pc. "lapu-lapu".

tip: you can use other fish like "tilapia" and "apahap" or you can even bread and fry white fish fillets as substitute for whole fish.

- 1 onion

- 1 medium carrot

- 1 green bell pepper

- 1 red bell pepper

- 2 tsp of minced garlic

- 115 grams of pineapple tidbits with syrup (small budget pack)

- 1/2 cup white vinegar/cane vinegar

- 1/2 cup water

- 2 tsp cornstarch

- 2 tsp soy sauce

- 1/2 cup brown sugar

- salt and pepper to taste

- seasoning granules (e.g. Maggi Magic Sarap, Aji-ginisa);optional

- vegetable oil

1) Pat dry your fishes and rub them with some seasoning granules or salt.

2) Heat up a shallow pan and put a generous amount of vegetable oil to fry the fish into, about 1/2 cup.

tip: Make sure your wok or pan is really really hot when you put your oil, and your oil really hot when you fry your fish to avoid the fish skin sticking to the pan. Also, put some rock salt to the hot oil before frying your fish, to avoid splattering of oil during frying; the salt will absorb the excess moisture from the fish.

3) Fry the fishes until crispy and golden brown then set aside.

4) Prepare your vegetables and cut them into strips.

5) Then, make the base for the sweet and sour sauce. In a bowl, combine vinegar, water, brown sugar, soy sauce and cornstarch and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

6) In another pan, heat some vegetable oil, and saute all the vegetables quickly making sure they have still some crunch to them. Start sauteing the aromatics: garlic and onion then follow with the carrots and lastly the bell pepper. Remove from pan immediately and set aside.

7) In the same pan where the vegetables were cooked, pour the sweet and sour sauce and simmer over medium heat until slightly thick.

8) Once thickened, incorporate back in the pan the vegetables and simmer some more, about a minute.

9) Add the pineapple tidbits with the syrup; season with salt and pepper then simmer another minute. Remove from heat.

10) Transfer the fried fish to a a shallow serving platter then pour the sauce over the fish. 

Done! Now ready to be enjoyed and savored! =) Super Easy, eh? =) Best way to eat this is to pour some of that delightful sauce and tender fish meat over steaming hot rice! =)

If you still haven't tried this, make this! For me, it's a comforting, home-cooked meal that brings great childhood memories with my mother. If you have kids, you are sure to score some Mommy/Daddy love with cooking this dish. Fish is sooo crispy and sauce real yummy! =)

 Don't take my word for it, go and make some! =) Now! Quick! You might still score some fresh fish produce at your market. =)

Happy Eating! =)