Fish Stew in Banana Leaves

Haul of the Week: Seafood

This blog post was supposed to go out on Monday, January 24, 2011, but due to some important events, it came very late. Anyway, the Chef just wishes to share with his readers what food transfiguration he made over the weekend.

Sunday, aside from being a church day is also a market day for the Chef and his family. Right after the morning mass, the Chef checked out the wet market nearest to his place. He was able to haul a half-kilo of dilis ($0.81), sea shells ($1.16) and squid ($1.86), without really thinking what to do with those resources. 

Dilis, Anchovies or Bolinao

Outside of his house, while waiting for the gate to be opened, Chef's eyes were glued on the banana plant growing on the side road, and there, he molded a timely fish dish --- Inun-unan na Dilis sa Dahon (Fish Stew in Banana Leaves).  How did he go about it? Here is . . .

Wash the banana leaf then wipe it dry before "quick-heating" it up on top of the stove flame. This process will make the leaf stronger and easier to fold.

Lay the dilis on the leaf, sprinkle a little of salt, drizzle with oil, and powder it with ground black pepper. Fold the banana leaf enclosing the fish. Do this with the rest.

Lay the wrapped dilis in a pot, pour a cup of water, a fourth cup of plain vinegar, and another fourth of sukang "Pinakurat" for some sting.

Top with spices: chopped garlic, onion leaks and ginger, sliced onion and bell pepper, and ginger leaves (optional). Sprinkle with a teaspoon of salt, drizzle with oil, and flavor with Knorr Liquid Seasoning Original.

Cover and cook until it boils then turn the heat to the lowest point to simmer. Uncover the pot, then cook further for 10 minutes.

This is it! Inun-unan na Dilis sa Dahon

Secret Ingredients:

Pinakurat, proudly Philippine-made, and all-reliable Knorr
Liquid Seasoning

About Dilis

Dilis, or for a classy sound, anchovies, is also known in some parts of the Philippines as bolinao or gurayan.  They are one type of silvery, oily forage fish that usually go in large school or group. The importance of forage fish in the marine ecosystem is highly regarded because of their role in the underwater food chain as preys or food to bigger types of fish and other sea animals. 

--- Ireen ---

Raisin-Studded Green Salad

If you are looking for a light, guilt-free and healthy lunch, see this new concoction made by the Chef, which he tagged as Raisin-Studded Green Salad.

Because of the freshness flavor of the recipe, he finds it to be an effective way in striking out any signs of the body's sluggishness or weariness.  The recipe, he says, is a serious walk on the path to health and wellness, hence, he would like to share it with his readers.

Preparing "Raisin-Studded Green Salad" is like a morning breeze (fresh and easy) : a plate of pre-washed lettuce, topped with green tomatoes, raisin, and sauteed Century Tuna Lite.

To complete a meal, the Chef had it paired with two pieces of Nature's wheat loaf bread to incorporate the carb requirements of the body.

//rmism//

Saturday Treat: Garlicky Butter-Grilled Cream Dory

Garlicky Butter-Grilled Cream Dory:
Best to eat with your SSS -- not Social Security System, but
 "Saturday Significant Someone"

For many people, Saturday is a great and special day.

For students, this is a no-class day, hence, a rest day for them. It's a good time to oversleep, to have fun at home or with friends, to watch a movie or play games.

For an employee who works on a five-straight-weekday schedule, this is relaxation day; a chance to replenish one's vitality and get ready for the following week.  It can also be a chance for home mending, gardening, or shopping. 

In terms of food, however, what makes a Saturday so restful, relaxed and comforting, all at the same time? For the Chef, it is having dinner with rice and very easy to cook, Garlicky Butter-grilled Cream Dory.

Garlicky 

Thaw your store-bought cream dory. While waiting for this, you can make your crispy garlic.

Mince one bulb of garlic.  Heat a frying pan then pour enough oil to fry the chopped garlic.  Oil must already be hot enough before putting on the garlic.  Fry, constantly mixing, until golden brown. 

Butter, Grill and Cream Dory

Heat your non-stick griller. On both sides of the fish, sprinkle with calamansi juice, salt and ground black pepper. 

Place one tablespoon of butter on the grill and spread it to coat. Once the butter has heated up, place the fish on the grill.  

Spoon away any liquid that comes from the thawed fish.  When the pan is cleared of the liquid, add another one tablespoon of butter to continue grilling.  Cover the fish to make cooking a little faster and to lock in moisture.

One side of the fish is considered cooked if the glossy texture has disappeared and is replaced by a bit of browning (as shown in the picture). 

Just don't overcook to retain the softness and creaminess of the fish.  Flip to cook the other side.  

Once all cooked, top with crispy fried garlic. Best paired by not-hard-to-find Hunt's pork and beans.

//rmism//

Milk Fish Hot Sardines

This is an inherited recipe from my godmother, which she learned from working with a canning company back in the 1980s in Negros Occidental, a province known as the Philippine's sugar bowl, located in Western Visayas.  

From its main business district in Bacolod City, you have to take a one-hour bus ride, passing acres of rolling sugarcane plantations as far as the eyes can see, before you reach Victorias Milling Company (VMC), a century-old sugar mill known for its world-class refined sugar and the maker of VMC "Hot" Bangus and "Hot" Sardines, among other processed food.

A landmark locomotive replica found inside the VMC compound,
telling tourists how sugarcanes were transported from
the haciendas to the "central" or mill site 

Albeit the ownership of the cannery has shifted hands, the products are still there. I also remember that these canned foods are not available nationwide. You can even barely see these in supermarkets in the province's cities since they are primarily for exports.

Chef at the cannery office with tourist-kids

If this country is ever to change its choice for a national fish or authorities would dare to drop the humble "Bangus" from the roster of the nation's symbols, I would strongly object.  Chanos Chanos as it is scientifically called, or Milkfish in English, the humble bangus lives up to its name and the very reason why it was picked to carry the Philippine flag under the sea.  

It is very tasty like milk, and you can cook it in many ways: fried, stewed, soup, broiled, stuffed, the list can go a long way. Although it is very bony, they also come already deboned, hence the double "B" for Boneless Bangus.   

And do you know what are the best parts of this fish? For me, the belly, the eyes, and the brain!  I hope you will all agree with me because here's a remake recipe of the VMC "Hot" Bangus as told by my godmother, of course with a twist, like I own it.

Ingredients:

1 kilo                               bangus                       1 tbsp.          salt

1 cup                              corn oil                       1/2 tsp          Ajinomoto

1 1/2 cups                       water                                             chili flakes

laurel leaf and seeds                                                               finger chili pepper

atsuete (for coloring)                                                              carrots (round cut)

Directions (super simple):

You need a pressure cooker to accomplish this.  Cover the inner bottom of the pot with aluminum foil to prevent the fish from sticking on the surface of the cooker.  Arrange the fish inside (maybe cut or whole) then put all ingredients.  Pressure cook for one hour.

Ingredients, All In!