Fish Escabeche

Escabeche is one of the all-time favorites of Pinoys.  It is a fish dish which is cooked in vinegar but with a lot of spices and choice vegetables.  It is likened to sweet and sour but more of the gingery type since it has ginger on it.  It is very easy to prepare, hence, it can be cooked anytime as long as you have the main ingredient - the fish. 

INGREDIENTS:

1 large fish or 2 medium sized fish, uncut, cleaned and salted

2 red peppers, cut into strips

2 green peppers, cut into strips

1/4 cup vinegar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 carrot, julienned

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped

1/4 cup ginger, cut into strips

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons ketchup, for color and taste (optional)

1 teaspoon salt, for fish rub

1/2 teaspoon pepper, for fish rub

1 tablespoon cornstarch, dissolved in around 1/4 cup water

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup oil for frying the fish

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Rub the fish with salt and pepper.
2. Heat oil in a pan.  
3. Fry the fish until golden brown and set aside.
4. In another pan, heat oil.  
5. Saute garlic, onion, and bell peppers.  Do not overcook. Set aside.
6. In a sauce pan, pour in vinegar and bring to a boil, uncovered.  
7. Add carrots, soy sauce, brown sugar, cornstarch in water, ketchup, salt and pepper.  
8. Let it simmer and wait for the sauce to thicken.
9. Correct the taste according to preference.
10. Add the cooked garlic, onion and bell peppers into the sauce and give it a good stir to mix everything.
11. Put the fish in the serving dish.  
12. Pour the mixture on top of the fish.  Serve hot with love.  Enjoy!

 ⚠️SUGGESTIONS:

You may use any kind of fish available but the preferred ones are the fleshy fish like tilapia, maya-maya or Red Snapper (the one in the video), and Lapu-lapu (Grouper).  I used what was available at the time and that was the galunggong.

     ❤ Dredging the fish in flour before cooking is also good to retain its shape and add to the slightly crispy feel of the cooked fish.