Dinner is served and demanding my undivided attention. This, my friends, is what I call food. Give me piniritong mangkô¹ any old time and I’m happy as a frog in a downpour.²
The picture doesn’t do the fish justice, but once you get a good whiff of that fried aroma permeating the kitchen and an eyeful of that firm, browned meat, you know you’re in for a treat. Pair with some kick-ass vinegar, serve with a side of pickled paliya³, pile on the rice, and you are all set!⁴
Of course, it’s imperative to use really fresh fish⁵ or else you won’t get that delicate sweetness that only fresh seafood have. To prepare, remove guts, wash thoroughly, twist tail,⁶ make an incision on each side, and salt liberally. Fry in hot oil until nicely browned. Serve hot.
The ampalaya pickle is just as effortless to make. Boil a mixture of 1 cup water, ¾ cup vinegar, ½ cup white sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, and a knob’s worth of julienned ginger. Stir until solids dissolve (excluding ginger, obviously), then let cool. In the meantime, soak finely sliced bitter gourd in an ice bath⁷ for 30 minutes, then drain, mix with finely sliced red bell pepper and carrots, stuff into a sterilized jar, pour in the pickling liquid, seal tightly, and chill in the refrigerator. Pair with anything grilled, roasted, fried (but of course), or braised, AKA a diet-buster.
Bon appetit!
¹ Mackerel tuna; tulingan to the Tagalogs out there. «
² Not that I croak, but if I ever do, there’s probably a fishbone stuck in my throat. It happened to me once. Ugly, that. «
³ Bitter gourd; Tagalog ampalaya — and you better believe me when I tell you the pickled chips are not at all bitter. «
⁴ …to ruin your diet (if you’re on one). «
⁵ The fish should glisten like it just came from a vigorous workout, its eyes clear and gills bright red. «
⁶ More like a dislocation, if you ask me. Apparently, this prevents the build-up of histamine in the flesh, which can lead to allergic reactions. «
⁷ No need to salt and squeeze; let them sit in that nice cold bath and you’ll be rewarded with crunchy, non-bitter chips every time. «
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