Just do it

A torrential rain fell as we were having dinner. I thought, There goes tomorrow’s fish. Earlier that afternoon, we had checked out the Bato market a town away as there was nothing locally but mackerel tuna and milkfish, only to find more of the same there. Worse, the tuna looked like they had spent too much time in the icebox.

It had been raining for more than a week. I had consoled myself that there was chicken marinating in the fridge. Still, we pushed our luck and made a round of the independent fish stalls back home. We found more mackerel tuna, albeit incredibly fresh, fished nearby. We agreed to grill them at my place.

“Buy extra for inún-unán,” Oliver said, referring to the vinegar-stewed dish so beloved by Pinoys. I’m in the undecided camp on this one, never having come across a version of the dish I really liked.

“Only if you’re cooking,” I said. “But not too sour; Pa hates that.”

“I’m telling you, I don’t do ginger or bell pepper or any of that fancy stuff — just garlic.”

“Fine.”

It was more than fine. The inún-unán rocked. It was cooked in an earthen pot with nothing more than Datu Puti cane vinegar, water, lots of garlic, salt, a dash of pork fat, and, because I insisted, some hon-dashi, the base ingredient of which is, of course, bluefin tuna. Crushed garlic cloves (skin on) were placed at the bottom of the pot, followed by the sliced fish and vinegar/water/salt mixture. The pot was covered and set over medium-to-high heat until the liquid boiled and reduced by half before pork lard and hon-dashi were added (the last one to taste; simply add more salt if you have none). Then the lid was replaced, heat reduced to low, and inún-unán left to simmer for a few more minutes.

There was another reason I corralled my friends into having dinner at the house. My father does not much fancy tuna except from a can, but with other people around, the mood around the table lightens up and he’s more game about fish he does not usually take to. Besides, he really liked the fish stew. Everyone did. When I pressed Oliver for the ingredient proportions, he shrugged. “I make the dish everyday,” he said. “I just keep putting stuff in until it tastes right.” It wasn’t very helpful, but truer words have never been spoken.

To learn more about the tuna family, see All about tuna.