Easy Fish Escabeche @Home

This is another recipe that our cook Manong Fred taught me during my stay in Sarangani. Escabeche is adapted from Mediterranean cuisine which refers to a dish of fried fish that is marinated or cooked in an acidic mixture before serving. I thoroughly enjoy eating this dish. I love fish and I hope you guys try making this at home.

Manong Fred does not measure his ingredients while cooking, so this took quite a bit of patience on both our part because I had to stop him every single time he put something in a bowl. He had to re-do the marinade because he mixed it without me watching and I had to figure out some form of proportions for those that want to try this at home. So here goes….. Fish Escabeche, Sarangani-Solony style!

First up: Slice some ginger, carrots, red bell peppers, garlic and onions. Set aside.

Get your fried fish ready. This was our left over fish from lunch. We stashed it in the fridge and used it for tonight’s escabeche. You can definitely fry a new batch if you wish. The fish we used was tangigue.

I tried to get the proper proportions from manong Fred, but you can adjust sourness and sweetness to your liking. He used 1 cup (less 2Tbsp) water, 1 cup (less 2 Tbsp) vinegar, ( I have no clue why he measured it this way), 4 Tbsp light brown sugar, 1 tsp rock salt and 2 Tbsps Ketchup.

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Set aside.

In a skillet, heat some oil and add ginger. Saute for about 1 minute. Add onions and saute for another minute or two. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add sauce mixture. Bring to a boil until slightly reduced.

Manong Fred added the fried fish right away and simmered it in the sauce. I think that since the fish as already been fried, I would reduce the sauce on it’s own and then add the fish so that it doesn’t get too tough.

Add the carrots and cook for about 45 seconds