Paksiw na Bangus is also referred to as “milkfish stewed in vinegar”. Filipinos just love cooking their main dishes in vinegar.
Paksiw is a way of cooking fish with water and vinegar, garlic, ginger, salt, peppercorns, finger chilies or siling pang sinigang.
Some regions would prefer their versions of Paksiw with Sauce while others reduce the sour mixture and cooking until it is almost dry.
The kind of fish that is usually used in making paksiw is Bangus or Milkfish. The freshness of the Bangus makes a lot of difference in cooking this Paksiw na Bangus recipe.
When buying the milkfish or bangus in the market, check the eyes and the fish’s gills. The gills should be intact and are deep red in color. The eyes should be clear, and no signs of redness.
In this post we'll cover:
Paksiw na Bangus Preparation Tips
The vinegar gives the Paksiw na Bangus recipe its distinctive and definitive taste. There are also other meats that can be used in cooking paksiw aside from bangus.
The paksiw cooking technique can also be used with tilapia, pork, or chicken.
Paksiw na Bangus Recipe Preparation
Paksiw na Bangus recipe is cooked with vegetables such as eggplant and a bitter gourd or ampalaya.
To avoid the bitterness of the ampalaya to mix in with the paksiw na bangus sauce, do not stir the sauce. Mix the sauce only when the vegetables become tender.
Another technique to maintain the green color of the vegetables is to the blanch the vegetables in unsalted water then refresh the vegetables immediately in ice water, instead of boiling them with the paksiw na bangus.
Paksiw na bangus recipe (vinegar stew)
Ingredients
- 1 kilo Milkfish(Bangus) cleaned but not scaled cut in about 4–5 slices
- 1 bitter melon(ampalaya) sliced
- 1 eggplant (talong) sliced
- 1 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 small onion sliced
- 1 thumb-sized ginger (luya) sliced and crushed
- 3 pcs long green pepper(siling haba)
- ½ cup vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp peppercorn (pamintang buo)
- 2 tsp salt or fish sauce (patis)
- 1 tsp cooking oil
Instructions
- Remove the gills and innards of Bangus but do not the scales. Using a scissor or knife cut the fins and tails. Wash fish thoroughly drain and slice diagonally.
- In a casserole place the garlic, onion, and ginger.
- Arrange sliced Bangus, add water, vinegar, salt, peppercorn and cooking oil.
- Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Put the vegetables and long green pepper. Cover and simmer in a medium heat for another 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and Serve. Enjoy!
Notes
The Paksiw na Bangus recipe’s first step is to saute the garlic, onions, and ginger to a small amount of oil. You can also use bangus belly in the paksiw recipe.
It more flavorful and there are lesser fish bones. (Picture below showing Paksiw na Bangus with Rice and Ginisang Munggo)
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