Early in the morning, I woke up thinking of eating fish instead of bread since I was craving it. Fortunately, my father was already awake at that time, and we also heard news that in a neighboring town, in Sansan, San Remigio, seafood vendors were flocking along the highway to sell fresh and affordable products they got from fishing. Without further ado, we immediately headed to that secret market, and I was riding the motorcycle with my bare face since I was not able to take a bath.
After buying at the market, we headed home, and I found myself staring at these very fresh and healthy seafoods, thinking of how I was going to cook them into different recipes. After careful thinking, I decided to cook fish tinola, shrimp ceviche, and stewed crab in vinegar and spices—three recipes from the three seafoods I bought: fish, shrimp, and crabs. And this is how I cooked them one by one.
For fish tinola, my ingredients were 1/2 kilo of fresh fish, 1 sliced medium onion, 2 sliced medium tomatoes, 6 1/2 cups water, salt and Magic Sarap to taste, 1 bunch of malunggay, 2 pieces of green chili (siling haba), one bundle of spring onions, and lemons.
Instructions:
Prepare the fish by cleaning and slicing it into serving pieces. In my recipe earlier, I used potpot and isaw fish. I don’t know their direct translation in English, but see the photos. Sprinkle lightly with salt and marinate with lemon juice to remove the fishy odor.
In a pot, bring water to a boil. Add the tomato, onion, and green chili, letting them simmer for a few minutes to release their flavors. Carefully add the fish and spring onions, then continue boiling until the fish is cooked through.
Once the fish is done, and the aroma just gets through your nose correctly, add the malunggay leaves and cook for another minute or two until wilted. Season with Magic Sarap and salt to taste, or any other seasonings you want.
Turn off the heat and serve immediately with steamed rice. Cover if not served immediately to maintain its hotness.
After cooking the fish tinola, I prepared the ingredients for my stewed crab in vinegar and spices. The ingredients were 1 kilo fresh kasag (crab), 1 thumb-sized garlic (sliced), 1 sliced medium onion, 2 pieces siling haba (long green chili) or siling labuyo for extra heat, 4 pieces of okra, 1/2 cup vinegar, 1/2 cup water, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, and salt.
Instructions:
Prepare the crabs. Wash the crabs thoroughly and drain. If they’re large, I suggest you cut them in half so the flavors can soak in better. In my case, the crabs were small ones, so no need to cut them.
Arrange in the pot. In a deep pan or pot, layer the onion, okra, and two long green chilis on top of the crabs. Place the garlic below the crabs.
Add the liquids and seasonings by pouring in the vinegar and water, then add salt.
Do not stir yet—vinegar should boil first to remove its raw taste.
Cover the pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Once boiling, let it cook for about 10 minutes without stirring.
After 10 minutes, you can now stir gently to mix the flavors. Lower the heat and let it simmer for another 5–8 minutes, or until the crabs turn bright orange and are fully cooked.
Adjust the taste by tasting the sauce. You can add a pinch of sugar if it’s too sour, or a bit more salt or fish sauce as needed.
Then put it in a bowl and serve. Enjoy this
delicious recipe.
While waiting for the crabs to boil, I prepared the shrimp ceviche, which was easy and fast to make. I just used 1/4 kilo fresh shrimp (small-sized), 1/2 cup vinegar (or cane vinegar), 1 small red onion (thinly sliced), 1 piece calamansi, 1 sliced medium tomato, and salt to taste. After preparing the ingredients, I made shrimp ceviche using this procedure:
Prepare the shrimp by washing it thoroughly. In my case, I didn’t peel the shrimp since it was small in size and the skin was hard to peel. If you prefer, leave the tail on for presentation.
Soak in vinegar by placing the shrimp in a small bowl and pouring vinegar over them. Let sit for about 10–15 minutes until the shrimp is cooked in the vinegar.
Drain the vinegar and rinse the shrimp quickly with cold water to lessen the strong sourness. Drain well.
Mix with spices. Add onion and tomato.
Season the shrimp by adding salt to taste and squeezing calamansi or lemon juice for some freshness. Add a little bit of vinegar (optional).
Let it sit in the bowl for about 10–15 minutes before serving to let the flavors blend. Eat with the fish tinola or crabs in vinegar and spices.
After everything was cooked, I prepared the iconic steamed rice that made our gustatory experience perfect and full of life. I then called my family for breakfast, and we enjoyed the food. They even ate more than usual—a manifestation that my cooking was so good. LOL.
This morning turned out to be one of the most satisfying breakfasts we ever had. It was not our usual bread-and-coffee kind of meal, but something special that filled not just our stomachs, but our hearts as well. Truly, sometimes the best mornings are the ones that happen unexpectedly.