Ginataang Tilapia Recipe

Ginataang tilapia is a Filipino fish stew made by stewing fried tilapia in a creamy and savoury coconut milk based stew, with garlic, onion, tomatoes, ginger, fish sauce, green chilies, pechay leaves, salt and pepper. This Ginataang tilapia recipe uses freshly squeezed grated coconut milk and cooks in a traditional way. Ginataang tilapia is from bicol region and is popular all over Philippines. This is served with some pechay leaves on the side for added nutrients and color and is best eaten when nakakamay. Yum!

GINATAANG TILAPIA RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 1 kilo tilapia
• 2 bunches pechay
• 2 cups coconut milk
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 medium onion
• 3 medium tomatoes
• 1 thumb ginger
• salt and pepper to taste
• fish sauce to taste
• oil for frying
• long green chilies

Directions:

1. Wash and prepare the tilapia. Remove the fins, gills and gut. Make 2-3 slits on both side of the fish’s body. Season both sides with salt and pepper and rub them generously. Do these steps with the other tilapia.
2. Heat some oil in a pan. Place the tilapia gently and let it cook for a few minutes. Do not move the fish around or flip too early. Once golden and crispy, flip the fish to cook the other side as well. Transfer the fish to a strainer or paper towel to drain excess oil. Set aside.
3. Chop and prepare the aromatics. Reduce the oil from the pan and then add the ginger, garlic and onions. Saute them for a few minutes until light brown. Add the tomatoes and crush them gently while sauteing to release the liquid.
4. Pour the coconut milk and let it boil using low heat. Season with some pepper and fish sauce. Let this simmer for a few minutes.
5. Add the pechay leaves and submerge them in the coconut sauce. Let them cook until soft.  Add the long green chilies and simmer for another minute.
6. Then, add the fried tilapia back to the pan. Flip and baste them with the sauce to absorb the creaminess. After a few minutes, turn the heat off. 
7. Transfer the ginataang tilapia with pechay to a serving plate. Enjoy this with a big plate of hot steaming rice. Yum!

WHAT IS A TILAPIA?

Tilapia, unlike other culinary fishes, is a type of freshwater fish usually cultivated and grown in ponds, lakes and fish farms. This fish is native to the Africa and the Middle East. It is one of the most consumed fish in the country due to its soft, tender and white flesh. Central Luzon is considered as the tilapia capital of the country. This fish have been called Saint Peter’s fish because some people believed that the tilapia was the fish which is referenced in the Bible which Jesus used to feed the people.

With its size, flavor and tenderness, the tilapia can be cooked in different ways such as fried, steamed, boiled, sinigang, relyeno, ginataan and many more.

GINATAANG TILAPIA

Just as the first month of the year passes, the summer time is waving! After preparing menu dishes from the Christmas and New Year, beach outings are the next events we need to start preparing. As usual, the chef of the family (a.k.a. “me”), will be the one to decide what dishes to enjoy.

When we think of beaches, of course we want everything to have the “beach vibe”. A seafood recipe would be the best to serve in this type of occasion. With the sea on your right side and some coconut trees on your left side, the vibe is screaming some fish ginataan. A fish best prepared into this dish is the ginataang tilapia.

We always have our meals in boodle fights by the beach. Boodle fights often include relatively dry or less saucy dishes, ideally not to spill from the banana leaves. One thing I noticed with the ginataang tilapia is that the sauce is thick enough to coat your lovely rice without flowing out of the banana leaves. This is ideal for the boodle fight not to be completely composed of dry dishes.

While the summer is fast approaching, make sure to include the ginataang tilapia on your summer menu! You can also prepare this dish for lunch or dinner on a regular day.

If you wanna know how to make some ginataang tilapia with pechay at home, simply read and follow the easy steps below. Happy cooking!

HOW TO MAKE GINATAANG TILAPIA

If you have tried preparing any ginataan dish in the past, then this recipe will be an easy one for you.

Ginataan dishes, just like this one, can be prepared in two ways: either you put the meat raw or fry the meat first and then simmer it in the coconut sauce. The second way of preparation will be used in this recipe. You can still use this recipe as a guide if you prefer it to cook the first way.

Our first step is looking for the biggest and freshest tilapia you can find in the market. They are usually sold in the mornings so you better get up early if you want to grab some. Another way would be to buy live tilapia, and then cook them once you get home. You can request the fish vendor to gut and remove the fins and tails of the tilapia so that you only need a little wash on it before cooking.

The next thing to do is to fry the tilapia. While this step may sound easy, some people are really scared to fry fish as the oil splatters a lot. Let me share two hacks with you and just choose what hack you want to apply.

1. Hack 1: After washing the tilapia, pat the fish real dry. After this, rub some salt on both sides of the fish not to season, but to draw the liquid out. After a few minutes, pat it dry again. Once the fish is dry enough, oil won’t splatter when you lay the tilapia in the pan.

2. Hack 2: This step might look similar to the crispy pata recipes you see on the internet. Start with placing the fish in a strainer and pouring some hot oil over on both sides. After you do this, you will notice that oil will not splatter too much and the fish would not stick in the pan.

When the tilapia is prepared, simply set it aside as we prepare the coconut sauce.

To start with the coconut sauce, saute the aromatics and then add the coconut milk. The freshly squeezed coconut milk is highly preferred, but you can use store-bought coco milk for convenience. Keep in mind that coconut milk curdles when subjected to high heat, so lower the temperature before pouring it into the pan. Add the pechay leaves first to cook. It may take around 3 to 5 minutes before the pechay is soft and cooked. You can cook them as leaves or chop them a little.

When the pechay is cooked, add the tilapia back to the pan to let it sip the creaminess of the coconut milk. If you want to keep the tilapia crispy, you can simply serve the fried tilapia and the coconut sauce separately.

Serve the ginataang tilapia with a lot of hot steaming rice. Yum!

Ginataang Tilapia Recipe in Tagalog

Mga Sangkap:

• 1 kilo tilapia
• 2 bugkos ng pechay
• 2 tasang gata
• 3 butil ng bawang
• 1 sibuyas
• 3 kamatis
• 1 luya
• asin at paminta
• patis
• mantika
• siling haba

Paano Lutuin:

1. Linisin ang mga tilapia. Alisin ang mga palikpik, at lamang loob nito. Hiwaan ang parehong gilid ng isda saka pahiran ng asin at paminta. Gawin ito sa iba pang tilapia.
2. Magpainit ng mantika sa kawali. Ilagay ng dahan dahan ang mga tilapia at hayaan itong maluto ng ilang minuto. Wag muna itong gagalawin habang dumidikit pa sa kawali. Kapag golden at crispy na, baliktarin ang mga ito para maluto naman ang kabilang side. Ilipat ang pritong tilapia sa strainer o paper towel para tumulo ang sobrang mantika. Isantabi.
3. Hiwain ang luya, sibuyas, bawang at kamatis. Bawasan ang mantika sa kawali saka igisa ang mga ito ng ilang minuto hanggang maging light brown. Medyo durugin ang mga kamatis habang ginigisa para lumabas ang katas nito.
4. Babaan ang apoy bago ilagay ang gata sa kawali. Hayaan itong kumulo ng ilang minuto. Timplahan ito ng patis at paminta.
5. Ilagay ang mga pechay at lubog ang mga ito sa sabaw. Lutuin ang mga ito hanggang lumambot. Sunod na ilagay ang mga siling haba at pakuluan ito ng 1 minuto. 
6. Ilagay ang mga pritong tilapia sa gata. Baliktarin ang mga ito at paliguan ng sabaw para maging creamy. Pagkatapos ng ilang minuto, patayin ang apoy.
7. Ilipat ang ginataang tilapia with pechay sa serving plate. Kainin ito kasama ng maraming kanin. Yum!