Bangus Sisig (Fish Sisig)

Bangus sisig or Fish Sisig is a Filipino sisig dish, where bangus fish meat is cooked with onion, garlic, calamansi, mayonnaise, soy sauce, butter, chilies, oil, liquid seasoning and chicharon. With the use of fish like milk fish, one can enjoy more unsaturated fats and omega fatty acids which are good for the health. Keep the bangus sisig sizzling as you serve it alongside hot rice or ice cold beer. Yum!

Bangus Sisig (Fish Sisig) Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 large milk fish
• 1 medium onion (chopped)
• 2 cloves of garlic (minced)
• 2 tablespoons fresh calamansi juice
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 4 tablespoons butter (or margarine)
• 2 pieces green chilies (chopped)
• 1 piece red chili (chopped)
• oil (for frying)
• 1 teaspoon liquid seasoning (optional)
• 1/2 cup crushed chicharon (optional)

Directions:

1. Wash and prepare the bangus. Pat dry a little then season with salt and pepper on both sides.
2. Heat some oil in a pan. Add the milkfish with the skin side on and then let cook until brown and crispy. Flip the fish to cook the other side. Once golden brown and crispy, transfer to a paper towel to drain excess oil and to cool down a little. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, black pepper, soy sauce, calamansi juice and liquid seasoning (optional). Combine until well mixed then set aside.
4. When the milkfish is warm enough to handle, start flaking them using your hands. Get the flesh and transfer to a bowl. Be careful not to ruin the skin, head and tail. Set them aside.
5. Melt a tablespoon of butter in a pan. Add the fish flakes and saute for a few minutes. Add the mayonnaise mixture and toss to mix well.
6. Once the sauce has been fully sipped in, add the onions, and the green and red chilies. Mix for a few seconds only. Optionally, you can add some crushed chicharon for some added crunch. Mix well before turning the heat off.
7. Heat a sizzling plate (or a pan) and melt some butter. Place the bangus skin and head. Add the bangus sisig and top it with more onions and chilies.
8. Serve the bangus sisig with calamansi on the side while still sizzling. Enjoy this as an ulam to hot steaming rice or as a pulutan to some ice cold beer. Yum!

What is Bangus?

Bangus, or milk fish, is one of the most famous fishes in the country. Aside from being the country’s national fish, the bangus is also very known for its characteristic of being super spiky and bony. With the demand of bangus all over the country, this fish is cultivated in freshwater areas.

Every 30th day of April, the city of Dagupan celebrates the Bangus Festival where different bangus dishes are being showcased. Some among the most famous dishes include daing, ginataan, paksiw, sarciado, adobo and many more.

Bangus Sisig Recipe

I know a lot of people who do not like bangus for some reasons. But personally, I REALLY LOVE this fish. Unlike other fish, the bangus has a distinct freshness and seafood taste to it. Its bony nature does not scare me, but it scares my lola a little (HAHA).

My lola calls this fish as “the fish for the young” since she told me she cannot fully enjoy the bangus because she cannot remove the bones fully due to her poor eyesight. My lola also loves bangus but got traumatized when she was choked over a bone one time. I remember calling out one of my cats to “scratch” her throat, which was an old belief that the cat helped the bone go out. (Which magically happened that time!) Since then, my lola only eats bangus when its boneless or if my lolo flakes it for her.

If my lola is scared of eating bangus, my lolo had another interpretation to it. He always told me he was “matinik katulad ng bangus” during his high school days. Apparently, you are really handsome if one called you “matinik” during the old days.

I made the both of them happy when I prepared some bangus sisig at home. This dish became one of my lola’s faves since she doesnt worry about getting bones in her throat. To my lolo who enjoys a mug of beer before sleeping, I made an extra spicy portion to serve as his pulutan.

If you wanna know how to make bangus sisig at home, simply read and follow the easy steps below. Happy cooking!

How to Cook Bangus Sisig

When we’re talking about bangus dishes, some people easily got scared with the preparation as this fish is very notorious due to its intense bony nature. But the good news is, boneless bangus exist in the market! This type of bangus is what we aim to have for this recipe.

For the bangus, look for the type which is cut like a butterfly or the daing style. If you got a whole bangus, just slice and prepare it like a butterfly before anything else. But to have everything easily, just get a boneless butterfly bangus.

Once the bangus is prepared, simply rub some salt and pepper to release its natural flavors before frying it in hot oil. The goal is to have a golden brown and crispy skin with the flesh being both crunchy and tender. Before flipping the fish to cook the other side, make sure that the skin side is already golden browned and cooked. The signal when to do this is when the fish stops sticking into the pan. Do not force removing the fish from the pan. Be careful with the skin as we aim to keep the fish in shape for later.

Once the bangus is cooked, we just let it cool down a little before flaking. To make this dish much like a sisig, we make a special sisig sauce by combining mayonnaise, soy sauce, calamansi juice and black pepper. I always add a little liquid seasoning to make it more tasty but that ingredient is optional. You may add a little sugar if you are on the sweeter side. At first, it may be hard to combine these ingredients since the mayonnaise might form into little curds. But with consistent mixing, the special sisig sauce will be made in no time.

As the bangus cools down, flake it using your hands. Be careful not to tear the skin as we will still be using the bangus body for later. You can also just separate the flesh from the body and then chop it into smaller pieces.

Once the flesh had been flaked and the sisig sauce is ready, time to get back to the pan again. Bangus flesh taste so much better when sauteed in butter. That would be our first step, followed by the adding of onions and chilies. The amount of chilies depends on how spicy you  like your sisig. I used both red and green chilies for a heightened spice. You may also just use chili flakes if you like. Lastly, add the special sisig sauce we made earlier. Once thoroughly mixed, the bangus sisig is almost done.

If you have a sizzling plate, now is the time to heat it up. If you dont have one (just like me, haha), you can simply heat a small pan and melt the butter. Our goal now is to re-heat the bangus skin and head. Then, add the bangus sisig over it, and serve as our plating. Top with more onions and red chilies, this bangus sisig is ready to be devoured.

I like to drizzle a lot of fresh calamansi over my bangus sisig before having it with some rice. One bangus can be served for 1-2 people (or for just 1 person if you’re matakaw like me). If you have leftovers, you can spice it up a little more and enjoy it as a pulutan to an ice cold beer. Yum!

Bangus Sisig Recipe in Tagalog

Mga Sangkap:

• 1 malaking bangus
• 1 sibuyas (hiniwa)
• 2 butil ng bawang (hiniwa ng maliliit)
• 2 kutsarang calamansi juice
• 2 kutsarang mayonnaise
• 1 kutsarang toyo
• 4 kutsarang butter (o margarine)
• 2 pirasong siling haba (hiniwa)
• 1 pirasong siling labuyo (hiniwa)
• mantika (pang prito)
• 1 kutsaritang liquid seasoning (optional)
• 1/2 cup crushed chicharon (optional)

Paano Lutuin:

1. Linisin at ihanda ang bangus. Tuyuin ito ng konti bago pahiran ng asin at paminta ang magkabilang side.

2. Magpainit ng mantika sa kawali. Dahan dahang ilagay ang bangus at lutuin hanggang maging golden brown at crispy ang balat. Baliktarin ito para maluto naman ang kabilang side. Kapag luto na, ilipat ito sa paper towel o sa strainer para tumulo ang sobrang mantika. Isantabi muna ito para lumamig.

3. Sa maliit na bowl, ilagay ang mayonnaise, paminta, toyo, calamansi juice at liquid seasoning (optional). Haluin ito ng mabuti at isantabi.

4. Kapag medyo malamig na ang bangus, himayin ang laman gamit ang mga kamay at ilipat sa isang bowl. Ingatan ang paghihimay para hindi masira ang balat, ulo at buntot ng bangus. Isantabi.

6. Tunawin ang butter sa kawali. Sunod na ilagay ang hinimay na bangus at igisa ng ilang minuto. Huling ilagay ang ginawang mayonnaise mixture at haluin ng mabuti.

6. Kapag naiga na ang sauce, saka ilagay ang sibuyas at mga hiniwang sili. Haluin ng ilang segundo lamang. Pwede mo itong lagyan ng dinurog na chicharon kung gusto mo. Haluin ng konti bago patayin ang apoy.

7. Painitin ang sizzling plate (o ang kawali) at tunawin ang butter. Ilagay ang balat at huli ng bangus saka ilagay dito ang bangus sisig. Lagyan ito ng sibuyas at marami pang sili.

8. Ihain ang bangus sisig habang nagssizzle pa. Samahan ito ng calamansi sa gilid. Samahan ito ng kanin o gawing pulutan. Yum!