Bangus with Pineapple

Bangus with pineapple is a simple fish dish made with our favorite bangus belly steaks simmered in a sweet and sour sauce with pineapple flavor. This dish has a lot of pineapple tidbits, crunchy red and green bell peppers and an orange sauce, which can also be rooted from the classic sweet and sour fish recipe. With the medley of different colors, flavors and texture, the bangus with pineapple is best served on top of hot steaming rice. Fish, fruits and veggies in one dish! Yum!

BANGUS WITH PINEAPPLE RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 700 grams milkfish (cut into serving pieces)
• 200 grams pineapple tidbits
• Salted black beans
• 1 small red bell pepper (chopped)
• 1 small green bell pepper (chopped)
• 4 – 5 pieces tomatoes (chopped)
• 1 thumb ginger (chopped)
• 1 medium onion (chopped)
• 4 cloves of garlic (minced)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce (or salt or fish sauce)
• Black pepper to taste
• All purpose flour (for dredging)
• Oil (for frying)

Directions:

1. Prepare the bangus steaks and lay them on a flat surface. Season them with some salt and pepper. Flip them to season the other side. Rub thoroughly using your hands.
2. Put the flour in a plate. Dredge all the fish steaks in the flour. Set aside.
3. Heat some oil in a pan using medium heat. Add the fish steaks one by one and fry until golden brown. Flip to cook the other side. When cooked, transfer them to a strainer or paper towel to drain excess oil. Set aside.
4. Drain the pineapple tidbits. Reserve the liquid. Set aside.
5. Heat some oil in a pan. Add the red and green bell peppers. Fry for a few seconds only. Remove them from the pan and set aside.
6. Using the same pan, add the ginger, onions and garlic. Saute for a few seconds. Add the chopped tomatoes and gently crush them while sauteing to release the juice. Add the salted black beans and saute for a whole minute. Add a cup of water and let it simmer. Do a taste test and adjust the taste using sugar (optional).
7. Add the reserved liquid from the pineapple tidbits and stir a bit to mix.
8. Add the fried bangus steaks to the pan and let it soak the sauce. Flip to the other side and baste with the sauce.
9. Add the pineapple tidbits and fried bell peppers. Toss gently to mix well. Turn the heat off.
10. Transfer the bangus with pineapple to a serving plate. Enjoy this with a big bowl of hot steaming rice. Yum!

WHAT IS A BANGUS?

Bangus, or milkfish, is the national fish of the Philippines. One of its main outside features is its medium length and shiny scales. Bangus is very popular among the fishes because it is considered as the boniest of them all. The fish bones of the bangus has a different pattern which extends to its flesh, making them harder to remove.

Some of the most popular bangus dishes include paksiw na bangus, inihaw na bangus, fried, grilled, relyenong bangus and many more.

BANGUS WITH PINEAPPLE

Once you got stung with a fishbone on your throat, it might be a trauma for you to eat the same fish again. That happened to me when I was a kid. I think I was introduced to bangus at a very young age. My mom used to flake the fried bangus/ paksiw na bangus so I can easily eat them right away. Bangus instantly became my favorite fish.

As I grow older, my mom stopped flaking the bangus for me and taught me how to do it on my own. Since then, it is my ritual to flake my bangus first so I can eat them continuously, without the need to pause to remove the fishbones. (Tried this once and I was drooling the entire time).

Everything was going good not until that one time, I got too excited eating, not noticing that a fishbone was left in my bangus flakes. I got stung at the end of my throat and it was very uncomfortable. My lola looked for a kind stray cat outside of our house, and politely asked the cat if he could scratch my throat. Apparently, they believe that a cat scratching your throat (of course on the outside), can help remove the bones out. I don’t believe this technique not until I felt that the fishbone was gone after a few cat scratches. It was like magic!

There are a lot of reasons to adopt a cat, but one of my hidden agenda is that I have an emergency cat to scratch my throat when I got stung by a fishbone. Don’t get me wrong, I love my cats so much!

This recipe article is not just to introduce a new bangus recipe but to also budol you to adopt a cat today. Ever since I had a cat, I am now confident in enjoying a variety of bangus recipes. The bangus with pineapples is one of the recipes I first created. This recipe is just like the classic sweet and sour recipe but uses bangus belly.

If you wanna know the step by step on how to make bangus with pineapples, read and follow the directions below. Happy cooking!

HOW TO MAKE BANGUS WITH PINEAPPLE

If you have tried making a sweet and sour dish in the past, then this recipe will be familiar to you.

Start with choosing your bangus. Deboning the bangus is a great challenge so le’s opt to use a large cut and not push to make it into flakes. Any bangus cut will do but I am biased with the belly part since I love the bangus belly so much.

Let’s start with frying the bangus belly steaks. Dredging will help in preventing too much oil splattering when frying. Once done, now is the time to make the sauce.

The sauce is very much similar with the sweet and sour sauce. Start with your aromatic base and then add the rest of the ingredients one by one. Do a taste test and adjust the flavor however you like. You may add more sugar to make it sweeter. Be cautious on adding salt or fish sauce since the black beans are already salty.  Once you are satisfied with the taste, add the bangus steaks back to the pan and let them absorb the sauce. Don’t forget to add the pineapple tidbits and crunchy bell peppers. You can crush some of the pineapple tidbits for better flavor.

You can opt to serve the bangus in the sauce or serve the separately so that the bangus can remain crispy on the outside. I really love my bangus with pineapples with a large plate of hot steaming rice. It’s like an instant complete meal already since there is an ulam and veggie in one. Yum!

COOKING TIPS

• If you want the fish with less oil, you can opt to bake or grill the bangus steaks instead of frying.
• If you think that your sauce lacks a sour taste from the pineapples, you can add a few teaspoons of vinegar. But make sure to balance it with the sweetness.

Bangus with Pineapple Recipe (TAGALOG)

Mga Sangkap:

• 700 grams bangus (hiniwa sa serving pieces)
• 200 grams pineapple tidbits
• Tausi beans
• 1 maliit red bell pepper (hiniwa)
• 1 maliit green bell pepper (hiniwa)
• 4 – 5 pirasong kamatis (hiniwa)
• 1 luya (hiniwa)
• 1 sibuyas (hiniwa)
• 4 butil ng bawang (hiniwa ng maliliit)
• 1 kutsaritang asukal
• 1 tasang tubig
• 1 kutsaritang toyo (o asin o patis)
• Paminta
• Harina
• mantika (pang prito)

Paano Lutuin:

1. Ihanda ang bangus steaks at ilatag sa isang pinggan. Budburan ito ng asin at paminta. Baliktarin ang mga ito para malagyan rin ang kabilang side.
2. Ilagay ang harina sa isang pinggan. Pagulungin sa harina ang mga isda at isantabi.
3. Magpainit ng mantika sa kawali gamit ang katamtamang apoy. Ilagay ang mga bangus at iprito hanggang maging golden brown. Baliktarin ang mga ito para maluto ang kabilang side. Ilipat sa strainer o paper towel para tumulo ang sobrang mantika. Set aside.
4. Idrain ang pineapple tidbits at isantabi ang sabaw.
5. Magpainit ng mantika. Iprito ang red at green bell peppers ng ilang segundo. Alisin din agad at ilipat ng lalagyan. Isantabi.
6. Gamit ang parehong kawali, ilagay ang luya, sibuyas at bawang. Igisa ng ilang segundo bago ilagay ang mga kamatis. Medyo durugin ang mga kamatis habang ginigisa para lumabas ang juice nito. Ilagay ang tausi beans at lutuin ng konti. Maglagay ng 1 tasa ng tubig at hayaan itong kumulo. Tikman ang sabaw at iadjust ang lasa gamit ang asukal (optional).
7. Ilagay ang sabaw ng pineapple tidbits at haluin.
8. Ilagay ang mga pritong bangus sa kawali para maabsorb nito ang sauce. Baliktarin ang mga ito at buhusan ng sauce.
9. Huling ilagay ang pineapple tidbits at ang mga bell peppers. Haluin ng konti bago patayin ang apoy.
10. Ilipat ang bangus with pineapples sa serving plate. Enjoyin ito kasma ng malaking bowl ng mainit na kanin. Yum!