Sinaing na Tulingan

Sinaing na tulingan is a Filipino fish dish, made by wrapping tuligan (bullet tuna) in a banana leaf and simmering and boiling it in clay pot with kamias, vinegar, salt and pork belly fat for a few hours to extract all its flavours. This dish is predominant salty with a hint of sourness from the kamias. Sinaing na tulingan is best partnered with hot steamed rice. Yum!

THE HIDDEN JOURNEY OF A TULINGAN

Tulingan is one among the famous fishes in the Batangas province. We have some relatives in there so whenever we visit, we always request to have some sinaing na tulingan for us.

Aside from its journey on the ocean, the tulingan has another journey when it goes to the land. Tulingan is usually first cooked as a sinaing na tulingan (which will be featured in this article). When everyone is tired of the sinaing, the fish will be fried– sometimes eaten as an ulam with some dipping sauce, sometimes flaked and then made into patties. Whats best about frying sinaing na tulingan is that it is already flavorful, so no need to add any seasonings. If there is still some fried tulingan left, these fried tulingan will be cooked as a ginataan dish together with some eggplants and sitaw. See? No tulingan is ever wasted!

WHAT IS A KAMIAS?

Have you heard of kamias? Kamias will be the souring agent for this dish. When fresh, it is green in color with an oval shape. This fruit is very sour! We had a kamias tree when I was a kid and the best thing about this fruit is that it grows on the trunk of the tree. We sometimes play pretend cooking using the kamias.

When used for culinary purposes, kamias is usually dried. They are sour still, and works best when you need some fruity sour flavor. Aside from sinaing na tulingan, you can use the dried kamias in other dishes like adobo sa kamias (another fave!!).

SINAING NA TULINGAN

Sinaing na tulingan might be one of the simplest yet one of my personal faves. This dish is mostly salty, but yummy salty (not just plain salty). If you want a dish that would truly reflect the ocean, this is the exact dish for you!

I always request some sinaing na tulingan whenever I visit my relatives in Batangas. This time, I will be making some on my own since my tita gave me my own claypot! Another reason I am sharing this recipe is to flex my claypot (haha). When a sinaing na tulingan is cooked in a claypot, that’s when you know it’s legit!

If you wanna know how to make some sinaing na tulingan, read and follow the simple steps below. Happy cooking!

HOW TO COOK SINAING NA TULINGAN

Making sinaing na tulingan is super easy. Prepare your claypot for a full experience!

Start by getting the freshest tulingan you can get. Usually, these are the ones delivered in the market in the morning. Wash and clean the tulingan, remove everything that needs to be removed. Gently twist and pull the tail. Some people skip this step but we still do, since it is believed that some tulingan causes “pangangati” or allergy to some. It is better to be safe than sorry.  After this step, the tulingan is a little bloody. Soak them in water just to remove the excess blood.

Gather some banana leaves in your backyard and clean them with a wet cloth. Grab your ancient claypot and line them with the banana leaves. The next thing to do is to layer the pork belly fat, the kamias and the tulingan until the claypot is almost full. Make sure that there is space for the water for boiling. The banana leaves are actually optional, but would give extra taste and aroma to the dish.

Boil the tulingan. Our goal is not just to cook the tulingan, but to make the fish soft up to the bones. In the end of the cooking, there will be no bones! The cooking time may take up to 4 hours but it all will be worth the wait. When cooked, do a taste test and simmer a bit.

Serve the sinaing na tulingan in the claypot for a full experience! Best served with some hot steaming rice. Yum!

Sinaing na Tulingan Recipe (TAGALOG)

Mga Sangkap:

• 1 kilo ng tulingan
• 1/2 tasa ng suka
• 1/2 tasa ng tuyong kamyas
• Asin
• 250 grams ng taba ng baboy
• Dahon ng saging

Paano Gawin:

1. Ihanda at linisin ang mga tulingan. Alisin ang lamang loob nito. Hilahin ang buntot ng dahan dahan. Lagyan ng hiwa ang parehong side ng isda. Gawin ito sa lahat ng tulingan at ilipat sa bowl na may tubig. Ibabad ito ng 15 minuto para matanggal ang naiwang dugo.
2. Kumuha ng dahon ng saging sa labas ng bahay. Ihanda ang claypot at lagyan ito ng dahon ng saging. Ilagay ang taba ng baboy at tuyong kamyas. Isantabi.
3. Alisin ang tubig sa tulingan at pahiran ang mga ito ng asin. Medyo piratin ang mga tulingan para maging flat ito. Balutin ng dahon ng saging ang bandang ulo ng isda. Gawin ang mga steps na ito sa iba pang tulingan.
4. Iayos sa claypot ang mga tulingan. Maglagay ng tuyong kamyas at taba ng baboy sa pagitan ng mga layers.
5. Ibuhos ang suka. Lagyan ito ng tubig hanggang matakpan ang mga isda.
6. Takpan ang claypot at hayaan itong maluto ng 3 – 4 hours gamit ang mahinang apoy. Pagkatapos ng 2 hours, pwede mo itong dagdagan ng tubig para mas maluto pa ang isda at lumambot ang tinik.
7. Ihain ang sinaing na tulingan na nasa claypot. Samahan ito ng mainit na kanin. Enjoy!