A Filipino breakfast that includes fried whitefish (bangus) marinated in their classic adobo style with vinegar, garlic, and black peppercorns. When paired with jasmine rice and creamy eggs, this makes for a great breakfast!
Preparation:
To cook:
Level: Easy
Ingredients
- 1 cup Distilled white vinegar
- 1 head Garlic, skins removed, coarsely chopped
- 1 tbsp Lightly Ground Whole Black Pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 whole Bangus (Milkfish) Fillets, Boned If Desired
- 1 cup Canola oil
- 1 cup Cooked jasmine rice, for serving (optional)
- 2 whole Eggs, cooked to your liking, for serving
- 2 whole Thai bird chilies, for serving (optional)
Preparation
The fish requires a bit of preparation but nothing extraordinary. A simple marinade, preferably overnight, with the removal of all bones (you can do this ahead of time or carefully remove them as you dig after cooking). The short time required pays off. If you’ve never heard of bangus, don’t worry. The common name for this is milkfish. What’s great is that it retains the flavor of the marinade, doesn’t take very long to pan fry, and it’s a great firm white meat. You can find bangus, most likely, at your local Asian market, usually frozen.
Start by marinating the fish. In a resealable plastic bag or medium bowl, add the vinegar, garlic, black peppercorns and salt and stir to combine. Add bangus (in my case they came in portions, most likely wedges). Toss, seal or cover and marinate overnight.
The next morning, remove the bangus and place them on a plate. Pat both sides with paper towel and remove any peppercorns or garlic from the fish. Don’t worry if some stick on the fish. It’s an extra flavor in my opinion!
Prepare a large skillet and add oil. Bring to medium-high heat. After a few minutes of heating the oil, place the fillets, skin side down, and cook for about 4 minutes or until the skin is nice and crispy. Once the skin is crisp, gently flip over and cook for an additional 4 minutes.
Meanwhile, plate of cooked jasmine rice, cook the eggs. Sit it down and get ready to feast.
Once the fish is cooked, remove it with a slotted spatula, preferably a fish spatula, and place it on a plate lined with paper towel to remove any excess oil. Remove the fillets from the plate and onto the plate with the rice and eggs. Serve with Thai bird peppers and dig in.
I loved this dish, not only the flavor of the vinegar, garlic and peppercorns, but when this fish is tossed with rice and eggs, you have one hell of a breakfast! If you can’t find the bangus, feel free to try the marinade on another firm white fish. Hope you enjoy!
