Pinangat na Hiwas

One rainy Tuesday morning, I woke up earlier than usual (and before my girls, which is very rare) so I made sure to use the extra minutes wisely. I went to the nearby talipapa to buy food to cook for lunch. I'm so happy to see some fresh fish other than the mainstay bangus and tilapia the vendor sells. I bought four pieces of Hiwas (Chabeta) for ₱95. Price is reasonable since it's fresh, there weren't too many fishbones and is definitely meaty. I knew I'd cook it pinangat style.

Pinangat is fish boiled in water; one version is sour and the other is cooked with coconut milk. We have kamias tree here at home so I did the sour version. I added tomatoes for a fruitier taste. Ayoko yung puro asim lang ang nalalasahan. I put pechay para more gulay. Also, the more color your food has nga daw, the healthier it is. My little foodie, Sophia liked it so much. It made my homecook heart so happy 'cause it wasn't just so easy to prepare, nagustuhan pa ng bagets. So if you like to try this at your home, too, here's my recipe –

Ingredients:

- 4 pieces Hiwas fish, semi-fried

- 4 pieces tomatoes, sliced

- 5 pieces kamias, sliced

- 1 medium onion, sliced

- 1 small knob of ginger, sliced

- 2 cups rice washing

- 1 tbsp fish sauce

- salt and ground black pepper to taste

- pechay (optional) 

- cooking oil for frying

Procedure:

1. Frying the fish is totally optional but it gives the fish character kasi. Ayaw natin ng boring na pagkain. Parang pagpili ng guy na makakasama sa buhay – masaya kung responsible at funny. Or maginoo pero medyo bastos. Ganern. So, fry the fish. Then set aside. 

2. In a casserole, put all the ingredients, cover and allow it to boil until the tomatoes and kamias are mushy. 

3. Put the fried fish team to the casserole party. Simmer for a minute or two. 

4. Add pechay. Don't put the cover back so the leaves are still vibrant green. Pwede rin ang kangkong, camote tops or spinach. Put off flame. 

5. Serve with steaming white rice and your choice of potion for sawsawan. Enjoy! 

For more doable recipes, click here and here. ❤️