Monday, February 23, 2009

Catfish Sinigang (Catfish in Sour Broth)

I haven't made this lately, but figured it would be a good one to archive here. This recipe is a rather modified version of the "Sinigang na Bangus" recipe in Filipino Cooking Here and Abroad.
  • 1-1/2 lbs. catfish fillets
  • 2-1/2 cups water
  • 4-5 medium Roma tomatoes, cut into eighths
  • 1 medium onion
  • 3-4 tbsp. lemon juice
  • 2-3 tbsp. patis
  • salt for fish
  • 1 lb. green beans, cut into 2-3 in. lengths (all the better to fit into Mr. Bento's soup compartment)
  • 6 oz. spinach leaves (or more if you like), roughly chopped
  • 2-4 baby bok choy, chopped - separate stems and leaves (optional but yummy)
Cut fillets into serving or half-serving sized pieces, depending on your inclination. Salt them.

Put water, tomatoes and onions in a pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and cook till vegetables are getting tender (maybe 5-7 mins).

Add green beans (or blanch them first and reserve till you add the fish - I've never been fancy enough for that option) and baby bok choy stems, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 4-7 minutes more, till beans are softened but not quite done.

Add lemon juice and patis. Correct seasonings.

Add fish. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 3-5 minutes or until fish is opaque.

Remove from heat, add spinach and baby bok choy leaves. Cover and let stand for 2-3 minutes. Serve with patis and lemon to pass around.

3 comments:

  1. John is making burgers with goat cheese and corn for tonight, but I'm making this for my bento tomorrow with garlic steamed rice and some baby bok choy. Added a few cloves of crushed garlic this time, too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Forgot to add banana peppers till the very end! Will simmer a couple of minutes more before adding baby bok choy leaves and removing from heat.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This time, I sauteed the onions, garlic and tomatoes for a few minutes before proceeding with the recipe and added more liquid seasonings - maybe 4-1/2 tbsp. lemon juice and 3 tbsp. patis. The soup's flavor deepened appreciably.

    ReplyDelete