My second bangus sardines recipe. This time with tomato sauce, olive oil and lots of spices.
A pressure cooker will be necessary, definitely.
Buy the smallest bangus you can find–no more than six inches long from head to tail. Ask the vendor to gut the fish and remove the gills, but not to remove the scales.
I bought a kilo of bangus this size for PhP 50.00 (about US$ 0.90) at the local wet market yesterday.
Ingredients :
1 kilo of small bangus (milkfish), not more than six inches long
2 carrots, sliced thinly
1 c. of tomato sauce
1/2 c. of olive oil
2 onions, sliced thinly
4 tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 tbsp. of finely minced garlic
1 bay leaf
5-6 peppercorns
2 red hot chili peppers
1-1/2 tsp. of salt
3 tsp. of sugar
1/2 c. of water
Cooking procedure :
Cut off the heads and tail tips of the bangus.
Mix together all the ingredients except the bangus and carrots. Pour into the pressure-cooker. Arrange the fish side by side in layers. Cover with the sliced carrots.
Lock the pressure cooker and set over high heat. When the valve starts to whistle, lower the heat and cook for an hour to an hour and a half, depending on the size of the fish.
Turn off the heat. Open the pressure cooker after allowing the pressure to dissipate, about 10 to 15 minutes. Carefully lift each fish and transfer to a shallow serving bowl, arranging them side by side.
Serve hot with steamed rice or pan de sal.
hi connie,
paano kung walang pressure cooker, mayroon ba tayong alternative.
5hrs of very slow cooking on stovetop…mas malasa kesa pressure cooked.
I tried simmering the bangus the oridnary way but the flesh disintegrates before the bones soften.
I added about 2tbsp vinegar to the recipe para mag-firm ang flesh.
Hi Connie,
How do I avoid the bangus from its skin sticking at the bottom of the pressure cooker?
I have tried it several times but presentation wise, it doesn’t look as enticing since I cannot get the whole fish out of the pressure cooker.
Thanks.
Line your pot with diced tomatoes and onions then followed with your bangus. Add more tomatoes to protect the integrity of your bangus.
Issa, try thinning the sauce by adding more water. From experience, the fish sticks to the bottom if 1) there is too little oil; 2) too little liquid; or 3) both.
great, martin!
susubukan ko pa lang ito kasi nagluto kami last week di namin masyadoong nagustuhan kasi madaming sabaw kaya naghanap ako ng recipe sa internet para sure na masarap.
masarap nga! finally kahapon nakapagluto na ako, hinintay kong kumpleto kaming lahat at tamang tama may time para mamalengke at magluto.nagustuhan ng 6 years old kong apo
Thanks for the recipe! My ailing mom-in-law loved it. Food is osterized for her, but she insisted that she eats it as it is served. She even asked to leave some for her breakfast the next day.
Actually I’ve had a number of attempts to perfect the texture – that is firm flesh but with soft bones. This time I was able to do it well with your instructions. The other recipes I used, gave me fried bangus in a pressure cooker – not so appealing. I also used the advice of a friend to rub salt on the fish and let it stand for at least 30mins before cooking it.
DECEMBER 2007
Hi, about your Bangus sardines in tomato sauce, do you think I can do this receipe with any bangus just the sardines itself. Please let me know.
thanks
lilli
PROBLEM WITH SKIN STICKING AT THE BOTTOM?
I’ve tried this before and it worked for me. I laid wooden chopsticks at the bottom and placed the bangus on top of it and the fish came out whole and I was able to get them out easily.
I have my own version without the tomatoe sauce but lots of spices. I used sweet paprika, bay leaves, pepper, carrots and tausi. I will try your recipe this weekend. Nice blog.
Hi Connie. Can you use slow cooker instead of a pressure cooker? I do not have a pressure cooker at home yet. I remember our neighbor back in the Philippines used to make sardines this way but use galunggong instead and boy it is is so yummy….
I don’t think so. It’s the pressure that softens the bones, not the long cooking.
Actually, mas delicious ang stovetop, very low slow cooking for 5hrs than pressure-cooked. I tried it and a friend tried it…it worked. Delicious! Thanks for the recipe, Connie.
5 hours of cooking… That’s very expensive bangus sardines!
I’ve tried this recipe and I used an Autoclave at a pressure of 30 psi (3 times the pressure cooker) and used a 2.5 kilo bangus. The taste is more terrific and was amazed the bones are ultra soft even the hard tail is very soft. With a funny thing in mind, it’s bacteria free!!! because of the autoclave. I laid the bangus on a strong folded aluminum foil so i could lift it easily from the deep body of the autoclave. hehe, just had difficulty cleaning the autoclave though, as it is too heavy.
Hi Miss Connie, can I replaced it with other fish?thanks
Try and see how it works.
hi, do the bones (tinik) in the bangus soften enough to be eaten?
Yes.