It’s really just another fish in sweet and sour sauce recipe except that you’re adding an unmistakable fruity flavor by using pineapple juice for the sauce. And, instead of bell pepper, I used chili picante — a mild and sweetish variety of finger chili. You’ll be surprised at how much difference it makes.
I used lapu-lapu for this dish only because my daughter had been craving for it. Any firm, fleshy fish will do. Good choices include labahita and maya-maya.
This recipe serves 2 to 3 persons:
Ingredients :
1 lapu-lapu (800 grams to 1 kilo)
half a carrot, peeled and julienned
2 chili picante (ordinary finger chili will do), tops cut off, seeds scraped off, then julienned
a slice of ginger, julienned
half an onion, peeled and sliced very thinly
3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 c. of unsweetened pineapple juice (canned or freshly squeezed)
1 tbsp. of lemon or kalamansi juice
1/2 tbsp. of Dijon mustard
1 tsp. of tapioca (or corn) starch
sugar
salt
pepper
1 tbsp. of flour
a cup of cooking oil
Cooking procedure :
Score the fish by making an incision about half an inch deep along its length on both sides. Season all over with salt and pepper, including the cavity.
In a small sauce pan, mix together the pineapple juice, Dijon mustard, and lemon or kalamansi juice. Add sugar, one teaspoonful at a time, until you reach a balance of sweetness and sourness that you prefer. Stir in the starch until completely dissolved. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until thick and clear. To make sure that no floury taste remains, lower the heat, cover and simmer for about 5 minutes. Set aside.
Heat the cooking oil in a frying pan. Dredge both sides of the fish in flour and shake off the excess. Over high heat, fry the fish until a crisp coating has formed, flipping halfway through the cooking to fry both sides evenly.
Remove the fish from the oil and drain on paper towels or place on a wire strainer to allow excess oil to drip off.
Transfer 1 tablespoonful of the oil to a small frying pan. Pan fry the onion, garlic, carrot, bell pepper and ginger for about 45 seconds or just until they start to soften.
To assemble: Place the fish on a serving platter. Arrange the vegetables on top. Pour the sauce over the fish and vegetables. Serve at once.
This one sounds delicious, too. Potluck kami sa xmas and I’m looking for the right dish to bring. Syempre yung within the budget at mabilis lutuin bukod sa masarap.
oy mukhang masarap yan ah, try ko nga madaming hamour (lapu-lapu) dito sa qatar
hi Connie, I cooked this dish on my family’s Noche Buena, Christmas 2007. Salamat talaga for the recipe.
My family liked it. It was a good variation from the meats served. The modification I had to do was instead of frying the 15 inch length Lapu-lapu fish (bought from a local Seafood market), I greased the fish’s skin with Olive Oil, wrapped in foil then grilled. I couldn’t find a frying pan large enough to pan fry that size. The sweet and sour sauce was a good fruity sauce to complement it. -Julius
you are truly a part of our family. we have been preparing dishes from your recipe lists… we pray to God and to all the saints in heaven that you stay healthy and happy always! that is our wish as well for you. just after christmas, we cooked your sweet and sour tilapia and added some juice from the atsara that i made ( also from your recipe!)
my oh my! my hubby and children liked it so much! ang galing mo daw talaga! sabi nila para daw kaming kumain sa authentic chinese restaurant! tamang tama yung asim at tamis! my birthday is nearing and will definitely cook this lapu lapu recipe!
Happy New Year to you all! I’m so glad you’re enjoying all this.
Ang sarap nito, I am really proud to be a Pinoy. That is why I am a member of GreatPinoy.com We will be happy if you share your knowledge with us. Mabuhay ang Pinoy.
Kind regards,
Greatpinoy Community
http://www.greatpinoy.com
try ko nga to kasi sawa na din ako sa steam (lapu lapu), saka mukhang masarap ito nakakagutom. Sakto ito sa graduation ng kapatid ko.
hi im roshell sarap tlga nang lapu lapu,sna meron p kau iba recipe,an dmi d2 s internet un iba n try ko lhat sarap………..kya slamat po god blesss s inyo poooooo,,, lov uuuu
This sounds good. I haven’t tried any of your recipe Connie, but from all the good reviews, I’m very excited to try this lapu lapu recipe. My only dilemma is meron bang lapu-lapu dito sa California? I’m sure it comes in a different name. Does anybody knows another name for lapu lapu?
Grouper, Toni. And you can substitute any firm fleshy fish.
I’ve always wanted to cook lapu lapu, but here in north california, whenever i go to asian markets, they have several types of grouper. I tried buying red grouper before and steamed it but it has a different taste and texture. What exactly is the lapu lapu in english?
Grouper, actually. And red grouper to be more precise. Some say Miniata Grouper. Taste and texture are affected by the fish’s habitat.
any substitute for dijon mustard? or can i omit that? thank you
If you substitute or omit, the result will be different. Whether or not that works fine depends on your taste buds.
hello! i went to snr yesterday and i was able to buy me a mustard but the thing is.. it isn’t dijon…is that ok? thanks a lot
hi connie ,salamat niluto ko ito ngayon lunch namin, grabe simot lahat !!! super srap talaga !! thanks again … god bless you ….
That’s good to know, Angie.