The weather during the past two weeks has been wonderful and we try to enjoy it to the hilt by having our meals in the garden. The cool weather also means that outdoor grilling won’t be synonymous with a steam bath. Hence, I heard no complaints from my husband when I suggested grilling fish for lunch yesterday. We bought a kilo and a half of tilapia (St. Peter’s fish) from the Antipolo market, three different varieties of lato (seaweeds), talong (eggplants) and ripe sweet mangoes and had a pretty awesome lunch.
This entry is not about grilling fish. I don’t think there is any recipe to be written about grilling save to say that when you have the fish cleaned and gutted in the market, tell the fish monger you intend to grill them so that the scales are not removed. The scales will help a lot to make sure the fish won’t stick to the grill. They will also prevent from scorching the fish flesh. Only the scales will get charred and you can easily peel off the skin along with the scales. That should take care of all the alleged cancer causing properties of charred fish or meat.
I bought three varieties of lato to go with the fish. Not that they really taste different — they all have that sea-salty flavor and slimy texture. I just thought that the variety would add interest.
All that lato on the plate weighed 1/4 kilo and cost PhP 20.00. The favorite question among the lato buyers in the market yesterday morning was, “Wala bang red tide?” Nah, it isn’t red tide season and eating lato is quite safe.
I also prepared a simple eggplant salad to go with the fish and complement the lato.
Two eggplants were grilled with their skins on. When they were tender, I peeled off the skins and cut the flesh into chunks. I placed them in a bowl with some chopped tomatoes and onions, smothered them with vinaigrette, added a little salt and freshly ground pepper and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
If the coloring of the photo looks a tad reddish, that’s because there was a large umbrella over the table — you know, the kind that goes through the center of the table. The sun was overhead and my husband did not want to do the grilling under the sun, so…
If this dreamy weather continues over the next couple of weekends, we will probably do more grilling before the summer heat is upon us.
I, too, love grilled fish. Since I love the crispy skin, I do have the scales removed. I use a fish bakset that makes grilling a lot easier and leaves the fish intact. If one is not available, simply rubbing the grill grates with vegetabe oil helps prevent any sticking. Also, I try not to turn the fish over too often.
hello connie,
got homesick looking at the grilled tilapia and the lato in your entry today. here in vancouver, it’s been cold, frosty and rainy the past 3 days, the grill is still covered in the basement. for dine-in, just had to imagine the big umbrella overhead, we had steamed tilapia and steamed okra cum asparagus and lime juice w/soya for the dip.
hi connie, quite a contrast from our weather over here (england! miss na miss na namin ang proper “pinoy” ihawan, all its’ real charcoal, smokey b-b-q!!! keep enjoying your best sunny days!
kieran, a fish basket sounds good. what does it look like? perhaps, i can find one…
al, at least you can still enjoy tilapia, cold weather and all. with okra, still very pinoy.
ceres, you’re right. iba talaga charcoal grilling. the atmosphere is almost like a picnic.
Here’s a link to the type of fish basket I use. You can also get a three-fish size, but I prefer using the single kind.
http://www.fantes.com/images/120193barbecue.jpg
poor me…can’t find fresh tilapia…meron po d2 sa mga asian grocery, pero frozen na sya n u would know na d na sya fresh… =( that’s my favorite fish tita! kainggit tlga!
Thanks, Kiernan. I think they have that at Living Well in the Mall of Asia. You “sandwich” the fish between inside, right?
LOL Hush, baka naman may frozen na fresh pa rin. I think the process is called freeze blasting or something and they use it for exporting seafood.
Yes, you just put the fish in between and start grilling! No more sticking to the grill and no more falling apart!
kakaingit naman ms. connie, that’s what i missed nung umuwi kami ng pinas =(. never had the chance to enjoy inihaw… my two daughters got sick and all i do is take care of them during the holidays. nanibago yata sa klima.
buti na lang may tilapia dito, (di lang pwede mag-ihaw) oven cooked na lang, hehehe… and minus the sweet mangoes.
Hi Connie,
Thanks for the pics. Gutom tuloy ako!
We can’t do outdoor stuff here in Michigan yet. It’s still cold here. About -15 deg Celsius lang naman ang temp. Take note… NEGATIVE yan. Really cold! Brrrr!
The tiny grape-like seaweed is called lato. The other kind, we call it gusó in Cebu. That’s the seaweed that I meant a while back when you were making your lato salad. I just can’t a picture of the gusó.
Anyway, thanks again for your site. I really enjoy reading it… and making some of your recipes as well.
That looks fun.. and yummy!
Geez… Mukhang over-priced talaga sa Dampa sa Libis. We got the same amount of lato for more than 20 bucks. Hindi na niluluto yan ano? The one we had in Dampa was mixed with chopped onions. It tasted good naman. Then sawsaw with vinegar.
Kieran, I’ll look for one. Thanks so much. I think my husband will be happier than me hehehe
Laurel, ice skating season!
Re the seaweeds, ah so there is a different name for each variety? Wow, I didn’t know that. Thanks for the info.
Gail, hindi niluluto, just wash several times to get rid of the sand. Sa wet markets, mura lang yan.
very simple, very healthy, very cheap! galing mo connie, nakaka inspire ka..
Salamat, Taj!
Kakainggit! Last summer we always have dinner “al-fresco” with all sorts of BBQ goodies.
And early this year my hubby has been raving about doing that as soon as summer starts
We don’t get to do it often kasi nurse si hubby kaya bilang ang weekend off nya.
hu knows the exact location of dampa sa libis???
All this talk about ihawan reminds me of my boyhood at Taal Lake. We had a fishpen caretaker who’d dive into the lake, outside the pens, with a speargun and come up shortly with a big rohu carp, usually eggladen. He’d split the fish down the middle, spread it out, brush it with a margarine and calamansi mixture and grill it over hardwood coals. What a meal!! Next morning, we’d do the fish eggs in an omelet with finely chopped onions and tomatoes. Reminds me of that scene in Rattatouille where Anto Ego first bit into the dish.
a little bit off-topic, but have you ever tried using the sap of a pili tree in starting a grill fire? parang kindling ang use nya. very economical as a small piece burns for a long time. environmentally friendly too. and it smells great, like incense
No, I haven’t. I don’t even see pili trees around here.