Tinapa (Smoked Fish) Fried Rice

A one-bowl all-day breakfast dish, my tinapa (smoked fish) fried rice is cooked with tinapang bangus, eggs and vegetables.

Why tinapang bangus and not some other smoked fish? For the belly fat, of course! Boneless tinapang bangus are a-plenty in the markets and groceries, some are not as good as the others, so you’ll have to find the kind that suits your taste best.

If you decide to use some other kind of smoked fish, know that there’s a difference between cold smoked fish and hot smoked fish. Cold smoked fish is raw (smoked salmon, for instance) while hot smoked fish like tinapang bangus is fully cooked and ready to eat. If using cold smoked fish, you will have to cook it before stirring in the rice.

Tinapa (Smoked Fish) Fried Rice

Flaked tinapang bangus (smoked milkfish) is stir fried with day-old rice, chopped carrot, shredded cabbage, cauliflower florets, scallions and eggs.

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: Modern Filipino

Keyword: Fried Rice, Smoked Fish, Tinapa

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 4 people

Author: Connie Veneracion

Ingredients

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 whole tinapang bangus (smoked milkfish) - smoked milkfish thawed
• ▢ 1 carrot
• ▢ 1 small head cauliflower
• ▢ 1 small white cabbage
• ▢ 3 cloves garlic
• ▢ 18 stalks scallions
• ▢ 3 tablespoons cooking oil
• ▢ 2 teaspoons salt - divided
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground black pepper - divided
• ▢ 4 cups day-old rice - (see notes after the recipe)
• ▢ 3 to 4 large eggs

Instructions

• Tear off the heads and tails of the fish. Peel off the skins. Flake the flesh (not too finely; you want the pieces of fish to be discernible from the rest of the ingredients after the fried rice is done).
• Peel and chop the carrot.
• Cut the cauliflower into 1/2-inch florets.
• Cut the cabbage into strips about a quarter inch wide.
• Peel and mince the garlic.
• Finely slice the scallions; separate the white and light green portions from the dark green portion.
• Heat the cooking oil in a frying pan.
• Saute the carrot with the garlic and white and light green portions of the scallions for about a minute.
• Add the cabbage and cauliflower. Sprinkle with half of the salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, for two to three minutes.
• Add the rice. Sprinkle in the remaining salt and pepper. Stir until the vegetables are evenly distributed.
• Add the flaked tinapang bangus. Toss to distribute. Cook, stirring often (do this lightly to prevent the fish flakes from breaking apart), until the rice and fish are heated through.
• Push the contents of the pan to the sides to make a well at the center. Pour the beaten eggs into the well. Allow to partially set before slowly stirring into the fried rice.
• Taste the fried rice. Add more salt and pepper, if needed, and stir thoroughly.
• Sprinkle in the dark green portion of the scallions and serve immediately.

Cook’s Notes

It is a bad idea to use newly-cooked or too wet rice for cooking fried rice. “Day-old rice” is a term that best describes cooked rice that had sat on the counter (or even in the fridge) for several hours. The rice grains have dried out considerably and, at this state, the rice is ideal for stir frying.

Updated from a post originally published in 11/26/2017

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