I woke up early today, but not the usual type of waking up, because I was ready to get out of bed when the clock hit 4:00 AM. It was too early, but I had to because I heard some commotion from my family’s room—only to learn that my baby niece almost fell off the bed. Fortunately, she didn’t fall because her mother’s quick reaction was faster than her fall. So we all woke up because we were worried and felt sorry for baby Aili. Then, when things calmed down, my mother opened a box of donuts for us to eat. I laughed because it was too early to eat donuts, but I was also glad because that’s one way of waking up before the sun.
When the sun had already risen, I found myself standing in front of this big fish in a container, thinking of how I should cook it—or if I should cook it at all. The temperature was not too hot this morning, but a little bit cold, so I thought of cooking a tinola soup, or isdang tinola, for breakfast. Last night, my uncle delivered this fish and another kilo of fish and gave it for free. Since it was late at night, the fish was expected to be cooked this morning. I also thought of frying it, but it was too big, so I just decided that the other kilo of fish would be fried instead.
Aside from fish, we also had sea urchins delivered this morning to complement our main dish for breakfast. Have you tried eating sea urchin? How did you find eating it? Is it delicious or unpleasant to your taste buds? Share it in the comment section and let’s talk about our experiences with this food. As for me, I love eating sea urchin, especially when we eat it at the beach and harvest it ourselves. There’s just another kind of satisfaction when we eat something from our own catch. But this time is good too, even if we bought it. I tell you, it is very delicious.
So, Tinolang Isda is a cozy Filipino fish soup, which is quite similar to tinolang manok—only instead of using chicken, I used fish. It’s known for its healthy, gingery, and warm taste that uses some vegetables to add variety to the overall flavor. For your information, it is cooked in various regional ways, ranging from traditional tinola style to bulanglang-style mix, and ginger-based versions. We all have our own ways of cooking, and mine is tomato-based. I will share with you my fish tinola recipe, and I hope you’ll enjoy it.
Ingredients:
1 whole maya-maya (red snapper fish), depending on your liking (mine is 9 grams in weight)
3–4 medium tomatoes
A handful of spring onion
5–6 green chilis
1 sliced medium onion
A bowl of malunggay leaves
A handful of fresh cabbage
salt and magic sarap
8 cups water (adjust depending on how soupy you want it)
Disregard the oranges. I just bought it with the greens.
Prepare the ingredients.
Before anything else—or let’s say before turning on the stove—I made sure to prepare all the greens and the fish. I arranged the vegetables on the table to make sure everything was ready. I also prepared the malunggay leaves and peeled and sliced the green ones. This is a very essential first step to make the process smoother and relaxing.
Clean the fish.
I cleaned the fish carefully—removing the scales, gills, and innards—then sliced it into serving portions. I also marinated it with lemon to remove the fishy odor, which my mother hates when eating a fish dish.
Build the base broth.
In a pot, pour enough water for your soup (around 8 cups, or depending on how soupy you want it). Add the sliced tomatoes, onions, and a few whole green peppers. Bring this to a boil and let it simmer for a few minutes until the tomatoes start to soften and burst. In this way, it will give the broth a fresh, natural flavor right from the start, without needing to sauté it.
Boiling. LOL
Add the fish.
Once the base starts to smell slightly tangy, I gently placed the cleaned fish into the pot. Be reminded that you also have to be careful not to stir too much so the fish doesn’t break apart. Cover the pot and let it simmer over medium heat for about 8–10 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through.
Add the vegetables.
When the fish is almost done, add the cabbage. Continue simmering until the vegetable turns tender. I love this part because the cabbage slowly absorbs the broth’s flavor, making each bite soft and warm all at once.
Season and finish.
Add salt and Magic Sarap (or pepper) as needed. Adjust it until your taste buds agree. Finally, turn off the heat and mix in the malunggay leaves. The residual warmth of the soup will soften them just right without losing their bright green color and nutrients.
And hola! The final product after a long cooking session on a warm, sunny morning. Look at the soup—the fish perfectly cooked and the vegetables spreading their aroma around our kitchen table. Perfect for the morning, isn’t it?
And oh, I also fried another fish because fried fish always best complements my fish tinola.
I hope you enjoyed it, my dearest readers. Thank you for reading my blog. Have you tried cooking your own tinola? Tell me how yours turned out. I’d love to know how you cook yours. Let’s discuss it in the comment section.
