Ikura, an extremely nutritious food

Ikura is the roe (eggs) of the spawning Chum salmon. These large, red succulent eggs are pleasantly mild and perfectly firm in texture. Ikura is extremely nutritious food; in addition to being extremely high in vitamins A, D and E, it is also full of essential amino acids and Omega-3 fatty acids. It is processed and graded extensively with the aid of Japanese technical consultants, who are experts in assessing the quality of Ikura. The specific grade of the roe is dependant on a variety of variables including size, colour, and time of delivery of the fish themselves. The procurement of Ikura is directly based upon the Pacific Salmon fishery. The commercial salmon fishing fleet is strictly controlled on where, when and how they fish. It employs selective harvesting techniques which, in conjunction with close monitoring of run size and catches, allow for optimum escapement levels. This conservation-based fisheries management regime permits the controlled harvest of more abundant wild salmon stocks while protecting weaker ones as they rebuild. Additional scientific studies have provided other information on the benefits of Omega-3 oils for individuals with arthritis, psoriasis, ulcerative colitis, lupus erythematosus, asthma, and certain cancers. Research studies have consistently shown that Omega-3 fatty acids delay tumor appearance and decrease the growth, size, and number of tumors.

Sweet and sour salmon and red snapper, never taste like this before

It's a rainy morning and getting up out of bed is hard, you know the kind that it's lazy to get up in times like this. Still, I tried to get up and my wife gave me a hot coffee to wake my senses up. Good thing she really knows my kind of blend. We also had a nice talk and coming up to cooking this recipe of hers today. You might want to try this too.

All you need is:

500 g fleshy salmon and red snapper fillet

salt and pepper

1 tbsp cornstarch

3 c oil for deep frying

for the sweet and sour sauce:

1/2 c rice vinegar

dark brown sugar

dash of salt

1/2 tbsp fine strips of ginger

for the garnish:

1 onion, finely sliced (or 12 stalks of onion leaves, cut into 2-inch lengths)

1 small carrot, julienned

a thumb-sized piece of ginger, julienned

1 tbsp. of sesame seed oil

Make the sweet and sour sauce. Place the vinegar and sugar in a small pan and set over medium heat. Cook without stirring until the sugar dissolves. Swirl the pan and boil over medium heat for 15 to 25 minutes or until syrupy. Add the salt and ginger during the last five minutes of cooking.

While the sauce cooks, prepare the fish. Heat the cooking oil in a wok or frying pan. Pat the fish dry with paper towels. Season the fish with salt and pepper, rubbing on both sides. Dust with cornstarch.

When the oil is hot enough (it should start to emit some smoke), deep fry the fish over high heat until golden and a light crust forms on the outside. Flip the fish when the underside is done and fry the other side for even cooking and texture. Scoop out the fish and drain on paper towels. Transfer to a serving platter and scatter the prepared garnishes on top. Pour the sweet and sour sauce over the fish and vegetables.

Heat the sesame seed oil in a small pan until smoking. Pour over the fish and vegetables. Serve at once.

Snapper in sour soup

There are lots of different versions of sinigang or sour soup. In the province where I came, it is usually with "bangus" or milkfish and lots of vegetables like string beans, "kangkong" or river spinach, tomatoes, green finger pepper and raddish. Each soup have different bases, these includes tamarind or sampalok, calamansi or Philippine lemon citrus, guava and santol. There are also lots of instant commercial sour seasoning cubed or powdered like Knorr sinigang.

A very simple and quick Filipino dish.

A recipe example that we had this lunch:

1k maya maya or red snapper

100 g mustard

4 tomatoes

80 g raddish

2 pieces green finger pepper

200 g sampalok (tamarind) or 20 g powdered tamarind seasoning

2 onions

4 cloves of garlic

3 tbsp of patis or fish sauce

1 l of rice wash or water

Instructions:

Boil sampalok in water until the shell shows cracks. Let cook then peel off the shells and with a strainer pour sampalok (including water) into a bowl.Gently massage the sampalok meat off the seeds, strain again.

In a pot, saute garlic and onion then add the tomatoes. Let simmer for 5 minutes.

Add rice wash or water then bring to a boil then simmer for 5 minutes. Add the fish, remaining vegetables and fish sauce. Let boil for 5 minutes. Do not over cook or else the fish will fall apart.

Serve piping hot.

Tip:

Instead of sampalok fruit (tamarind), you can substitute it with the powdered tamarind seasoning.

Enjoy!

Rellenong bangus recipe

We went to the market this morning and found some fresh milkfish from Dagupan. Known for delicious taste and a popular table fare, we decided to try one of my wife's generations-passed recipe, the rellenong bangus. Here is an example of the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 big bangus (milkfish)

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

2 tomatoes, diced

1 egg

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 small carrot, finely chopped

1/4 cup soy sauce

4 tablespoons of cooking oil

ham, finely chopped

raisins

cooked peas

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Scale and remove the intestines of the bangus.

With a very sharp knife, slowly remove the meat of the fish from the skin through the opening cavity below the head. Remove the spine by snapping off the bone at the base of the tail and head. Use a long spoon to scrape all the meat from the skin.

Marinate the head and skin in lemon juice, soy sauce and pepper.

Boil in 1/2 cup of water the bangus meat with some salt for 5 minutes.

Sauté the garlic and onions until slightly brown then add the tomatoes and carrots until tender.

Add the chopped ham, cooked peas, raisins and the bangus meat to the mixture. Cook for an additional 5 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Add a beaten egg to the sauté and mix well.

Stuff the mixture inside the bangus skin and head. Sew the cavity if needed.

Fry in oil until golden brown.

slice slightly diagonal (1 1/2 inch thick) and serve.

There, I hope you like it. Fresh milkfish is best found in the Farmer's market in Cubao, Quezon City.

Milkfish, one of the treasures of my homeland

Milkfish, Chanos chanos (Forsskal), locally known as "bangus" or "bangos", is the predominant species being cultured in the Philippines . Hundreds of years ago bangus was grown in ponds along coastal areas. That was the beginning of fish fanning. Bangus is a popular table fare among Filipinos. To the biologist, it is an innately sturdy fish, being able to adapt and thrive even in the confined, unnatural environment of the fishpond. This characteristic is not often found in most other fish species.

Milkfish production represents one of the main sectors of the nation's fishery industry .Fish culture is distinct from the marine and inland capture fisheries in that its research and development is like that of animal husbandry which requires a different approach. Aquaculture is concerned with such inputs as seeds, land, water, fertilizers, chemicals and feeds. Its research involves the determination of the physiological requirements of the culture species and the development of culture methods from laboratory to commercial scale. Aquaculture development requires government assistance in providing credit, extension and training and other incentives.

Milkfish is a traditional culture species, and has been studied for along "' time. But there is still much to be studied about this fish and its culture to understand and gain greater control of factors that favor its growth and production.

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Milkfish is the only species in the Family Chanidae and is most closely related to carps and catfishes. Milkfish lives in the warm waters along the continental shelves and around islands in the Indo-Pacific.

The adults are pelagic, schooling, migratory, large (to 1.5 m, 20 kg), and mature sexually in 5 years. Spawning takes place near coral reefs during the warms months of the year, and populations near the equator spawn year-round. The pelagic eggs (1.1-1.2 mm in diameter) and larvae (3.5 mm at hatching) stay in the plankton for two weeks. The larvae then migrate onshore and are caught by fine-mesh nets operated along sandy beaches and mangrove areas; these "fry" are 10-17 mm long and used as seedstock in grow-out ponds, pens and cages. Juveniles in the wild live in mangrove areas, coastal lagoons, and even go upriver into lakes; they go back to sea when they get too big for the nursery habitat, or when they are about to mature sexually. Juveniles and adults eat a wide variety of relatively soft and small food items, from microbial mats to detritus, epiphytes, zooplankton, and feeds.

Milkfish farming is a centuries-old industry in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Taiwan. It has been slow to modernize and now faces challenges from competing aquaculture species and the present economic realities. The domestic market is large and the export market may soon expand.

Source: Teodora Bagarinao, SEAFDEC Aquaculture Department