Sarciadong Isda

It's Friday again...and today, I'm bringing you this fish recipe from the Philippines called Sarciadong Isda which simply means "fish cooked in sauce". 
Though in some regions Sarciado is cooked with scrambled eggs, in the province where I grew up, it has no egg. The one with egg is what we call Cardillo. Anyway, they are basically the same. In both dishes, fried fish is simmered in a sauce which consists mainly of garlic, onions, ginger & tomatoes. The only difference between them is that Cardillo contains scrambled eggs mixed to the sauce while Sarciado is cooked without the eggs. Both dishes are very popular due to their simple preparation. Filipinos find them to be the best ways to recook/reuse left-over fried fish.  But whether using leftover or not, fish is fried beforehand to prevent from falling apart while cooking in the sauce. 

Ryan & I like adding a little kick to it, so I often cook my Sarciado with Jalapeño. I always remove the seeds to make it kid friendly for Clarise and Cherlin. If you don't like it hot, it would be totally fine to omit this ingredient. :)

Hope you'll like this Meatless Friday recipe! 
The next time you have left-over fried fish, you should try either this or the Cardillo.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend with your loved ones! Enjoy!



Ingredients:
  • 1 big tilapia, about 2 lbs., cleaned, gutted and cut into 5-6 pieces (You can use other fish like bangus, maya-maya, cod, golden pompano or scad.)
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour 
  • 5 Tbsp Light olive oil
  • 3 tomatoes, washed, seeds removed and chopped
  • 1 medium onion, sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 Tbsp ginger, minced
  • 1½  cups water
  • 2 Tbsp fish sauce
  • 5 stalks green onions, cut into 1 inch length
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 Jalapeño pepper, seeds removed and sliced into rings (optional)
Procedure:
1. Sprinkle fish with salt. Let sit for about 15 minutes. Dredge in flour. (I do this to make sure that the fish skin won't stick to the pan.) In a skillet over medium heat, fry fish in light olive oil until both sides are light brown. Remove from pan and place on a paper towel lined plate to drain oil.


2. In a large sauce pan or in the same skillet (if large enough), saute garlic, ginger, onion and tomatoes over medium heat in the olive oil used for frying the fish until tomatoes are soft. 


3. Add water and fish sauce and bring to a gentle boil. Add the fried fish. Lower heat and cover the pan. Simmer for about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to suit your taste. 


4. Add green onions and jalapeño pepper. Simmer for another 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for a while to allow the sauce to further absorb the flavor of the fish. 
5. Transfer to a serving plate. Serve with hot rice!
 
 

28 comments:

  1. Your fish cooked in sauce looks really good! Sounds simple yet tasty. Enjoy your weekend :)

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  2. This looks amazing! I always love seeing what you have been making, I feel so inspired to try new things! Have a great week!

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  3. Lightly fried fish with a tomato onion sauce does get my attention. I do like the touch of heat in there with the jalapenos too! Delicious meal, you are eating good in your house. Have a great weekend!

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  4. I love this recipe,we had similar South east asian how to cook fish :) and yes serve with hot rice even better !!
    Ridwan

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  5. What amazing flavors in this dish! I have to get hubby to try some new fish...by the time Lent is over I'll be so sick of salmon and shrimp :) I'm sure we'll have a few cheese pizzas, too~ Have a great weekend, Tina!

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  6. Hi Tina, your fish dish look excellent. I love it and your presentation too. Have a nice weekend.

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  7. I've not heard of this dish but you make it look so full of flavours :)

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  8. That really looks good and easy to make :)

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  9. My my my!!!!!!!!!!!! This is the dish we will drool to the max esp my other half. We ear plenty of fish and seeing this recipe with chillies, I am lost for words Tina except that I am not imagining eating it with my fav of rice.

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  10. Tina, in Jamaica fish is sometimes cooked very similar to this. All thats missing is some fresh Thyme. We'd replace the Jalapeño with Scotch Bonnet pepper! Tina, this meal reminds me of home! :-)

    Have an awesome weekend!

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  11. One of my fave dish , Tina ! Love the addition of hot peppers ! Another dish that I NEED to cook ;D Yummy photos , too !!!

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  12. I would love to be able to find a whole talapia. All I ever see are the fillets. UGH! Great looking dish and like you, I love the extra spice!

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  13. I haven't had this in forever! (My husband hates fish). I'm going to have to see if I can call one of my aunt's and mooch off of her

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  14. Your fish dish served with rice looks wonderful.My tummy is grumbling by the look of it.

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  15. This is one of those quick and easy delicious fish dinner. I like your version with jalapeno pepper and will definitely add them next time.

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  16. I always love your fish dish Tina! I don't have too many fish recipes (always very similar in Japanese cooking), so I appreciate different style of cooking. Hope you are having great weekend!

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  17. I pinned this on Pinterest! Mmmmmm!

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  18. Ooo la la! Those chiles are calling my name! :D

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  19. The combination of tomatoes, peppers and all will compliment the fish very well. Yum!

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  20. The flavours are so awesome yet the dish has a simplicity about it. I am gonna dish this out soon for dinner :)

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  21. Thanks for all your wonderful comments! They are all very much appreciated! Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead! :-*

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  22. Great fish dish Tina...I love seeing different recipes with fish since I am trying to add more fish to our table.
    Great pictures as well, I love the step-by-step ones ;-)
    Have a great week ahead!

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  23. It's very similar to how e make fish curry at home :) Unfortunately the hubby doesn't like to eat fish this way so, all I can do is drool at your pics!

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  24. Another great seafood dinner and recipe! Do you buy your Tilapia whole?

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    1. Most of the time, yes...but there are times when I have them cut into fillets or steaks. :)

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