Lapu-lapu, named after the first hero of the Philippine, is a fish known as grouper. There are many kind of Lapu-lapu in the market but I’m only familiar with the lovely red orange colored Lapu-lapu and the black colored Lapu-lapu. The colored Lapu-lapu is much pricier than the black one so we settled with black one. My mom bought a couple of Lapu-lapu this morning and she wants to cooked it sweet and sour style but I volunteered and decided to steam it. It’s much more healthier and much more flavorful.
First, the fish is cleaned thoroughly. It’s internal organs and tongue were removed to remove the fishy smell. Then, I drizzled calamansi juice to, again, remove the fishy smell and season it with salt and pepper. I left it to marinate for atleast 30 minutes. The I grated some ginger, chopped some garlic, onion and Chinese parsley (kinchay). I seasoned it with soy sauce and sugar. Then, I stuffed 3/4 of the filling into the Lapu-lapu and marinate for another 20 minutes before steaming.
When the steamed lapu-lapu is done, topped it with the remaining filling and drizzle it with smoking hot cooking oil and it’s done. Okay, you don’t need any dipping sauce for this dish so please don’t bother to make your mayo dipping sauce. Believe me, it’s really flavorful as is.
Ingredients
3/4 kilo Lapu-lapu
3 medium-sized Calamansi
1 Tablespoon Rock Salt
Black Pepper
1/4 cup Grated Ginger
6 cloves Garlic, chopped
1 medium-sized Onion
2 Tablespoons Chopped Chinese Parsley
2 Tablespoons White Sugar
1/4 cup Light Soy Sauce
3 Tablespoons Chopped Onion Spring
2 Tablespoons Cooking Oil
Procedure
Thoroughly clean the Lapu-lapu. Squeezed out the juice from the calamansi and drizzle over and inside of the Lapu-lapu. Season with salt and pepper. Don’t forget to season the inside of the Lapu-lapu. Marinate for 20 to 30 minutes.
Combine ginger, garlic, onion, Chinese parsley, sugar and soy sauce in a bowl. Mix and reserved 1/4 of the filling. stuffed the remaining 3/4 inside the fish and remember to drizzle the inside of the fish with the sauce. Marinate for another 20 minutes. Place on a plate and steam for 7 minutes over medium heat.
After steaming, there will be accumulated water or liquid on the plate. Disregard this as this will surely be fishy. Place the steamed fish on a clean plate.
Combine the reserved filling and chopped spring onion and topped it over the steamed fish. Heat the cooking oil until smoking hot and drizzle over the steamed lapu-lapu. The hot oil will help to bring out the flavor of the spices. Drizzle some light soy sauce to finish it off and serve.
