My mom went to the province and it’s just the three us boys who were left at home. Since no one wanted to go to the market, we decided to just have sauteed canned sardines for lunch. Well, we have few recipes of canned sardines in our arsenal but I guess it will come to a point that you want to try something new. So, how about sauteed fried sardines for lunch?
Sardines is a comfort food for me. When the weather is bad, a good straight from the can sardines is the best. Just squeeze fresh calamansi and chopped onion and it is a perfect pair with hot steamed rice. You can saute it if you need an extra effort to flavor your canned sardines. However, who among you feels the boredom of eating canned sardines?
This recipe of sauteed fried sardines need an extra effort and a little bit of patience when cooking. However, I bet your efforts will be rewarded. First, the sardines are separated form the sauce. Then, it is washed with running water before frying. The sauce is cooked separately. I added some sotanghon or vermicelli rice noodles for extra texture and some malunggay leaves for healthier experience. Frying the sardines give it an added flavor and texture. Trust me it’s so worth it. Oh! Did you know that sauteed canned sardines is best paired with hard boiled egg? Why not try it and find it for yourself.
In this sauteed fried sardines recipe, I combined a regular canned sardines and a spicy canned sardines for the extra kick. However, if you do not like spicy food, you can go a head with the regular one or the green one.
Ingredients
| 100 gram | Vermicelli Rice Noodles or Sotanghon |
| 155 gram | Regular Canned Sardines in Tomato Sauce |
| 155 gram | Spicy Canned Sardines in Tomato Sauce |
| 4 Tablespoons | Olive Oil |
| 4 Tablespoons | Olive Oil |
| 4 cloves | Garlic, chopped |
| 1 piece | Onion, chopped |
| 2 pieces | Tomatoes, diced |
| 1/4 teaspoon | Turmeric Powder |
| 4 Tablespoons | Water |
| 1/2 cup | Malunggay Leaves |
| 2 pieces | Calamansi |
| Salt and Pepper | |
| Hard Boiled Eggs |
Procedure
To prepare the sauteed fried sardines, first, soak vermicelli rice noodles in water for 15 minutes. Bring to a boil and let it simmer for 3 minutes. Drain and soak in tap water for 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Combine the sardines in a bowl. Separate the sardines from the sauce. Carefully wash the sardines in running water to remove the tomato sauce. Drain and set aside.
Heat skillet and add olive oil. When the olive oil is hot, fried the sardines until brown and crispy. This will help the sardines to firm up a bit. Set it aside.
In a separate pan, saute garlic and onion in olive oil. When the onion is already translucent, add the tomatoes and turmeric powder. The turmeric powder helps to lessen the fishy taste of the sardines. Add the water and let it simmer until the tomatoes are soft. Squeeze the tomatoes using the back of a fork to release its flavor.
Add the tomato sauce from the canned sardines. Season with salt and pepper. Let it simmer for 5 minutes. Add the malunggay leaves and let it simmer for another minute.
Switch off heat and drizzle the calamansi juice.
In a serving bowl, add half of the sauce at the bottom. Add the vermicelli rice noodles following the circular shape of the bowl. Place the fried sardines starting from the center of the bowl outward. Place egg at the center and drizzle the remaining sauce.
Now you can serve the sauteed fried sardines with a hot steamed rice.
