Special Pesang Bangus is a pressured cooked version of your regular pesang isda recipe. The fish was cooked for 45 minutes in the pressure cooker and then the vegetables are added. The result is a super tender fish. The bones are literally so soft that you can eat it. Just like the way you eat your canned sardines.
Pesa is a traditional Filipino dish similar to nilaga but uses fish instead of pork or beef. The fish is simmer in ginger broth until soft and different vegetables are added. You can add potatoes, Baguio beans, bok choy or lettuce if you want.
We seldom cook this dish in our home for reasons I don’t know. However, when my mom asked me what do we want to eat for lunch I said fish. So, the follow – up question is how will you cook it. I’m tired of eating fish sinigang, sweet and sour or even fried fish at home. So I thought of, pesang isda. So the next question is what fish? The first fish comes to my mind is milk fish or bangus.
Milk fish has its distinct flavor. It has this nice sweet and not so fishy taste compared to other fish. The only turn off to this fish is its bones. It has so many bones and the elderly might choke eating from it. The solution? Pressure cook it until the bones are tender.
Special Pesang Bangus dish is so easy to prepare. Simply sauté the ginger, garlic and onion. Then, add the fish and water and that’s it. My dish turned out on the brown side since I use rice wash from red rice. For a clearer broth simply use water instead of rice wash.
Tips
Pressure cook the fish at medium heat. Setting the heat high might disinegrate the fish and you might end up with shredded fish. On the other hand, you can fry the fish before pressure cooking it to preserve its solid body.
You can check out my Pesang Tilapia Recipe for the other version.
Ingredients
| 3 Tablespoons | Olive Oil |
| 1 teaspoon | Whole Black Pepper |
| 3 pieces | Thumb – sized Ginger, thinly sliced |
| 8 cloves | Garlic, minced |
| 1 bulb | Onion, chopped |
| 1 kg | cups |
| 4 cups | Rice Wash or Water |
| 3 Tablespoons | Fish Sauce |
| 1/2 teaspoon | Ground Black Pepper |
| 2 cups | Water |
| 2 pieces | Potatoes, halved |
| Bok Choy | |
| Fish Sauce | |
| Ground Black Pepper |
Procedure
Sauté whole black pepper, ginger, garlic and onion in olive oil. Stir until onion is translucent.
Add the milk fish, rice wash, fish sauce and ground black pepper. Then boil and pressure cook for 45 minutes.
Let the pressure out and add water and potatoes. Simmer until the potatoes are cooked.
Add the bok choy and simmer for 5 minutes. Season with fish sauce and ground black pepper.
Special Pesang Bangus
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 teaspoon Whole Black Pepper
- 3 pieces Thumb – sized Ginger, thinly sliced
- 8 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 bulb Onion, chopped
- 1 kg Bangus or Milk Fish, cut into desired pieces
- 4 cups Rice Wash or Water
- 3 Tablespoons Fish Sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 2 cups Water
- 2 pieces Potatoes, halved
- Bok Choy
- Fish Sauce
- Ground Black Pepper
Instructions
- Saute whole black pepper, ginger, garlic and onion in olive oil. Stir until onion is translucent.
- Add the milk fish, rice wash, fish sauce and ground black pepper. Then boil and pressure cook for 45 minutes.
- Let the pressure out and add water and potatoes. Simmer until the potatoes are cooked.
- Add the bok choy and simmer for 5 minutes. Season with fish sauce and ground black pepper.
