Skip to main content

An Ilonggo Favorite - Pinamalhan nga Isda

Ilonggos love pinamalhan using almost any kind of fish with this quick and easy recipe. 



Rooting from the word "mala" meaning dry, PINAMALHAN is an Ilonggo style of cooking fish where it is stewed until it becomes ( almost) dry.


The cooking process is very simple - it just involves "stewing" the fish in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, peppers and other spices until dry then add a bit of oil.

Among the fishes that often makes the PINAMALHAN plate are bangus, salmonite, bilong-bilong, sapsap, abo, lupoy and aloy, among others.

So let's start stewing and enjoy PINAMALHAN.



Here's a basic Pinamalhan nga Isda Recipe

Ingredients 
  • 1/2 kilo fish (or adjust to the number of pieces)
  • 1 cup native vinegar (adjust to cover all the fish)
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce (adjustable, optional) 
  • 1 medium size onion, sliced
  • 2 pcs siling pansigang (adjustable, optional)
  • 6 cloves garlic, crushed (adjustable)
  • 1 thumb size ginger cut into thin slices
  • Salt and pepper
  • Oil, (optional)

How to cook Pinamalhan na Isda
  1. Clean the fish throroughly removing all the guts
  2. In a pan, place fish then top it with garlic, onion, chili and ginger.
  3. Pour in the vinegar and soy sauce and season with salt and pepper. 
  4. Cover and simmer in a medium heat for 15 minutes (Or until the fish are cooked).
  5. Let it dry in the pan, with almost no sabaw.
  6. Drizzle with oil, if you prefer.
  7. Serve with hot rice
All the measurements are just guides for usually at home, we usually adjust the the spices to the amount of fish. We just throw in the ingredients without even measuring. 


Souring fruits can also substitute for vinegar. Most Ilonggos use batwan fruit for pinamalhan. Others use iba or kamias, green mangoes (or binuro) bayabas (native kind) or just tomatoes.



Most of the time, our pinamalhan recipes become paksiw as we tend to leave a good portion of the vinegar-soy sauce mix that makes a grear sauce/sabaw with hot rice.

Just taste what you are cooking after the vinegar has boiled then make some adjustments. For big-sized fishes, just can slice them into serving sizes. Enjoy!

Comments

Anonymous said…
I love Iloilo food.
November 2, 2023 at 12:37 PM
Anonymous said…
Pinamalhan na salmonite. My favorite
November 2, 2023 at 12:39 PM

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Valenciana

Ilonggos really love valenciana because most if not all have grown accustomed of having it in almost all occasions like fiesta, brithdays, reunions and all other occasions thus I love calling it as the "occasional dish".   Basically, " go, grow and glow " dish, it has the carbohydrates, protein and vitamins and minerals in just one spoonful. And it can come in its simplest form with just malagkit rice, pork, chorizo and bell peppers to some fancy with additions like raisins, peas, chicken, hardboiled egg (just garnish though), etc.  Here's the recipe for Valenciana Ingredients 3 cups Glutinous Rice ( malagkit ) 2 cups Pork, sliced 1 cup Pork, Beef or Chicken  Liver, sliced 2-3 pieces Chinese sausage, sliced 2-3 large red bell peppers, sliced lengthwise 1 cup Green Peas 3 small boxes Raisins 2 pcs.Onion, chopped 4 cloves garlic, crushed salt and ground pepper to taste  2 pcs. pork/chicken bouillon/broth cube...
CLICK FOR MORE INFO or RECIPE...

Native Bibingka

There are two types of bingka I've grown up with. First is the flat and "coconutty" ( with lots of buko strips) bingka made famous by the bingkahans in the plazas of Iloilo City especially in Molo and Jaro plus Plaza Libertad. But the most famous is the one in Mohon, Arevalo which gave birth to the popular bingka sa Mohon. Flat bingka from Mohon And second is the one closer to home, in my hometown which before only appears during Semana Santa but now almost year round. This is what we refer to a puto-bingka as it looks and taste like toasted puto. Here's a sample recipe of this Puto-Bingka
CLICK FOR MORE INFO or RECIPE...

Simple Pochero Ilonggo

POCHERO. The most familiar recipes are the ones stewed with tomatoes (or tomato sauce) or the Cebu variant which is like bulalo or nilaga, but the pochero I grew up with is just very simple. It's just pork cooked with potatoes and/or saba (cooking banana) with kamote tops or pechay. I just love the mild sweetness of the broth brought about by the bananas to the savory broth. Or sometimes, it tends lean more of the tomato based recipe, just without the tomato itself or sauce. The recipe is just very simple - just boil the pork first until tender. Add the "hard" veggies like potatoes, saba, carrots, etc then finally when the leafy veggies when its almost done. Just season it with salt or broth cubes for a savory broth. Here's a recipe guide for a simple Pochero Ilonggo
CLICK FOR MORE INFO or RECIPE...