Escabeche

Escabeche is fried fish with a sweet and sour sauce on top. The sauce has vinegar, banana ketchup, sugar, and julienned vegetables like bell peppers, carrots, and ginger. This escabeche recipe is the one I cook at home. Filipino escabeche tastes different from other versions because of the banana ketchup. It is sweeter and has that reddish color you see at parties and fiestas back home. You can use tilapia, red snapper, or pompano for this escabeche recipe.

I first knew about escabeche from my dad. His favorite version is the simpler one, where the sauce is just vinegar, sugar, whole peppercorn, ginger, garlic, and sliced red onion and bell pepper. That is actually the version my mom makes at home. But I like this recipe better. I tasted it at a friend’s house when I was in high school. The sauce was thicker, sweeter, and had all those julienned vegetables on top. I kept trying to make it at home until I came up with this version. Maggi Magic Sarap was not available back then, so I just used salt.

Get the fish crispy before you add the sauce. That is the most important part of this dish.

What is Escabeche?

Escabeche is fried fish with a sweet and sour sauce. The name comes from the Spanish word “escabeche.” The Spanish brought the dish to the Philippines in the 1500s, and we made it our own over time.

Spanish escabeche is usually cold. The fish sits in a vinegar marinade, sometimes for days. Filipino escabeche is not like that at all. We fry the fish, make a warm sauce with vinegar and banana ketchup, and pour it over right before serving. Vinegar is in a lot of Filipino dishes like fish adobo and paksiw na isda. But escabeche is the one where the sweet side is just as strong as the sour. Banana ketchup is the reason it looks and tastes the way it does.

This has always been a fiesta dish. A whole fish on a big platter with sauce and colorful vegetables. Some families serve it instead of lechon. I think it looks better on the table sometimes.

Ingredients

For the fish:

• Fish – Hasa-hasa, tilapia, red snapper, or pompano. Pick something with firm flesh.
• Cooking oil – For frying.
• Maggi Magic Sarap – I rub this on the fish before frying. Salt and garlic powder work if you cannot find it.

For the sauce:

• Onion – Thinly sliced.
• Garlic – Chopped.
• Ginger – Julienned. I use a lot because it cuts through the sweetness.
• Red bell pepper – Julienned.
• Green bell pepper – Julienned.
• Carrot – Julienned.
• White vinegar – The sour part. Cane or coconut vinegar also work.
• Banana ketchup – This is what makes it Filipino. Tomato ketchup does not taste the same.
• White sugar – Rounds out the vinegar.
• Water
• Cornstarch – Mixed with water to thicken the sauce.
• Cooking oil – For the sauce.
• Salt and ground black pepper

Fry the fish, make the sauce, pour it over. About 35 minutes total.

1. Rub Maggi Magic Sarap all over the fish. Get it into the cuts and the cavity. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
2. Heat the oil in a large pan. Fry each side until golden brown and crispy. Put the fish on a serving plate.

Dry the fish with paper towels first. Wet fish splatters.

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a separate pan. Saute the garlic, ginger, and onion until the onion is soft.
2. Add the banana ketchup, vinegar, sugar, and water. Stir and let it boil.

1. Put the bell peppers and carrots in the pan. Cook for 3 minutes. They should still have some crunch.
2. Add salt and pepper.
3. Mix cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water. Pour it in and stir until the sauce thickens.
4. Pour the sauce over the fried fish. Serve with rice.

Why This Escabeche Recipe Works

• Maggi Magic Sarap on the fish – Most recipes just use salt. The Magic Sarap means the fish has flavor on its own, even without the sauce.
• Banana ketchup instead of tomato – Tomato ketchup is too sharp for this dish. Banana ketchup is milder and sweeter.
• Cornstarch at the end – Without it, the sauce runs off the fish. The cornstarch makes it thick enough to stick.

What to Serve with Escabeche

• Steamed white rice – The sauce soaks into the rice. I eat a lot of rice with this dish.
• Ensaladang talong – Grilled eggplant salad. Light and smoky next to something rich and fried.
• Sauteed kangkong – A simple vegetable side. Quick to make while the escabeche sauce is cooking.

Substitutions

• Banana ketchup – Tomato ketchup works but add more sugar.
• White vinegar – Cane vinegar, coconut vinegar, or apple cider vinegar.
• Whole fish – Fillets are fine. Fry them crispy and pour sauce over.
• Cornstarch – All-purpose flour. Use double the amount.

More Fish Recipes

• Sweet and Sour Fish Fillet – Battered fillets in a tangy sauce. Good when you do not have a whole fish.
• Sweet and Sour Mahi-mahi – I made this when I could not find red snapper at the store.
• Sarciadong Isda – Fried fish in tomato sauce topped with eggs.
• Ginataang Tilapia – Fried tilapia in coconut milk with spinach and chili.
• Pinangat na Isda – Fish with bilimbi in a sour broth.
• Sweet and Sour Pompano – Pompano with sweet and sour sauce.

Crispy fried fish with that sauce and all those vegetables on a platter, it just looks right on your table. Try this escabeche recipe and let me know what you think.