Fish With Ampalaya And Blackbeans

Posted byNoriePosted inRecipe
(Ampalaya Con Pescado)

There were a few small bitter melons my garden produced late this summer.  They looked so fresh and would be delicious cooked in some way but I was tired of the regular Filipino ampalaya dishes that I knew, i.e., bitter melon cooked with shrimp and Ampalaya con Carne. I looked for interesting recipes online but I didn’t find any that I thought I would like. 

I caught a few fishes the day before so, I came up with a dish that would use the fish and the bitter melon. I tried to taste the combination in my mind then went ahead and incorporated the bitter melon in the Fish in Blackbean Sauce. This altogether new recipe is really good and I would cook it again. I will appropriately call it “Ampalaya Con Pescado”.

For those who don’t mind eating bitter melons and a Chinese dish of fried fish, this dish is excellent.

Ingredients:

1 or 2 medium size fishes scaled and cleaned, with head on or without.

Slit the body of the fish diagonally about 1-1/2 inches apart on both sides then sprinkle salt on all sides and inside the stomach cavity and let stand for about 30 minutes while you are preparing the ingredients.

  • 1 large bitter melon, pulp and seeds scraped with a spoon.  Cut thinly diagonally or substitute green beans or broccoli florets if no bitter melon.
  • 1” long ginger root julienned fine (set aside)
  • 1 tsp. minced ginger root
  • 2 cloves garlic julienned (set aside)
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 spring onions, green parts cut diagonally, white parts julienned about 2” long (set aside)
  • 1 TBS dried salted and fermented blackbeans, rinsed and crushed with a spoon
  • 1 TBS sesame oil
  • 1 TBS cornstarch dissolved in ¼ cup water
  • Vegetable oil for cooking

In a small bowl, mix for the liquid:

  • 3/4 cup water,
  • 2 TBS light soy sauce,
  • 1 tsp. dark soy sauce (optional)
  • 1 TBS oyster sauce,
  • 1 TBS Hoisin sauce,
  • 2 tsp. Aji Mirin Sweet cooking wine.  In lieu of Aji Mirin if you don’t have it, add 1 tsp. sugar and 1 tsp. Sherry or rice wine.

Blot the fish with paper towels before frying.  Heat oil in a frying pan or a wok about 1/4 inch deep and fry the fish until browned and the skin crisp. Flip over and do the same on the other side.  Transfer to a serving platter and set aside. 

Discard the oil from the wok or frying pan.  Clean the wok with paper towels.  Add a small amount of fresh oil in the hot wok or skillet and spread around the sides of the wok.  Wait until it is hot then add the minced ginger root.  Sauté quickly for a minute then add the minced garlic. Sauté the garlic with the ginger root for a few seconds then add the crushed blackbeans. Sauté until the garlic is fragrant and golden but not burnt while pressing and crushing the blackbeans. Quickly add the soy sauce mixture and heat to boiling. 

Add the bitter melon or the substitute, sauté in the sauce for 1 minute or until the they are crisp-tender. Strain the vegetables off the wok with a slotted spoon and arrange it around or over the fish on the platter, leaving the liquid in the wok.

Add the sesame oil in the wok with the mixed liquid and heat a few seconds to get incorporated. Drop in the rest of the julienned ginger root, julienned garlic and the green onions in the cooking liquid in the wok. Stir until heated.  Add the cornstarch dissolved in water and heat until thickened. Pour this sauce over the fish and bitter melon or broccoli.  Serve hot with white rice.

If you like it spicy you can add dried Chinese peppers or crushed chilies.

This recipe is good without the bitter melon.  In fact, the bitter melon is only an addition.

You can also use this recipe to cook the bitter melon without the fish.