Escabeche Recipe

Last Updated on August 25, 2013 by Ed Joven

How to cook Filipino style Escabeche

Filipino Escabeche Recipe is a special Filipino dish serve on special occasions. There are countless variations of this dish, from the Spanish adaptation of Escabeche to the popular Chinese sweet and sour.

Escabeche is an ancient cooking and preserving method which originates in Spain during the Middle Ages. The spanish style of cooking Escabeche is a mixture of vinegar, white wine and olive oil, seasoned with bay leaves and black pepper, among other spices, and most of the times accompanied by some vegetables like carrots and onion.

The Filipino style of cooking Escabeche recipe is made by frying any kind of meaty fish, and topping with sweet and sour sauce with vegetables. We suggest that you choose fishes that are meaty and not too much fish bones like bangus.

• 1 Kilo Lapu-lapu Fish
• 1 ½ cup Canola Oil (for deep frying)
• ⅓ cup white vinegar
• 6 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3 table spoons tomato ketchup
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 thumb-sized Ginger,sliced in strips
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium-sized onions, cut into 8 pieces
• 1 medium sized carrot, julienne
• ½ cup red and green pepper, sliced in strips
• 2 green onions, sliced for garnishing
• 2 tomatoes, cut in wedges
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch, diluted with 2-3 tablespoons water

• Clean the Lapu-lapu fish and remove the internals, make a diagonal slice on each side of the fish
• Then rub salt on it and inside the fish cavity
• Deep Fry the Lapu-lapu fish in a deep frying pan.
• Once done, remove the fish from the pan and drain excess oil with paper towels.

How to prepare the sweet and sour sauce.

• Combine the vinegar, sugar, tomato ketchup, salt and ginger.
• Add the  cornstarch mixture then mix well.
• Now add tomatoes, onions, carrot, tomatoes, garlic, red pepper and the other ingredients.
• Boil once. Make sure the sauce is slightly thickened and not runny.
• Pour the sauce on fried Lapu-lapu and serve immediately.
• Garnish with green onions.