Lapu-Lapu Escabeche Recipe or Lapu-Lapu Sweet and Sour

Last Updated on July 12, 2016 by Ed Joven

Lapu-Lapu Escabeche Recipe

Deep fried Lapu-lapu fish topped with Sweet and Sour sauce, this is populaly known as Lapu-lapu Escabeche.  Basically Lapu-lapu Escabeche Recipe is made by deep frying a whole fish of Lapu-lapu or Red grouper fish or any kind of meaty fish, and topping with sweet and sour sauce with vegetables.

The dish Escabeche is a Spanish classic and sugar is definitely not one of the ingredients.  It's made with a lot of herbs and spices such as cumin, thyme, coriander, oregano and bay leaf.    The only similarity Spanish Escabeche has with our Filipino Escabeche version is the use of vinegar and fried fish.

You can always use other meaty fish aside from Lapu-lapu in order to make this dish.

Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 30 minutes

• 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.

Here's the ready to serve Lapu lapu Escabeche