Escabecheng Bulad | Salted Dried Fish

When I was young, me and my siblings used to went fishing with our father. We lived near the sea so its either we walk to the seawall or ride a banca or a small sailboat to catch fish, using a DIY fishing rod made of bamboo stick and nylon.

The fish we caught were sold in our neighborhood. But since most of our neighbors were also fishing, there were times that we have a lot of spare fishes than we can consume. A refrigerator?
Uh uh, we have none. So my mother will preserve them by using salt and sun dry them. Bulad in Visayan dialect or Tuyo in Tagalog is a term for Salted Dried Fish .

Bulad is very popular in our country. They say that it is a poor man’s food. But wait, a kilo of salted dry fish is more expensive than a kilo of meat and beef! What an irony!

For most people, Bulad is just fried and dipped in vinegar and oh, one can consume a ton of rice!

What if we turn this poor man’s food into something fancy?

Well, we will cook it into Escabeche. I don’t know the English term for this since its originally Spanish cuisine.

There are many kinds of salted fish (as almost all fish can be salted dry) but what I will share with you is a fish called Lapu-Lapu or grouper.

So please read until the end, and you will surely droll. 😋

THE INGREDIENTS

Bulad na Pinikas
Tomatoes (lots of it)
Carrots
Onion
Garlic
Ginger
Red Bell Pepper
Black Pepper
Cooking Oil

PREPARATION

Before frying Bulad, I normally wash them in running water. This is to remove excess salt and some dust accumulated while drying it .

Fry the Bulad until it’s crispy. Set aside.

COOKING PROCEDURE

STEP 1.

Saute the garlic, onion, ginger, and tomatoes.

STEP 2.

Add 1/2 cup water.

STEP 3.

Add the Bulad, put a dash of black pepper, vinegar and sugar to taste.

Add the carrots. Cover and simmer until the sauce is thick.

Add the red bell pepper.

Important tip - never put salt in this dish as the bulad itself is very salty

Tada! Have a taste of this poor man’s
dish.

Make sure you have tons of steamed rice ready!

WARNING : This dish is Not recommended for those with kidney diseases.

Mangaon ta!