Lately my husband and I have been trying to change our diet to one that’s based on seafood and vegetables.

Hence I’ve been cooking more fish, shrimps, squid, tofu, eggplants, malunggay and other vegetables at home—except during some recent family celebrations, when we gave in to our craving for some rich Chinese food.

Here’s a seafood dish that’s based on an old Filipino recipe —fish cooked sarciado style. It’s a rather rustic dish, with a simple sauce of onions, garlic and tomatoes enveloping the fish.
The addition of ketchup enhances the flavor of the tomatoes. You can use lapu-lapu, maya-maya or any white fish.

Fish Sarciado

3-4 pc lapu-lapu or mayamaya fillets
2-3 large calamansi
Salt and pepper
¼-½ c all-purpose flour
½ c corn oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1 whole clove garlic, chopped
3-4 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 c water
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
3 stems spring onions, chopped
Wansuy leaves

Sprinkle the fish with the juice of the calamansi, then season with salt and pepper. Dredge lightly with flour.

Heat the corn oil in a skillet to medium, and fry the fish until golden brown on the bottom side, about three to four minutes.

Flip the fish over and continue frying until the fish is fully cooked, about three to four more minutes. Remove the fish from the pan and set aside.

Spoon off excess oil from the pan, leaving only about two tablespoons. Reheat the oil, then sauté the onions for one to two minutes.

Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant. Stir in tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Continue sautéing until tomatoes are softened.

Blend water and ketchup, then pour into the pan. Bring to a simmer, then add the fried fish.

Let simmer until the fish is heated through. Add the spring onions and wansuy leaves and simmer for one more minute.

Serve immediately. Makes three to four servings.