What flavors do you often look for when it comes to a meal? Do you prefer something outstandingly savory, or perhaps a touch of sourness for some excitement in the dish? Or maybe you like to have a certain level of sweetness, which is pretty common for Filipino cuisine. Well, for some cooks, it’s all of the above. If you’re looking for a recipe that ticks off these boxes to provide a most flavorful and tasty meal, Filipino Style Escabeche should be one of your top choices!

What is Escabeche?

This appetizing recipe is known for its sweet and sour qualities as a result of a glorious mix of seasonings and other ingredients. Escabeche, in most of its forms, makes use of vinegar for that classic sour taste in our sauce, which we use to coat either fish or meat. But what makes the Filipino version different? For starters, it utilizes a local favorite for that added pleasant sweet and sourness— banana ketchup!

The Pinoy rendition is also pretty known for its usage of vibrant, flavorful bell peppers. These add a nice crunch, and are deliciously juicy. They mix well with our thick, orange sauce. Has this piqued your attention? Well, then let’s go ahead and look through the steps to making this dish!

How to make Filipino Style Escabeche:

Because we are dealing with fish for our recipe, we should start by preparing this component, and making sure it has some flavor. Take 1 large fish, and then slice this into serving pieces. Afterwards, rub salt all over the fish, which would require 2 tablespoons’ worth. Now just wait for 2 minutes for the flavor to sink in. 

For now, we can get ready to fry. Grab your ¾ cup of cooking oil, and pour this into your pan. Let this get hot, and once it is, you can get your fish slices from earlier. Then fry each side of the fish until it has become golden brown. Take the cooked fish out of the pan, and place on your serving plate of choice. And then it’s time to work on the sauce!

Making the sauce:

Begin by taking 2 tablespoons of oil, and heating this up in a pan. Then add 3 cloves of garlic you’ve chopped, as well as 1 onion you’ve sliced thinly. Now sauté this all together, and stop when your sliced onions have softened. Afterwards, we’ll add a splash of flavor with 4 tablespoons of banana ketchup, 3 tablespoons of white vinegar, 3 tablespoons of white sugar, and 1 cup of water. Stir these together, and wait for the mixture to boil. 

And then you can incorporate 1 red bell pepper and 1 green red bell pepper, and 1 carrot all of which you have julienned. Let this cook for a good 3 minutes, and then you can sprinkle in some salt and pepper. Add as much as you would like. 

Now in a separate container, put your 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, and 2 tablespoons of water together. Mix these thoroughly, and then put the mixture into your pan. Go ahead and stir this until the sauce has become as thick as you would like it to be. Once that’s done, you can just pour your delectable sauce all over our fried fish from earlier.

Congratulations! You’ve just made a plate of satisfyingly sweet and sour Filipino Style Escabeche. But if you would like to brush up on your cooking skills, I have some recipes that are like this one I can recommend!

Fish Escabeche

I talked a little bit about the classic version of Escabeche earlier, but should you be interested in making some of your own, why not try my Fish Escabeche recipe? This dish makes use of some familiar ingredients like white vinegar as well as red bell peppers. But it uses significantly less components without compromising on flavor at all. Our use of whole peppercorn and sugar give the fish all the delightful savor we will need!

Fried Fish Adobo

Lots of Filipinos truly enjoy fish that’s seasoned nicely, and fried to a gorgeous crisp. This is why cooks crafted the Fried Fish Adobo, later evolving into quite the well-loved, easy dish. I would also recommend this with some spicy vinegar if you would like a stronger flavor. Come and try this for your next lunch meal!

Ginataang Galunggong

Here’s another flavorful take on fish! Ginataang Galunggong has ginger, fish sauce and many other components to truly spruce up the taste of our medium round scad fish. The creamy coconut milk is also a great hero for the recipe, providing an all-around comforting flavor to complete the dish. 

Got any questions about making Filipino Style Escabeche? Don’t be shy about your queries, and ask away in the comments below!