Lasang Pinoy, Sundays: School of Fish

Grilled fish is got to be the most common recipe Filipinos do with fish. It is served with a dipping sauce of soy sauce, kalamansi juice, chili peppers, and onions. One American client asked me to bring him to a Filipino restaurant, and he ordered grilled pompano. It was too late when he realized that the grilled fish is served in whole, not fillet. He turned green when he saw the fish with head and eyeballs that he said were staring at him! And imagine his expression when I told him that fish head is the tastiest part, and that most Filipinos eat fish brains and eyeballs. :D

You wonder what this thing in the second photo? It’s not sausage...it’s my favorite part---we call it bihod in Ilonggo, or fish roe. Whenever I eat bihod, I would remember my childhood in Negros where my siblings and I would fight over a piece of bihod. Since there’s only one bihod in a large fish (usually from fish locals call alibalay and gingaw or red snapper), my grandmother would slice it in small parts so each of us have a piece. Tuna bihod is available at the Seaside Market along Macapagal Highway.

More fish dishes at SpiCes.