“Kinilaw na bangus” prepared by my husband to “erase” the lingering taste of meat dishes in the mouth. (Photography by my son Marco, using his Canon PowershotA710 - that most talked about camera of the time.)

One thing that we always experience after Christmas day is this “glutty” feeling that makes us nauseous it makes us sick just with the mere sight of ham, chicken or any other meat dish.

Hence, to veer the family away from all the greasy taste of the holidays, my husband customarily makes this “kinilaw na bangus” dish which he painstakingly prepares starting from the first step of scaling and deboning bangus (milkfish). Well, he is quite proud of it that he has actually volunteered it as his share in three potluck Christmas parties this year.

As I have shared in an earlier post - I am not much of a “kitchen mom”. But with due respect and with permission from hubby, I am posting here the recipe for the kinilaw na bangus: (Note: choose firm-fleshed bangus, preferrably Dagupan bangus - the pride of my home city in Pangasinan province.)

Kinilaw na bangus

INGREDIENTS:

1. four regular sized bangus (milkfish)

2. 1/2 cup of chopped ginger

3. 1/2 cup of chopped red onions

4. 1/2 cup of calamansi or lemon juice (a little vinegar may be added to the calamansi

or lemon juice for stronger sour taste)

5. 1 tbsp. freshly ground black pepper

6. 1/2 cup green long pepper (native variety) - chopped diagonally (1/4 inch thick)

7. 1/2 cup spring onions (dahon ng sibuyas) - chopped diagonally (1/4 inch thick)

8. 1 tbsp. chopped siling labuyo (red hot pepper-native variety)

PROCEDURE:

Clean the bangus by scaling and removing the gut and gills. Wash and drain. Slice in the middle back then remove the whole backbone, head and tail. Using twissors, remove visibly jutting out bones.

With the use of a sharp pair of kitchen scissors, cut the bangus in cubes, about 1/2 inch thick, or a little larger as you may want. As you cut the bangus, the fine bones in the flesh get exposed, making it easier for you to pull them out.

Place all ingredients and the bangus slices in a large mixing bowl. Mix. Place in a serving plate or tray, garnish with chopped dahon ng sibuyas and siling labuyo. Chill in the freezer for about 2-3 (but don’t freeze!) hours. Serve. (Guys prefer it with beer. :))

(Side note: If you notice in the photo, there are no red hot pepper garnishings. It is because I don’t want the dish to be too hot and spicy so I requested hubby to exclude them.)