Filipino Steamed Fish with Mayo

Steamed Fish with Mayonnaise

Recipe by :  Ariel Jasa,  Mandaluyong City, Philippines

Filipino Steamed Fish with mayo, a party dish, is steamed whole fish with with head and tail, generously covered with mayonnaise, and decorated with sections of finely chopped colored vegetables and hard boiled eggs.

This recipe, though is a reconstructed version.  Flaked fish fillet is mixed with mayonnaise and shaped like a whole fish before decorating.  Easier to eat for guests and no need to pick the bones.

This was one of my mom's favorite dish to serve during parties when we were growing up, where she would painstakingly chop the vegetables manually making sure they were the same sizes.

She would separate the hard boiled egg white from the yolk and chop them just like the vegetables.

The original recipe is for a whole steamed fish(with fish bones and tail), smothered with mayonnaise and decorated with the eggs and vegetables.

However,  for my son's birthday,  I did a different version of the dish : I only used the fish fillet.

I mixed the fillets with mayonnaise with part of the vegetables, formed into a fish shape on a platter, then decorated with the vegetables.

This way,  my guests didn't have to go through the fish bones, and I didn't have to flip the fish over to decorate the other side.


YOUR STEAMED FIESTA FISH SHOPPING LIST:

  • Fish Fillet (Grouper/Lapu-lapu, Cod, or Haddock)
  • Pickle Relish
  • Red Bell Pepper
  • Black Olive or Raisin for the Fish eye

IN THE PANTRY:

  • Eggs
  • Carrots
  • Mayonnaise
  • Salt and Pepper

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 kg. Fish Fillet (Grouper/Lapu-lapu, Cod, or Haddock)
  • 200 grams Mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cup Pickle Relish
  • 1/2 cup Red Bell Pepper, blanched then chopped finely
  • 2 Eggs, hard boiled
  • 1/2 cup Carrots, blanched then chopped finely
  • 2 teaspoon Salt
  • 1 teaspoon Pepper
  • 1 piece Black Olive or Raisin (for the fish eye)

1 Rub salt and pepper onto a whole fish and wrap in aluminum foil.

2 Steam for about 20 minutes, let it cool down and separate the meat from the bones.

3 Blanch the carrots (dip in boiling water for 2 - 3 minutes and shock in cold water to stop cooking), then chop finely.

4 Blanch the red pepper(dip in boiling water for 1 minute, then shock in ice cold water to stop cooking), then chop finely.

5 Separate the hard boiled egg yolks from the egg whites and chop finely.

6 Mash the fish fillet with the mayonnaise and half of the carrots, pickle relish and red bell peppers. Season with salt and pepper.

7 Refrigerate for at least 3 hours for easy forming and handling.

8 Form the mix into a fish shape set on a bed of lettuce.

9 Decorate in sections from chopped red bell peppers, pickle relish, carrots to the egg white and egg yolk.

10 Finish off by putting an olive or a piece of raisin as an eye.

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