Guinataang dalag (mudfish)
May 6, 2003
Filed under Filipino food, Seafood recipes, Vegetable recipes
Dalag (mudfish) and vegetables cooked with gata, the freshly squeezed cream from grated coconut, is a dish rich in flavor, color, texture and aroma.
When buying dalag, choose one that is still alive. Ask the fish vendor to kill it (gosh, that sounds bad, doesn’t it, but what other term is there… execute?) and take out the gills and intestines. I made the mistake once of bringing home a live dalag. When it started thrashing around in my kitchen sink, I didn’t know what to do. We were having minor remodelling jobs done in the house at the time and I asked the carpenter to hit the fish with his hammer. After that, it was a real struggle to remove the gills and the intestines. They are more difficult to remove from a fresh fish. They come out more easily if the fish had been dead for a while.
Coconut cream, or kakang gata, is pure coconut cream extracted from freshly grated coconut. To extract coconut cream, place grated coconut in a fine cotton cloth like katsa (muslin), roll the cloth and squeeze. If fresh coconut cream is unavailable, you can substitute the powdered or canned variety, although the flavor and aroma will be different.
When cooking with coconut cream or milk, it is best to simmer it uncovered to prevent curdling.
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Hi,
I plan to prepare your Guinataang Dalag recipe today for dinner but I will be substituting tambakol for the dalag since I can’t find dalag in the wet market that my husband and I go to here in Singapore. However, I noticed in the recipe that instructions on when to put the dalag with the guinataang gulay is missing.
Thanks and you have a really great website!
Best regards,
-Agnes-
HI Agnes, thanks for pointing that out. Add the fried fish when the veggies are done.
Hi Connie,
I’m one of your avid reader…really like your stuff!!!
With regards to the guinataang dalag, have you tried this version: cut the fish into three, maybe four, stuff each with onions, ginger, garlic and tomatoes season with salt and pepper and then wrap each piece with pechay or gabi whichever you want…tie it of course para di maghiwahiwalay and then cook it sa gata…what do you think?
Sam, you cut th dalag then butterfly it? Kasi unless ibuka sya, where will the stuffing go?
Hi Connie,
Ops, sorry, I forgot to mention that!!!
Yes you’re right! gotta cut the fish to stuff it.
I learned this from my grandma…maybe you should try…then let me know. deal?
Got that. I think I’ll try it wrapped in gabi leaves. Like laing with dalag. Hmmm…