Special relyenong bangus (stuffed milkfish)
February 22, 2006
Filed under Filipino food, Seafood recipes
A 1.5 kilogram bangus is big enough to hold whole hard boiled eggs inside. I inserted two through the neck opening while stuffing it. I debated over adding a third, decided against it, but later on realized that three would have been better then two. See, after cutting the cooked relyeno, there were slices that did not have any hardboiled eggs at all. Oh, well, next time…
Next time…?!? Will I cook relyenong bangus again considering how tired I was by the time I finished washing all the cooking and mixing utensils I used?
Relyenong bangus is considered a party dish of sorts–a special dish. Not because any of the ingredients are prohibitively expensive but because of the amount of work involved in cooking it. Bangus is a very bony fish. And some of those bones are very small and fine. That’s why it cannot be filleted like other fish by just cutting out the spine and pulling off the visible bones. A pair of tweezers (as in the ones used for plucking stray eyebrow hairs) is used to debone a bangus. And the process takes patience and a lot of caution to make sure that the bangus does not get soggy before it finally reaches the dining table. Hence, to properly flake the meat of the fish, one has to pick out all those bones. A lot of work, really…
Then, there’s the fact that the actual cooking involves several processes–steaming, marinating, flaking, chopping the vegetables, stuffing and, finally, frying or, in my case, grilling.
So, what was the special occasion that drove me to cook relyenong bangus? Nothing, really… just that the thought of stuffing in those whole eggs was so irresistible. I wanted to know if it could actually be done. Now I know it can be. 
In the mood for more food?
Comments
About Pinoy Cook
- About the author
- Cooking philosophy
- Food photography
- The noche buena section
- Product review policy
- Terms of use
- Privacy policy
- Recipe archive
- Published articles
- Food from all over
- E-mail the author
Readers
Asian cooking
- Beef asado noodle soup
- Wonton soup
- Chicken chop suey
- Tofu and eggplants with salted yellow beans
- Chicken curry
- Fish fillet fried rice
- Bamboo shoots stir fry
- Mussel soup with coconut milk
- Beef, mushrooms and tofu stir fry
- Chop Suey
How to cook
- How to extract tamarind juice
- Meals in a flash, part 2
- Tips for cooking Chinese-style fried rice
- The pasta connection
- Poached egg in dashi — with ground sichuan peppercorns!
- Marinating a whole chicken
- Crispy chicken strips with sweet and sour sauce
- Stir frying basics
- How to make crepe-like lumpia (spring roll) wrapper
- Homemade broth
Sidenotes
- Peach and cherry upside-down cake for dessert tonight. Home-baked, naturally. 4 days ago
- Just got back from the supermarket. Lots of veggie dishes in the next couple of days. 4 days ago
- I thought PLDT sucks. Globe is worse. http://tinyurl.com/6fhnzc Of course, they're dying to make amends now. 4 days ago
- More updates...
-
Order now!
-
In focus
i usually fry mine, but then before i do, i usually roll (??) the fish in flour+pepper for added crispiness, the skin tastes better and my really maarte brother who doesn’t like to eat the skin eats it. hehe.
i have never tried stuffing the relleno with eggs. good idea. =)
You mean dredge in flour and pepper? Hmmm, flour+pepper sounds good.
I like it too, actually na-try ko rin po is dredging the fish in the flour with some peppers on it, yummy din po. Pero I wanted also to try this one with hard boiled eggs inside i think that would also be good. thanks for this site.i really like this one. God bless!
oh my…i swore off making relleno because of all the prep work, but those eggs peeking out look so irresistable. relleno just got a lot fancier. my youngest’s son is celebrating his bday this saturday, perfect excuse for making relleno! Thanks for the insipiration…:razz:
My wife really likes relyenong bangus. I guess, now is a good time to try this. Thanks for sharing!
I once used japanese bread crumbs on fried tilapia. Really crunchy!
oh wow i’m so glad i found this site! i love rellenong bangus and we recently had a store-bought one and it was just awful.
now i can “try” doing this at home!
I used to be so scared of eating bangus because of all the bones. My favorite is daing, but relyenong comes in at second.
I love your website, even when i am at work i check your website (only on breaks though
) and sometimes, i tease my friend in tennessee who lives far from asian stores..i copied and pasted some of the pictures…and she can’t wait for me to visit her next month..i will be bringing some filipino ingredients (as we have some asian stores around here in ohio)..Thank you for all your cooking tips..both of my kids love filipino dishes..GOD BLESS
schutz, the eggs make them look even more appetizing, ‘no?
happy birthday to your boy, nadia! and have fun!
peterb, wow, gives tilapia a tempura texture, huh? i think my kids will like that.
great, abby, there’s nothing like home cooked food.
gerald, you can buy fully deboned (seasoned or unseasoned) bangus fillets these days.
happy cooking, darlene.
what a blessing!! how i wanted 2 cuk rellenong bangus but all the recipes i saw was, well, hard to follow. finally, you posted one. i can now treat myself with dis one, tnx.
Q: aside from oven, what are other possible alternatives to grill this rellenong bangus? tnx.
GIna, you can brush the skin with oil then wrap it in banana leaves. Grill over live coals and it’s really delicious!
your rellenong bangus is really good. i tried it last weekend and my kids simply liked it especially having that egg stuffed inside. that’s great!
That is good to know, Cryz.
thanks 4 this recipes,now i can do it by myself w/o the help of my mom.great!
its a lot of work to take all those bangus bones,what i do is i include it with the meat,bellpeper,carrots,garlic etc have it all grind sa palengke thats it no more peeling of the bones
Try not to steam the milkfish before deboning. Then saute the stuffing except the beaten eggs. After sauteing, add the beaten eggs. Lots of hardwork but well worth it. Relleno taste better and jucier.
wow!! the egss are not the bad. i want to try the idea!!
Have fun with it, Elle.
This is always our traditional meal every party we have in the Philippines. Now, I move in Celtic (Ireland) - I haven’t eaten this for 5 years now.
It takes a lot of patience and love to make this thats why it is so special.
the only difference we made in this recipe is we add raisin. You are right put this in oven is more healther than deep frying.
how come the relleno i made came out soggy and the skin wasnt crispy? iwas testing how it turned out before i dared make one for a party. i marinated the skin in soy sauce n calamnsi juice then stuffed it then fried.did i do something not right?help…
pls help me how to make relyenong bangus pls…..