Tilapia with shredded corn and coconut cream

I know, I know. I wrote in the previous entry that I was going to get creative with the mozzarella balls from Rizal Dairy, that I was going to make a salad or bake cannelloni. I did bake a large dish of cannelloni but I made the mistake of using uncooked filling so the pasta tubes looked sunken after they came out of the oven. Nothing wrong with the taste but I’ll do a take two and post a mozzarella-topped cannelloni entry another time. For now, let me tell you about something I invented last week.

One of the dishes we really enjoy at President Restaurant in Chinatown is the fish fillets with corn sauce. I’ve done a chowder version of that dish in the past and I called it talakitok belly and corn chowder. It was good, no doubt, but I discovered that if the flour and butter based sauce is replaced with coconut cream, it becomes even better. More than that, if you use shredded fresh corn instead of canned corn kernels, the sauce becomes even thicker and richer because of the starch. If the yellows and whites make the dish look too boring, add some greens and you not only make the dish more nutritious, it becomes more visually appealing as well.

Serves 4 to 6.

Ingredients for tilapia with shredded corn and coconut cream

500 g. of tilapia fillets¹
1/2 to 3/4 c. of flour
1-1/2 c. of shredded² sweet yellow (uncooked) corn³
half a head of garlic, finely minced
2 white onions, finely sliced
salt
pepper
2 c. of coconut cream
a bunch of green leafy vegetable⁴, cut into 2-inch lengths
vegetable oil for deep-frying

Cut the tilapia fillets into 2-inch cubes. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat the oil in a frying pan.

Dredge the fish in flour then deep fry until crisp and lightly golden. Do this in batches so that the pan does not get overcrowded. Drain the fish on paper towels as they cook then set aside.

Pour off the cooking oil until only about a tablespoonful remains. Reheat and saute the garlic and onion for about 30 seconds. Add the corn, stir, pour in a cup of water, bring to the boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer until the corn is done, 10 to 15 minutes.

Pour in the coconut cream. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the greens and cook for about a minute.

Add the cooked fish and stir lightly to blend.

Serve at once with hot rice.

Notes:

¹You may substitute any firm, white, fleshy fish.

²For visual instructions on how to shred fresh corn off the cob, see the corn muffins a la Kenny Rogers entry.

³Choose a variety of corn that cooks fast. Native white corn is not recommended. I suggest the Japanese sweet corn that is sold in most supermarkets.

⁴I used bok choy but spinach or pechay will work well too.

In the mood for more food?

1. Video: gutting and cleaning fresh fish
2. Waffles for breakfast
3. Oven-grilled breaded chicken
4. Easy gravy
5. Ensaladang Pipino (Cucumber Salad)
6. Baked scallops
7. Shrimps, ham and asparagus fried rice
8. Spaghetti, ham and Alfredo sauce
9. Cheese and tomato sandwich
10. Steamed chicken with ginger-garlic sauce

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