cravings

Oftentimes, food cravings can be a great source of inspiration for a new dish. 

Today, I had an intense craving for daing na bangus (marinated milkfish) with tomatoes on the side.  I knew that I had milkfish in the freezer.  I patiently waited for it to thaw then prepared it the traditional way: marinating it with vinegar, fish sauce, garlic and pepper, then hurriedly fried it.  

I was ready to enjoy the freshly fried fish with a heaping bowl of fried rice when I realized that I didn't have tomatoes.  "How could I not have tomatoes?" I quizzed myself.  My disappointment caused me, albeit temporary, to suffer severe mental anguish, hahaha.  I stood there staring at my fridge, trying to find my tomatoes (I was in denial, haha!).  A bottle of sun-dried tomatoes glistened on the side of the fridge as if saying "get me" instead.  It was like ideas flew out of the bottle...  a gift of improvisation I guess??? ... I decided to make sun-dried tomato sauce instead.

The dish was a winner. It totally made me forget about my initial craving for fresh red tomatoes.  Indeed, I had quite a delightful meal.

Daing na Bangus with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Milkfish (deboned, butterfly cut)
Marinade
1/4 c Vinegar
1 tbsp Fish Sauce
Pepper
2 cloves Garlic (minced)

Mix vinegar and fish sauce together with garllic and pepper.  Marinate the milkfish.  Drain and fry it on a large skillet for about 5 minutes or until golden brown.

Sun Dried Tomato Sauce

2 tbsp sun dried tomatoes
1 tbsp green olives
2 gloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp monterey seasoning  (or you could use seafood seasoning)

Procedure:
On another skillet, add olive oil.  Saute the garlic.  Add sun dried tomatoes and green olives.  Season it with Monterey seasoning.  Pour it over the fried bangus.  Enjoy!