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Fish, South and Southeast Asian

Filipino fish escabeche with rice

Filipino fish escabeche is fried fish topped with a sweet and sour sauce full of carrots and bell peppers, served with jasmine rice. It serves 4, takes 40 minutes, is rated easy, and costs about €3.90 per person. The key is balancing the sauce so it tastes tangy first and sweet last, while the fish stays crisp from the frying.

Tonight, fried fish topped with a sweet and sour sauce and tender vegetables, Filipino escabeche, with fluffy white rice.

Filipino fish escabeche with rice
Total time
40 min
Difficulty
Easy
Cost per person
€3.90
Calories per person
420 kcalcalculated by Kiloach, your weight coach
Season
Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall
The kids
They generally like it

Fried cod fillet keeps a tender bite under a thin floured crust, and that contrast is exactly what makes this dish work once the sweet and sour sauce goes on top. The carrot sticks and bell pepper strips stay crunchy, ginger and garlic add fragrance without taking over, and cane vinegar gives the sauce a tangy edge that wakes up the fish instead of hiding it.

This is a dish that works just as well on a weeknight, since it only takes 40 minutes and simple ingredients, as it does on a Sunday when you have more people around the table. Kids usually love the sweet sauce and the plain rice that goes with it, and Mon Chou suggests this recipe when you want dinner to feel different without making your evening harder.

The ingredients

4 people

Fish counter

  • Cod or tilapia fillets 700 g

Pantry

  • Jasmine riceoften in the pantry 300 g
  • Cane or rice vinegar 8 cl
  • Brown sugaroften in the pantry 3 tbsp
  • Soy sauceoften in the pantry 2 tbsp
  • Cornstarchoften in the pantry 1 tbsp
  • Flouroften in the pantry 3 tbsp
  • Neutral oiloften in the pantry 10 cl
  • Saltoften in the pantry 1 pinch
  • Pepperoften in the pantry 1 pinch

Fruits and vegetables

  • Red bell pepper 1
  • Carrot 1
  • Onion 1
  • Fresh ginger 20 g
  • Garlic 3 cloves

Allergens Fish, Soy

The step by step recipe

  1. Season the fillets with salt and pepper, coat them in flour, then shake off the excess.

    Pat the fillets dry with paper towel before flouring them, the crust will be much thinner.

  2. Cook the jasmine rice in twice its volume of salted water, covered. 12 min

    Turn off the heat and leave the rice covered for 5 more minutes, it finishes plumping up in the steam.

  3. Fry the fillets in hot oil for 3 minutes on each side, then drain them on paper towel. 8 min

    The oil is ready when a small cube of bread sizzles in it right away.

  4. In another pan, sauté the onion, garlic, ginger, carrot sticks, and bell pepper strips in a little oil. 5 min

    Keep the vegetables a bit crunchy, they should contrast with the tender fish.

  5. Add the vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, and half a glass of water, thicken with the dissolved cornstarch, let it thicken for a minute, then pour over the fish. 2 min

    Taste the sauce before pouring it, it should hit tangy first then finish sweet, adjust with sugar or vinegar.

Our tips to get it right

  • Fry the fish last and serve right after pouring on the hot sauce, the skin loses its crispness if it sits in the sauce too long.
  • Use a wide pan for frying so the fillets don't overlap, otherwise the flour coating turns soggy instead of golden.
  • Cut the vegetables into thin, even sticks and strips before you start cooking, the sauce thickens fast once the cornstarch goes in and you won't have time to chop afterward.

The variations

  • Swap the cod for tilapia or hake, both firm white fish that hold up well to frying.
  • For a vegetarian version, replace the fish with firm tofu slices, coated and fried the same way, the sweet and sour sauce works just as well on it.
  • For kids or a quicker version, cut the fish into small pieces before coating and frying, they cook faster and are easy to eat with a fork.

What to serve it with

  • Steamed jasmine rice
  • Sliced cucumber on the side
  • Unsweetened iced lemon tea

Storage

Keep the fish and sauce separate from the rice in sealed containers in the fridge, for up to 2 days. The fried coating loses its crunch when frozen, so it's best not to freeze this dish. Reheat the sauce gently in a pan and warm the fish a few minutes in the oven to bring back some crispness.

Questions about this dish

Can you make the sauce ahead of time?

Yes, you can make the sweet and sour sauce a few hours ahead and gently reheat it before pouring it over freshly fried fish. Just don't let it get too thick as it cools, add a splash of water if needed.

What fish works if I don't have cod?

Tilapia and hake both work well since they're firm white fish that won't fall apart while frying. Avoid thin or oily fish like mackerel, which doesn't hold up as well in the flour coating.

How do you keep the fish crispy longer?

Always drain the fried fillets on paper towels and only add the sauce right before serving. The longer the sauce sits on the fish, the softer the crust gets.

Can rice vinegar replace cane vinegar?

Yes, rice vinegar is a good substitute and it's actually one of the options listed in the recipe. It gives a slightly milder tang than cane vinegar, but the result stays close.

How long does it take to make a Filipino fish escabeche with rice?

Count 40 min in total, prep and cooking included. The recipe is rated “easy”.

How many calories are in a Filipino fish escabeche with rice?

About 420 kcal per serving, for a recipe meant for 4 people. Calories are calculated by Kiloach, your weight coach, the app that partners with Mon Chou.

How much does a Filipino fish escabeche with rice cost?

About €3.90 per serving, or €15.60 for 4 people, based on average supermarket prices.

What allergens does this recipe contain?

This recipe contains fish, soy. Always check the labels of the products you buy.

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