← Nouns Cooking · Indonesian & Filipino

Ingredients

• 1 kg whole fish such as milkfish (bangus), tilapia or mackerel, cleaned and cut into thick steaks
• 5 cm piece Ginger, sliced and bruised
• 6 cloves Garlic, crushed
• 1 Onion, sliced
• 120 ml cane or white vinegar
• 250 ml Water
• 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
• 1½ tsp Salt
• 1 long Asian aubergine, cut into chunks
• 4 Okra (optional)
• 1 small bitter melon, seeded and sliced (optional)
• 3 long green chillies

Method

1. Scatter the ginger, garlic and onion over the base of a wide pan and lay the fish on top in one layer. Tuck the aubergine, okra and bitter melon (if using) around it.
2. Pour in the vinegar and water and add the peppercorns and salt.
3. Bring to the boil over medium heat without a lid and without stirring for 3–5 min, so the raw vinegar taste cooks off.
4. Cover, lower the heat and simmer for 12–15 min until the fish flakes easily and the vegetables are tender. Add the chillies for the last 2 min.
5. Taste the broth for salt and serve with plenty of rice.

Tips

• Paksiw keeps well and tastes even better the next day, because the vinegar keeps working on the fish.
• Shake the pan instead of stirring so the fish pieces stay whole.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Panlasang Pinoy Panlasang Pinoy Mama's Guide Recipes