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Bangus (milkfish) a la pobre

03.18.2022 (Updated: 01.12.2024) in Lunch / Dinner, Main Courses

Cooked Filipino bistek style, bangus a la pobre is made with boneless bangus (milkfish) fillets, soy and kalamansi sauce, lightly fried onion rings and lots of garlic.

Bangus a la pobre: fried milkfish fillets with sauce and onion rings

A la pobreliterally translates to “of the poor” and everything inbangus a la pobremakes it accessible to families in just about every economic bracket.Yes, all the ingredients are inexpensive and that may be a clue as to the origin of the name of the dish.

Note that boneless bangus are sold in groceries in three forms: whole with the head and tail intact (seasoned or unseasoned), belly fillets (unseasoned) and back fillets (also unseasoned). You can use any of these except the seasoned whole bangus.

Bangus a la pobre: fried milkfish fillets with sauce and onion rings
Bangus (milkfish) a la pobre
Connie Veneracion
Crispy fried milkfish fillets with gelatinous belly fat served with a salty-tart sauce made with a mixture of soy sauce and calamansi juice. Served with lightly fried and subtly sweet onion rings, bangus a la pobre is a textural and flavor delight.
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 15 minutes mins
Total Time 25 minutes mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine Filipino
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 2 bangus belly fillets
  • salt
  • pepper
  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons kalamansi juice if substituting lemon or lime juice, use 3 tablespoons
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • tiny pinch sugar
  • 1 large onion thinly sliced
  • enough cooking oil for deep frying
  • ¼ cup tapioca starch or corn or potato starch

Instructions
 

  • Rinse the bangus belly fillets and pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and set aside.
  • In a small sauce pan, stir together the soy sauce, kalamansi juice, garlic and sugar. Heat until boiling. Turn off the heat. Cover the pan and set the sauce aside.
  • Heat about two tablespoons of cooking oil in a frying pan. Lightly fry the onion rings just until softened. Scoop out and set aside.
  • Pour more cooking oil into the frying pan and heat to smoking point. You need enough oil to deep fry the bangus belly fillets so the depth of the oil should be at least two inches.
  • Dredge the seasoned bangus belly fillets in starch; shake off the excess. Fry in the hot oil (keep the heat on high) until nicely browned and the starch has formed a light and crisp coating. You may need to flip the fillets over depending in how well submerged they are during frying.
  • Assemble the dish. Arrange the fried fish in a platter. Scatter the onion rings on top. Pour the sauce over the fish and onion rings. You may optionally garnish the dish with torn mint leaves before serving. Bangus a la pobre is best paired with rice.
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Connie Veneracion, 2020

Hi, I’m Connie!

Home cook and writer by passion, photographer by necessity, and good food, coffee and wine lover forever. I write recipes, cooking tips and food stories. No AI is used in creating content for this blog.

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