• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
Umami Days

Umami Days

Meaty with a dash of veggies

  • Pick a meal
    • One Bowl Meals
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch / Dinner
      • Appetizers
      • Salads
      • Soups
      • Main Courses
      • Side Dishes
      • Sweets
    • Snacks
    • Drinks
      • Summer drinks
      • Cold weather drinks
      • Cocktail hour
  • Pick your protein
    • Chicken, duck & turkey
    • Meat
    • Seafood
    • Eggs
    • Mushrooms
    • Tofu
    • Vegetables
  • Pick your carb
    • Rice & grains
    • Noodles
    • Bread
  • Newsletter
  • Sidebar
    • Kitchen
    • Dining
    • Edible Garden
    • Food Tales
  • Newsletter sign-up!
  • Recipe index
    • By Meal
      • One Bowl Meals
      • Breakfast
      • Lunch / Dinner
        • Appetizers
        • Salads
        • Soups
        • Main Courses
        • Side Dishes
        • Sweets
      • Snacks
      • Drinks
        • Refreshing summer drinks
        • Cold weather drinks
        • Cocktail hour
    • By Main Protein
      • Chicken, duck & turkey
      • Meat
      • Seafood
      • Eggs
      • Mushrooms
      • Tofu
      • Vegetables
    • By Carb
      • Rice & grains
      • Noodles
      • Bread
  • Sidebar
    • Kitchen
    • Dining
    • Edible Garden
    • Food Tales
  • About
  • Privacy
  • Copyright
  • Contact
Eggs Mushrooms Seafood Breakfast Lunch / Dinner Main Courses

Fish and mushroom torta

Published: 05.03.2022 » Last updated: 05.03.2022

Filipino torta is almost always a ground pork, potatoes and egg mixture. In this recipe, flaked leftover fish are mixed with shiitake, carrot, corn and peas.

Fish and mushroom torta garnished with toasted sesame seeds

Yes, it’s a dish created to breathe new life to cooked fish that would have languished in the fridge. Leftover fish rarely looks appetizing when reheated but add color in the form of vegetables, bind with eggs and combine with umami-rich shiitake and you’ve got yourself a winner.

What kind of fish can be used for making torta? Any. I combined leftover milkfish with leftover swordfish. What vegetables can go with the fish? Any. I always aim for a good combination of colors and textures. Hence, carrot, corn and peas.

And the mushroom… does it have to be shiitake? No. Button mushrooms will be good too. Or shimeji. But I don’t recommend oyster mushrooms or enoki because they are too delicate. They will get overcooked and end up undiscernible once the torta is done.

Sauteeing onion, garlic, shiitake, carrot, corn and peas

To cook fish and mushroom torta, start by sauteeing the vegetables and mushrooms with salt and pepper. You want the mushrooms and carrot pieces to soak up some of the salt and, at the same time, absorb the flavors of the onion and garlic. When the carrot pieces are tender, stir in the corn and peas to heat them through.

Mixing flaked fish with sauteed vegetables and eggs

Dump the sauteed vegetables and mushrooms into a mixing bowl, add the flaked fish and stir to combine. Crack eggs directly over the mixture and give everything a quick mix just to moisten the solid ingredients.

There are two ways to cook fish torta (or any torta, for that matter). One is to flip the half-cooked torta in the pan to brown the top side. A second way is to broil the half-baked torta in the oven so that no flipping is necessary. I cooked my fish and mushroom torta in a frying pan using an egg ring.

Cooking fish, vegetables and egg mixture into an omelette

I heated oil in a small frying pan, positioned the egg ring at the center and poured in half a cup of the fish and vegetable mixture. After two minutes, I removed the ring to allow the hot oil to lick the sides of the torta. Once firm, I just flipped it over to brown the top side.

You don’t have to use an egg ring. I did because I wanted my recycled leftover dish to look as appetizing as possible. I have learned long ago that by combining tantalizing aroma, beautiful flavors and good looks, more leftovers are a remote possibility.

Fish and mushroom torta

Connie Veneracion
Leftover fish, small pieces of vegetables, a few mushrooms and eggs are all you need to cook a delicious dish that can be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch or dinner. You can even pack the torta for a picnic.
Fish and mushroom torta with thinly sliced lettuce on the side
Print Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Total Time 25 mins
Course Breakfast, Main Course
Cuisine Fusion
Servings 3 people

Equipment

  • egg ring

Ingredients
  

  • cooking oil
  • 1 small onion - peeled and chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic - peeled and chopped
  • 1 medium carrot - peeled and chopped
  • 3 to 4 shiitake - chopped
  • salt
  • pepper
  • ¼ cup corn kernels - canned is fine
  • ¼ cup sweet peas - thawed if frozen
  • 1 cup flaked cooked fish
  • 2 large eggs

Instructions
 

  • Heat two tablespoons of cooking oil in a frying pan.
  • Saute the onion, garlic, carrot and shiitake with a half a teaspoon of salt and a quarter teaspoon of pepper.
  • Add the corn and peas. Sprinkle in another teaspoon of salt and quarter teaspoon of pepper. Cook, stirring, until heated through.
  • Transfer the sauteed vegetables and mushrooms into a mixing bowl, add the flaked fish and stir to blend.
  • Crack the eggs into the bowl and stir a few times to moisten the fish, mushrooms and vegetables.
  • In a small frying pan, heat enough cooking oil to reach a depth of at least a quarter inch.
  • Arrange the egg ring at the center of the pan.
  • Fill the egg ring with the fish, mushroom, vegetable and egg mixture.
  • Cook the torta for about two minutes before carefully removing the egg ring. Cook for half a minute to allow the oil the touch the sides of the torta.
  • Using a spatula, carefully flip the torta over and cook the top side for another minute or so.
  • Repeat until all the fish, mushroom, vegetable and egg mixture has been used up.
Print Pin Recipe
Keyword Cooking With Leftovers

More Eggs, Mushrooms, Seafood

Creamy shrimp broccoli spaghetti in white bowl

Creamy shrimp and broccoli spaghetti

Clam soup with ginger and chilies

Clam soup with ginger and chilies

Salted quail eggs and vegetable salad garnished with dill

Salted quail eggs and vegetable salad

Grilled skewered shiitake and bell peppers, with corn on the side

Grilled skewered shiitake and bell peppers

Salmon trimmings with soy honey sauce served with scrambled egg over rice

Salmon trimmings with soy honey ginger sauce

Cheesy Spaghetti with Fresh Mussels

Cheesy spaghetti with fresh mussels

Newsletter department

  • #19 How to stir fry like a pro
    03.30.2023
    It’s one of the most common cooking methods in Asia. Food and travel shows make it look intimidating but, armed with a few tricks, any cook can learn to stir fry restaurant quality food at home.

Sidebar

Connie Veneracion, Chiang Mai, 2020

Hi, I’m Connie!

Welcome to Umami Days, a blog that advocates innovative home cooking for pleasurable everyday dining. No trendy diets, no food fads and definitely no ludicrous recipe names like crustless quiche, noodleless pho or chocolate lasagna.

  • About
  • Recipes
  • Privacy
  • Copyright
  • Contact
Udon and pork with chili peanut sauce garnished with scallions and sesame seeds

Udon and pork with chili peanut sauce

Chicken, tomatoes and thyme in olive oil, with pot of thyme in background

Chicken, tomatoes and thyme in olive oil

Kung Pao tofu

10-minute Kung Pao tofu

Kung pao chicken

Kung pao chicken

Macaroni salad with ham and cheese, carrot, celery, crushed pineapple, pickle relish and mayo

Macaroni salad with ham and cheese

Potatoes and green beans salad

Umami Days is powered by Apple, Canon, coffee & one bowl meals · Copyright © 2023 Connie Veneracion · All Rights Reserved