Stuffed Milkfish ( Rellenong Bangus)

Yesterday, my husband went to the supermarket when he finished working and he bought a fish which looks like bangus (milkfish). I told my husband that I will going to prepare a Filipino recipe called Rellenong Bangus, using the fish that he bought. And he agreed.

And here are the ingredients:

1 big bangus (milkfish)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 onion chopped
2 tomatoes, diced
1 egg
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 small carrot, finely chopped
1/4 cup soy sauce
4 tablespoons of cooking oil
ham, finely chopped
raisins
cooked peas
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Scale and remove the intestines of the fish.
2. With a very sharp knife, slowly remove the meat of the fish from the skin through the opening cavity below the head. Remove the spine by snapping off the bone at the base of the tail and head. Use a long spoon to scrape all the meat from the skin.
3. Marinate the head and skin in lemon juice, soy sauce and pepper.
4. Boil in 1/2 cup of water the fish meat with some salt for 5 minutes.
5. Saute the garlic and onions until slightly brown then add the tomatoes and carrots until tender.
6. Add the chopped ham, cooked peas, raisins and the fish meat to the mixture. Cook for an additional 5 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.
7. Add a beaten egg to the saute and mix well.
8. Stuff the mixture inside the bangus skin and head. Sew the cavity if needed.
9. Fry in oil until golden brown.
10. Slice slightly diagonal (1 1/2 inch thick) and serve.

Anyway, bangus or milkfish is the Philippines national fish. It is wide spread throughout the islands of the Philippines but the most tasty ones comes from Dagupan, Pangasinan ( northern part of Luzon, Philippines ).