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Kinilaw
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Kinilaw is the Filipino answer to ceviche, but it came neither from America nor with the Spaniards: archaeological remains found in Butuan (900-1500 AD) prove fish was already being 'cooked' in vinegar centuries before colonization, and Antonio Pigafetta himself described it in 1521. The key difference from Latin American ceviche is the acid: no lemon here, but coconut vinegar, softer and slightly sweet. Ginger is not decoration: its job is to neutralize fishiness, and calamansi and siling labuyo are added at the end so the flesh is not over-cured.
Ingredients
- 500 g firm white fish (tanigue or tuna), 2 cm cubes
- 200 ml coconut vinegar, divided
- 30 g ginger, fine julienne
- 1 red onion, sliced
- juice of 6 calamansi (or 1 small lime)
- 2 siling labuyo (bird's eye chilies), chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- optional: 100 ml coconut cream (kinilaw na gata variant)
150–250 kcal per typical serving.
per serving of fish with dressing, no rice (estimated from the typical recipe)
More history on Wikipedia: Kinilaw
How it is made
- Rinse the fish cubes in a bowl with half the vinegar and the salt; rest 5 minutes and discard that vinegar (an old practice to clean and firm the flesh).
- Toss the drained fish with the ginger and red onion.
- Cover with the remaining vinegar and refrigerate 10-15 minutes: the acid whitens and 'cooks' the surface.
- Drain off some vinegar and add the calamansi and siling labuyo just before serving, never earlier.
- Serve very cold; for the creamy version, fold in the coconut cream at the end.