In this seafood variant of the Filipino tinola, chunks of bangus (milkfish) belly fillets are simmered with chayote and spinach in fish broth seasoned with ginger and fermented fish sauce.
Connie’s notes
It’s fast and it’s easy, and you can even serve it as a main course. It’s chunky enough, really, and with those generous portions of fish and vegetables, all you need is rice and you have a complete meal.
No, salmon belly should be good too. Or tuna belly. Or the belly of just about any fish, to be honest. You throw away fish belly in your country? You may substitute fatless fillet, but… well, I wouldn’t but, if you must, then go ahead. Whatever your choice of fish, prep the fillets properly.
This is the only brand of ready-to-use broth that we use at home. This is NOT a sponsored post, we just love the product, and I’m more than happy to share my discovery. If you find Con Mimo in your area, know that the chicken broth is even better than the fish broth.
Green papaya is traditional for cooking tinola. But this is not a traditional dish anyway so two medium-sized chayotes were substituted for a whole green papaya.
As rich as your fish broth or stock may be, you still need to make a spice base to give the soup its distinctive tinola flavor. Saute sliced shallot, whole garlic cloves and a hefty amount of sliced ginger until softened and aromatic to begin making the soup.
Does it have to be milkfish belly?
No, salmon belly should be good too. Or tuna belly. Or the belly of just about any fish, to be honest. You throw away fish belly in your country? You may substitute fatless fillet, but… well, I wouldn’t but, if you must, then go ahead. Whatever your choice of fish, prep the fillets properly.
Fish broth / stock
But fillets don’t make good broth, do they? No, they don’t. So you had better have fish stock or broth, homemade or store bought, because plain water won’t give you the rish and deep flavor that makes this soup so good. Now, I understand that in some countries, fish is sold as fillets and the customer never gets to see fish head and bones. How do you make fish stock then?
This is the only brand of ready-to-use broth that we use at home. This is NOT a sponsored post, we just love the product, and I’m more than happy to share my discovery. If you find Con Mimo in your area, know that the chicken broth is even better than the fish broth.
Chayote
Green papaya is traditional for cooking tinola. But this is not a traditional dish anyway so two medium-sized chayotes were substituted for a whole green papaya.
As rich as your fish broth or stock may be, you still need to make a spice base to give the soup its distinctive tinola flavor. Saute sliced shallot, whole garlic cloves and a hefty amount of sliced ginger until softened and aromatic to begin making the soup.Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1 shallot peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 two-inch knob ginger sliced
- 2 to 3 cloves garlic smashed and peeled
- 4 to 6 cups fish broth / stock
- 2 chayote peeled, cored and cut into wedges
- fish sauce
- 2 milkfish bangus belly fillets (about 500 grams / 1.1 pounds), cut into two-to-three-inch pieces
- 3 to 4 cups spinach
Instructions
- Heat the cooking oil in a pot.
- Saute the shallot, ginger and garlic until softened and aromatic.
- Pour in the fish broth / stock.
- Add the chayote and bring to the boil. Lower the heat, cover the pot and simmer for about ten minutes. Taste the broth and add as fish fish sauce as needed to give it good flavor.
- Stir in the fish belly fillets.
- Drop in the spinach and press down gently into the broth.
- Cover the pot and simmer for five minutes.
- Turn off the heat and leave the soup to cook in the residual heat for another five minutes.
- Taste the broth, add more fish sauce, if needed, and serve immediately.
