Boneless bangus belly fillets are sprinkled with salt and pepper, dredged in flour, deep fried until golden, and served with garlicky soy-calamansi sauce and lightly fried onion rings.

Cook’s notes

Bistek is short for Filipino beef steak, a dish of thinly sliced beef braised in a mixture of soy sauce and calamansi juice, and served with onion rings. Just to be clear, the onion rings are not battered and fried until golden and crisp. The onion rings in bistek are simply peeled onions cut into rings and lightly fried.

Why transform a beef dish into a seafood dish?

While bistek was originally the name of a dish, over time, it has become a cooking method more than a singular dish. In practice, almost any meat or seafood can be cooked a la bistek. Even tofu and mushrooms, in fact. So long as the soy sauce and calamansi juice combo is retained, and onion rings are present, a dish can be called bistek.

See: 20-minute soy calamansi chicken

Why bangus belly?

Because I love fish belly. These days, salmon belly is my favorite but, growing up, I was always partial to bangus belly. The belly, the head and the skin are the only parts of bangus that I wanted to eat. I left the rather dry flesh to everyone else.

Tips for buying bangus

Bangus is an extremely bony fish. However, boneless fillets are available in the grocery. For this dish, I recommend two butterflied center cuts with the tail ends removed. That’s where the belly fat is concentrated. You’ll need two large fillets, or a total of about one kilogram (2.2 pounds) to feed four people.

Milkfish (bangus) belly bistek

Course: Main Course

Tag: Fish fillet

Servings: 4 people

Prep: 10

Cook: 10

Total: 22

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Ingredients

2 large milkfish (bangus) fillets, skin on (one kilogram / 2.2 pounds total weight)
salt
pepper

Sauce

⅓ cup light soy sauce
3 tablespoons calamansi juice
1 teaspoon grated garlic (you may always use more)

To complete the dish

cooking oil for deep frying
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 to 3 white or yellow onions peeled and cut into rings about ¼ inch thick
torn mint leaves to garnish (optional)

Instructions

Prep the fish

Rinse the fish and press between stacks of paper towels to remove surface moisture.
Sprinkle salt and pepper on the flesh and belly fat.

Make the sauce

Stir together all the ingredients for the sauce with two tablespoons hot water. Set aside.

Fry the fish

In a large wok or frying pan, heat enough cooking oil to reach a depth of at least three inches.
Dredge both sides of the bangus fillets in flour; shake off any excess.
When the oil is hot (350F), slide the floured fish in making sure that they do not overlap (if your pan is small, cook the fillets one by one).
Cook the fish over high heat until a deep golden crust forms on the surface. Please do not overcook.
Scoop out the fish and rest on a rack.

Cook the onion rings

Pour off the oil from the wok or frying pan leaving only about two tablespoonfuls.
Reheat the oil and fry the onion rings over medium heat until they soften and start going limp.

Assemble the dish

Arrange the bangus belly fillets on a serving plate and spread the onion rings over them.
Pour the sauce over the fish and onion.
Garnish with mint leaves, if using, and serve. Best with rice.