Pesang Dalag

Pesang Dalag recipe features tasty mudfish, potatoes, and vegetables cooked in a ginger-flavored broth! It's a refreshing and filling soup that's perfect year-round.

After eight long years, I finally went home to the Philippines for a three-week vacation last month. Unfortunately, I didn't have the foresight to have recipes ready and automated to publish while I was away.

In my haste to get to the airport on time, I forgot my camera's charger, and this pesang isda was one of the three photos I could take before my battery went kaput. Ugh, the missed opportunities. I ate so much good food like kapit and ginataang seafood and relyenong bangus and bagis and met so many great people I could have taken pictures of.

Oh well, if nothing else, I am glad I could take a picture of my mother, whom I love dearly, and of this glorious soup. Living abroad, being used to frozen seafood, buying the mudfish alive, flapping wildly from the wet market, and savoring its meat minutes after was a delightful experience. Freshness makes a big difference in food, most especially fish!

What is Pesa

Pesa is a Filipino dish or cooking method wherein fish or chicken, like our pesang manok recipe, is cooked in a ginger-flavored broth. It includes potatoes and vegetables such as cabbage, pechay, and spring onions.

This recipe calls for mudfish (dalag), but you can also use any white-fleshed meaty fish such as maya-maya cod, red snapper, or tilapia. The boiled soup is traditionally served with rice and miso sauce for dipping. It's a light, refreshing yet hearty, comforting dish enjoyed year-round.

Cooking process

1. Prepare fish. Rinse under cold running water, drain well, and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Fry potatoes and fish. Heat oil about 2 inches deep in a wide pan over medium heat. Add potatoes and cook until lightly browned. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Add more oil as needed. Carefully add fish and fry until lightly browned. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels.
3. Saute aromatics. Remove excess oil except for about one tablespoon. Cook onions, garlic, and ginger until softened. Add fish sauce and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 30 seconds.
4. Cook the potatoes and fish. Add water and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes. Lower the heat and simmer until almost tender. Add the fish and simmer until cooked through and the potatoes are tender. This step will give them a delicious color and keep them from falling apart when cooked in the liquid.
5. Add pechay and cabbage and cook until tender. Add green onions and continue to cook just until wilted.
6. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper to taste.

Serving suggestions

Try this pesang isda recipe; it's simple yet nutritious and delicious. Enjoy the boiled soup with steamed rice and miso dipping sauce for a hearty lunch or dinner the whole family will love!

How to make miso dipping sauce

1. Heat one tablespoon of oil in a wide pan over medium heat. Add one chopped onion, three cloves minced garlic, and one chopped tomato, and saute until softened.
2. Season with fish sauce to taste and cook for about 1 minute. Add 1 cup of yellow miso and stir to combine.
3. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water to achieve desired consistency.