Pescado Guisado en Escabeche (Escovitched Fish) is one of my favorite dishes in our collection of traditional Dominican recipes. Which is something I am certain Aunt Ilana would not say herself.
You see, in many ways Aunt Ilana and I are very much alike. We both love food, and words, the perfect combination for a couple of food bloggers.
One way in which we could not be more different is on our opinion of fish as a food. While Aunt Ilana detests fish, I could have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner (and have had it, in fact, to my husband’s horror). Gollum would have a hard time catching up with me.
I grew up eating fish. I come from a coastal town, after all.
This is my mother’s favorite fish dish. Imagine my surprise when reading this article, a comparison between Jamaican cuisine and Dominican cuisine, that Jamaicans prepare a dish that is very similar to this. Most importantly, I learned a new word: escovitch, which sounds suspiciously close to “escabeche”, a traditional Dominican sauce.
A quick trip to my big fat dictionary revealed that… the word wasn’t in it. Curioser and curioser.
Digging a bit deeper I discovered that escovitch wasn’t only a sauce, it’s a cooking method, one that involves frying fish or meat, then dousing it “liberally with a pickling sauce made from vinegar, pimento, onions, pepper, (and sometimes carrots).”. Where have I seen this before?
My mom’s kitchen, that’s where. Sweet synchronicity, Batman!
And speaking of my mother’s recipe, the only change I have made to the escovitched fish is adding basil, cause I love basil, and basil belongs in tomato sauce. If you don’t like, or don’t have basil feel free to omit it.
Pescado guisado / en escabeche (escovitched fish) is easy to prepare and has a nice combination of flavors and textures.
Go ahead and add an authentic Dominican touch to your meal.
Buen provecho!
Aunt Clara
- 1 cup of cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon of pepper
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 6 sea bass or red snapper fillets
- 1 cup of oil for frying (peanut, soy or corn)
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 large onion , sliced
- 4 tomatoes , chopped
- 2 bell peppers cut into strips
- 1 cup of tomato sauce
- 1 cup of water
- 1 teaspoon of salt (or more, to taste)
- A bunch of basil , chopped (optional)
- 3 limes cut into wedges
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Mix the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of pepper and 1 tablespoon of salt. Coat the fish with cornstarch and shake off the excess.
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Heat oil over medium heat in a non-stick pan. Fry the fish fillets one by one until they are golden brown.
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Set aside.
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Heat the olive oil over low heat. Add the onions and cook and stir until the onions become translucent. Add the tomatoes and pepper and cook and stir for a minute. Add the tomato sauce and water. Cover and simmer until the tomatoes and pepper are cooked through.
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Season with salt to taste. Add the basil and mix. Carefully place the meat on the sauce, and turn until it is coated with the sauce on all sides.
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Remove from the heat and serve immediately.
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Accompany with white rice or tostones. Garnish with the lime.
For a healthier version (non-fried), skip steps 1 to 5 and add the fish raw to the sauce. Simmer a little longer until the fish is cooked through. Each method produces a different dish, but both are delicious.
I wanted to know how to get the fish that thick like in the picture? I’m thinking pieces of fish filet lay flat not round. Thanks
You need a fat filet, it depends on the size of the fish. 🙂
Aunt clara is there a updated cookbook with all your recipes in it i would really like to buy one please thank u
We’re working on it.
Looks so good!!
Yo entiendo que se dice escabeche.
Si lees el artículo verás que lo explica.
I love cooking and tasting different islands reciepes.