Sweet and Sour Fish Fillet ala Fabulouanne

When there is limited resources in a demanding environment aka our house, when it comes to food, creativity is very essential to satisfy my family. We love our food and we are not easily fooled by presentation because being Filipino, the taste of the food is always the priority.

During Holy week, our family from Ohio decided to pay us a visit here. My Ilocano cousin is married to an American which made it difficult to serve food because Ilocanos love their bagoong. Let's admit that bagoong has a very offensive smell especially to those who are not used to it. And if the ratio of the people who loves bagoong against those who dislike it is 9:1, I guess we all know what it must be like for my cousin's husband. I was quite concerned because I was afraid that he might end up not eating for days. And so I decided to make a separate dish for him that special evening.

I actually didn't prepare for this special dish. I just saw a couple of Frozen Basa Fillet in the freezer, some Japanese bread crumbs and Pineapple chunks. Initially, I planned to just cook a plain Fried Fish Fillet that my girlfriend taught me but I thought it would be better if I make a sauce. Though it is probably cheaper to buy a bottle of sweet and sour sauce, I still decided to make it from scratch. I love the homemade sweet and sour sauce that I made. It has a perfect balance sweetness with a hint of sour taste. The good thing about doing it from scratch is that it will give you a chance to enhance its flavour to suit your taste.

Here is my recipe. Enjoy!

Sweet and Sour Fish Fillet ala Fabulouanne

2 lbs Fish Fillet( I suggest Basa Fillet or Cream Dory)
2 tablespoons garlic(minced)
1 egg(beaten)
2 cups of Japanese Bread Crumbs
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup cooking oil


Slice the fish according to the size you want, add the garlic, salt and pepper and marinade it for 30 minutes. Then add the beaten egg into the marinated fish then coat the fish fillet with bread crumbs. Fry until golden brown.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

1 cup Pineapple juice
1/3 cup vinegar
2 tablespoon soysauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar
 3 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in water
1 teaspoon garlic
1/2 cup sliced onions
1/2 cup red bell pepper
1/2 cup celery
1/2 cup carrots
1/2 cup pineapple chunks

Saute the garlic and onions. The add all the liquid ingredients and brown sugar, adjust the taste before adding the bell pepper, celery,carrots and pineapple chunks. After a minute, pour the cornstarch dissolved in water until thick. Then add the fish fillet. Serve while hot.