Pinamalhan (homesickness remedy 2)

Another simple breakfast that brought  finger licking goodness to my otherwise drab morning is "Pinamalhan".

Pinamalhan comes from the Ilonggo/Spanish word "mala" which means dry. Pinamalhan is a cooking process where fresh fish is cooked in native vinegar with slices of garlic, ginger, onions and a souring agent of either a tomato, batwan, or iba(kamias). The fish which is normally a choice of Bilong- bilong (moonfish), Gurayan (Indian Anchovy) ,Sapsap (toothpony), or in this case, Salmonete (red mullet)- considered as "poor man's fish" in our locality in the Philippines, is simmered slowly until the vinegar  dries up in the cooking pan, leaving a little bit of the liquid.

This was left over Pinamalhan, fried crisp with olive oil and paired with my own version of tuscan olive "achara" or pickled olives. Fantastic with fried garlic rice!

*snapped from iPhone