How to cook pinaksiwan or paksiw na banak - It's All About Food

How to cook pinaksiwan or paksiw na banak - It's All About Food

Paksiw or pinaksiwan as it is called in Ilonggo is a generic term for cooking in vinegar. When cooking paksiw na isda (fish) the recipe usually calls for ginger and banana chili peppers as additional ingredients to minimize the lansa of the dish (fishy smell). In my version of this traditional Filipino dish, I have also added ground dried oregano to similarly help in controlling the fishy smell, as well as batuan and dried kamias (bilimbi) to introduce 2 other souring agents into the dish so that the sourness doesn't just come from the vinegar. I also like using either coconut-sap vinegar or red cane vinegar when cooking paksiw. The star anise is added primarily for the aroma it imparts.

The dish is intentionally strong flavored so it is best eaten with plain steamed rice. I personally like to spoon the reduced broth on top of the rice to impart that intense salty and sour flavor. If you want the fish to have an even more intense flavor, you can reduce the liquid until it almost dried out. This method of cooking usually uses banana leaves to wrap the fish (usually small fishes inside pouches made of the banana leaf) and it is called pinamalhan in Ilonggo (which directly translates "to dry out").

Check out the full recipe here:
https://allaboutfood.occasionalrambli...

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