There’s one ingredient that makes this special-occasion Samar dish different from the rest.
This dish is like many escabeches: there’s fish that’s been pan-fried until golden and crispy, and there’s a lightly thick sauce that exudes a balance of sweet, sour and savory flavors. What makes this Samar-style version different is the addition of turmeric, which consequently makes the dish yellow in color and subtly earthy in taste.
Escabeche Around The World
Escabeche is a cooking method that’s known all over the world. Believed to have originated from the Persian dish sikbaj then popularized later on by both Spanish and Portuguese cuisines, it’s widely used as a food preservation method, across Latin America, the Mediterranean and even Southeast Asia.
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- Guam: Their eskabeche is similar to Samar’s in that it uses turmeric. Their iteration has many more vegetables including eggplant and long beans.
- South Africa: They have a curried fish dish that has battered and fried fish pickling in a vinegar with sugar and spices.
- Spain: Their escabeche is quite distinct as it is typically served cold. They turn to smaller fishes like sardines and mackerel then marinate them in sherry vinegar, oil or wine.
- Peru: Like Spain, they also enjoy their escabeche cold, served as an appetizer. And it’s not just reserved for fish, they turn other seafood into escabeche too.