Escabeche is a great technique to preserve and, if you want, to be able to package food for a long period of time. The term “escabeche” comes from an Arabic-Persian word meaning “stewed with vinegar”. With the escabeche we achieve unique characteristics with respect to aromas and flavors and a singular texture in the raw materials. This type of preserve is ideal for an appetizer or tapas, as well as to surprise unexpected visitors with already prepared homemade preparations.
In this case, we will use white fish and show how to make fish marinade. This same step by step that we show can be repeated with any other type of fish, so take note of the procedure and put it into practice with different products.
Ingredients to make Escabeche de pescado:
- 500 grams of white or other fish
- 1 large carrot
- 1 large onion
- 1 red bell pepper
- 150 cubic centimeters of common oil
- 150 cubic centimeters of water
- 300 cubic centimeters of apple cider vinegar
- 1 dessert spoon of paprika
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 pinch of pepper
- 1 pinch of salt
How to make Marinated Fish:
- Clean the fish fillets by removing the bones, scales, head and fins. Once clean, reserve them in the refrigerator until use.
- Julienne the peppers, onions and carrots. Then, sauté these vegetables in a pan with a little hot oil.
- Once the vegetables start to be tender, add the liquids, that is, the oil, the water and the vinegar, and let it all cook for approximately 15-20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste, as well as the bay leaf to give the fish marinade more flavor.
- When the vegetables are ready, add the fish fillets and let them cook for a few minutes, watching at all times because they cook very quickly. Then, remove the bread from the heat and add the paprika. It is important to add it off the heat because it burns easily and leaves a bitter taste.
- Tip: You can add another type of spice to the pickled fish, such as cumin or anise, since it is also excellent.
- Pickles can be eaten hot or cold. The silverside is a fish that inhabits most of the waters of Argentina, both in salty and fresh waters, with firm, very white meat and a characteristic flavor. You can also replace it with sole, haddock, catfish, sea bream, horse mackerel… The recipe for pickled fish without frying is quick and easy and lends itself to multiple variations, since you can add more vegetables if you want, such as aubergine or pepper, and more spices.
How to make pickled fish to keep
The fish marinade can be eaten immediately after making it, however, most likely we want to save it and preserve it for a more or less long period of time. To make pickled fish to preserve you must follow the previous recipe and, in turn, sterilize a glass jar. To do this, you simply have to boil the jar in water. Once the boat is sterilized and the fish is ready, introduce it with the vegetables and all the liquid and let it cool. If you have made a large quantity, you can distribute the fish marinade in several jars, all of them previously sterilized.
Close the jar tightly and place it in a pot with water that covers it halfway. Once it starts to boil, let it cook for 30 minutes. Remove the pot from the pot, dry it and reserve it in a dark and moisture-free place. You already have your pickled fish preserve ready.
Other types of marinated fish to keep
We have learned the basic recipe for pickled fish, however, it is not the only one that exists. Other methods stand out, such as the Murcian fish pickle, which is characterized by making fried fish pickle. To achieve this, you have to pass the fish fillets through flour, fry them in abundant oil and mix them with the marinade.
The Peruvian fish escabeche, meanwhile, is also made by frying the fish instead of cooking it in the vegetable stir-fry itself. Likewise, it is common to include chili peppers, sweet potato and hard-boiled egg.
