Cardillong Isda
By: PinayInTexas
Published: Wednesday, February 23, 2011 - 11:04pm

Ingredients




2 pieces medium-sized whole golden pompano (or any fish of your choice like bangus, maya-maya, 2 big tomatoes, chopped
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon ginger, peeled and minced
2 stalks green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons fish sauce (patis)
1 cup water
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 Jalapeño pepper, seeds removed and sliced into rings (optional)

Preparation

1 In a frying pan, heat 1 inch deep oil. Gently slide in fish and fry until both sides are light brown. Remove the fish from the frying pan and place in a plate with paper towel. Set aside. 2 In a sauce pan, heat 2 tbsp olive oil. Saute garlic, ginger and onion until fragrant. Add chopped tomatoes and stir-fry until soft. 3 Pour in water and fish sauce and bring to a boil. Add the fried  fish to  the sauce. Lower heat and cover the pan. Simmer for about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to suit your taste. 4 Pour the beaten eggs. Ensure that it is distributed evenly. Once the eggs curdles or coagulates, you may start stirring the mixture. 5 Add green onions and jalapeño pepper. Simmer for another 2 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit for a while to allow the sauce to further infuse to the fish.  Transfer to a serving plate. 6 Serve with hot rice!

About


Cardillong Isda is an old Filipino dish that is very popular due to its simple preparation and availability of ingredients.  In the Philippines, it is a way to re-cook left-over fried fish. But whether using leftover or not, fish is fried beforehand to prevent from falling apart while cooking in the sauce.  Cardillo is almost similar to Sarciado. The difference between the two is that Cardillo contains srambled eggs mixed to the sauce while Sarciado is cooked without the eggs. In both dishes, fried fish is simmered in a sauce which consists mainly of garlic, onions, ginger & tomatoes. The secret to a good cardillo or sarciadong isda is to use the same oil (where you fried the fish) in sautéing, so that all the other ingredients can absorb the fish flavor.