Kinilaw is a common dish in the Visayas Region. It refers to fresh fish or shellfish soaked in vinegar and other souring ingredients, to be eaten raw. It is a Filipino raw-fish salad. It is an excellent appetizer and is usually consumed as "pulutan".
Main Ingredients of kinilaw in some areas in Central Visayas: Cebu, Bohol, Dumaguete; and in Leyte:
• coconut cream
• palm wine vinegar
• lime
• chilies
You can try this recipe also, which is a little bit different from the regular kinilaw: soak the fish in vinegar, season with lime, ginger, chilies, onion, spring onions and garlic.
Preparing kinilaw does not involve cooking on fire. The tuna meat is slightly "cooked" by the acids of vinegar and its citrus ingredients. That is why it is best to soak the fish meat for a few hours before serving.
You can usually see this recipe where fresh seafood is abundant. Fresh fish must be used to make the perfect kinilaw!
Try this recipe from eHow.com
Ingredients:
• 2.5 lbs. choice of raw fish; tuna is most popular
• 1 cup vinegar
• combination of calamansi, lemon and lime (ideal proportion: 3 calamansi, half lemon, half lime - but any combination or even just one kind of citrus fruit will do)
• 1 medium red onion, sliced small
• 2 medium tomatoes, cubed
• 1 medium ginger, crushed
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt (or MSG)
• 4 small chili peppers (optional)
Instructions:
1. Clean and cut fish into small cubes. Rinse the fish in water, drain.
2. Flash rinse the fish quickly in ½ cup vinegar, drain.
3. Add final ½ cup vinegar to the fish. Squeeze the citrus over the mix.
4. Add onion, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and salt (and peppers if you want; some people add cayenne at this point). Mix gently, scooping bottom to top; this prevents the crushing of the fish and tomatoes.
5. Leave in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.
Kinilaw na Tuna, another recipe from panlasangpinoy.com
Ingredients:
• 2 lbs tuna; skinned, deboned, and cubed
• 1 1/2 cup vinegar
• 3 tablespoons ginger, minced
• 1 large red onion, minced
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup lemon or calamansi juice
• 1 to 2 tablespoons red chilies, chopped
Procedure:
1. Place the cubed tuna meat in a large bowl then pour-in 3/4 cups of vinegar.
2. Let stand for 2 minutes then gently squeeze the tuna by placing a spoon on top applying a little pressure.
3. Gently wash the tuna meat with vinegar. Drain all the vinegar once done. This will help reduce the fishy smell.
4. Add the remaining 3/4 cup vinegar, calamansi or lemon juice, ginger, salt, ground black pepper, and red chilies then mix well.
5. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
6. Top with minced red onions and serve (you may also add the red onions with the rest of the ingredients in step 4).
Share and enjoy!
Tips and Warning: Strong vinegar will "cook" the fish almost immediately. Some cooks dilute.
Several variations are already around. You might even have your own version: can be for pulutan, an appetizer or a viand.
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photos: panlasangpinoy.com, myfilipinokitchen.com and pagkaing-filipino.blogspot.com
source/reference: www.ehow.com and panlasangpinoy.com
