One fine Friday when I had my usual stop over at the Asian Supermarket, my foodie heart skipped a beat when I saw frozen-packed dried fish (Tuyo) imported from the Philippines. The Tuyo lover in me grabbed a pack and right there and then changed whatever dinner plans we had and told the Husband, “We are having Tuyo for dinner!”
Now here’s what I do to lessen the fishy smell in our home whenever I cook Tuyo:
At home, I filled our oil burner with new oil and lighted all the scented candles we had at home to counter (or at least lessen) the fishy smell that these yummy tuyo will generate while I cook them. Once all scented candles were lit, I fried them as fast as I could. My trick is to fry them in an almost high heat and cover the pan while frying them. Once I’m done cooking, I clean up the stove and kitchen counters and walls so they won’t smell like fish and spray some air freshener. As soon as the frying pan is cold, I immediately wash them.
A favourite siding to Tuyo are tomatoes and boiled eggs. Some people eat them with salted eggs. Since the Tuyo is already salty on its own, I just boil eggs, slice them up and combine them with tomatoes.
If there are no frozen Tuyo available in Asian supermarkets, I almost always have a bottle of Gourmet Tuyo at home so when the craving for Tuyo hits, we can readily have it in whatever meal of the day. Having a bottled Tuyo is very handy and versatile . Sometimes we enjoy it with Champorado (Chocolate Rice Porridge) for breakfast.
I also make pasta dishes with my bottled Tuyo. It’s so easy. Just saute the Tuyo in oil, garlic and tomatoes, add a bit of seasoning and voila! You have a tasty, healthy meal that only took less than 20 minutes to prepare.
Whenever we vacation in Manila, my parents always make sure we get to eat Tuyo at home. They’d always get us Danggit from Cebu. I love Danggit! It’s one of my favourite kind of Tuyo. I didn’t have a proper photo of the Danggit we ate but below is one where I took a photo of my breakfast at home. Although the Bacon took most of the frame (and in focused too!), the Danggit was equally enjoyed. I remember dipping it in vinegar and it was sooo yum!
When in Manila, there is always an abundance of foodie gifts from friends and we deeply appreciate all of their thoughtfulness. One of the foodie gifts we got were these little dried fish from Bicol. It was perfect with fried rice and salted egg and tomatoes.
There’s something about eating Tuyo that gives me and the Husband so much comfort. It’s a humble dish that brings a certain warmth to our hearts and home while we enjoy eating it together. Maybe because it reminds us of our home in Manila, our childhood, of times spent eating it with family or when we’d have beach outing with friends. Whatever the reason is, when Tuyo is on the table, it’s love.
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