Cherry & Dennis Helper Habitat
Filipino Sautéed Sardines with Pechay
菲律賓沙甸魚炒小白菜
Recipe overview
Make a practical Filipino home dish with canned sardines and locally available pechay.
01
Ingredients
Main ingredients
- 2 cans, about 310 g total plain canned sardines in tomato sauce
- 400 g pechay / bok choy
- 1, about 80 g onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1, about 120 g tomato
Stir-fry seasoning
- 15 ml neutral cooking oil
- a little black pepper
- up to 5 ml, only if needed fish sauce
02
Tools
- colander
- knife and board
- can opener
- deep frying pan
- wooden spatula
- plate
03
Steps
Step 1
Wash the pechay
Wash 400 g pechay (bok choy) thoroughly, one head at a time, and drain.
Step 2
Separate stems and leaves
Cut the thick pale stems into short pieces and keep them apart from the green leaves.
Step 3
Chop aromatics
Slice the onion, mince the garlic and dice the tomato.
Step 4
Check the cans
Make sure both plain tomato-sauce sardine cans are intact and in date, then open; keep the tomato sauce.
Step 5
Heat oil
Heat 15 ml neutral oil in a deep frying pan over medium heat.
Step 6
Soften onion
Add sliced onion and stir-fry about 2 minutes until slightly soft.
Step 7
Add garlic
Add minced garlic and cook about 30 seconds until fragrant without browning.
Step 8
Soften tomato
Add diced tomato and cook about 2 minutes until juicy.
Step 9
Add sardines
Add sardines and their tomato packing sauce; fold gently to keep the fish intact.
Step 10
Cook the stems
Add pale pechay stems and gently cook about 2 minutes until starting to soften.
Step 11
Wilt the leaves
Add green leaves and cook gently 1–2 minutes until fully cooked.
Step 12
Taste and serve
Add a little black pepper. Taste first and add up to 5 ml fish sauce only if needed. Heat through, plate and serve hot.
Common mistakes
- Burnt onion or garlic tastes bitter; adding stems and leaves together can overcook the leaves before stems soften.
Tips
Canned tomato sauce already contains salt: taste before deciding on fish sauce. Cook the pechay leaves through. Contains fish.
