Baked Sinanglay
Baked Sea Bream Filled with Aromatics, Wrapped in Cabbage Leaves and Cooked with Coconut Milk
I love this modern version of Sinanglay. It’s a “leave it in the oven & don’t worry about it” kinda dish! I’m a busy working mama, which means I have a million things running through my head and a list of things to do.
This dish is perfect for those who love seafood or fish OR someone who is looking to try something different.
What is Sinanglay?
Sinanglay is a traditional Filipino dish originating from the Bicol area. The dish is usually made with a combination of fish (usually tilapia), tomatoes, onions, garlic, ginger, chili peppers, bok choy, coconut milk, and salt. The fish is typically stuffed with onions, tomatoes, ginger, and garlic.
It is then wrapped in leafy greens (such as bok choy, mustard greens, or taro leaves) and cooked in a mixture of coconut milk, chili peppers, and salt. Sinanglay is simmered until the liquid is reduced, and it’s then served with steaming hot rice on the side.
The dish can also be made with other types of fish such as red snapper (maya-maya), pompano, catfish (hito), and milkfish (bangus).
I live in London, UK and it’s hard to get some of the traditional ingredients. So I use ingredients that are available to me.
Sinanglay is a fantastic dish that the whole family can enjoy and would impress your friends too! It’s creamy and flavourful.
Swap it & Common Questions
Do I have to add coconut milk? Yes you do need to add the coconut milk for this dish
Fish – I used Sea Bream but you can use Tilapia too which is the traditional fish used for this dish. You can also use Red Snapper (Maya Maya), Milk Fish (Bangus) or Pompano.
Do I have to add Chillies? Usually you do but you can opt this out if you are sensitive to chillies.
Tomato – I used vine tomatoes because that is what I had in my fridge but you can use any tomatoes available to you.I have used cherry tomatoes and baby plum tomatoes in the past.
Leafy Greens – I’m using hispi cabbage but you can use any cabbage that is available to you. I have used Choi sum, Pak Choi, Asian cabbage and Taro leaves in the past. I know it’s tricky to get the right ingredients sometimes, especially when you live outside of the Philippines. You can be creative with this one and use whatever is available to you.
Chillies – I chopped the chillies as I want the sauce to have a little kick but you can keep your chillies whole.
What did you do with the left over chopped aromatics? I cooked it until it reduced and served it with the fish.
Ingredients
Instructions
Preheat the oven on a 180C fan oven.
Using a chopper, add 1 onion, 1 inch ginger, 4 garlic, ½ teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper. Chop them until you get almost a paste. Leave it on the side for later.
Prepare the cabbage, take 8 to 10 leaves (depending on how large they are) and wash them. Boil some water and pour it onto the washed cabbage leaves. Leave it soaking in hot water for 5 minutes. Drain the hot water. Slice the hard middle part of the hispi cabbage. And leave the leaves on this to cool down.
Now prepare the fish, take one fillet and add 2-3 spoonfuls of the chopped aromatics, take another fillet and place it on top. Do the same with the other 2 fillets. Put them on the side.
Wrap the fish by arranging the 4 cabbage leaves on a clean plate, slightly overlapping each other, place the fish on top and wrap it carefully. Do the same to the other fish.
In an oven dish, add roughly chopped onion, crushed garlic, roughly chopped ginger, some chilli if you like, the rest of the salt, fish sauce and rest of the black pepper. Pour half of the coconut milk, mix them well together and place the fish on top. Pour the rest of the coconut milk on top of the fish.
Place aluminum foil on top and bake it for 30 minutes. Take the fish out of the oven, take the foil off and add some sliced chillies on top. Put the fish back in the oven and bake for another 10 minutes.
Take the baked fish out of the oven, serve hot or warm with some rice.
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