Pesa (Pesang isda)
Overview
Pesa, or pesang isda, is a gentle Filipino fish soup flavoured with ginger. A whole fish such as tilapia, mudfish or grouper is cut into thick pieces and poached in water, often the cloudy water left from washing rice, with lots of sliced ginger, onion, whole peppercorns and a splash of fish sauce. Potatoes are sometimes added, and greens such as pechay, napa cabbage and spring onion go in at the end so they stay crisp. The broth is clear, light and warming. It is traditionally served with a dipping sauce of miso sautéed with tomato and garlic.
History
Pesa is believed to come from the Chinese community of the Philippines, and its name is linked to the Hokkien words for plain-boiled fish. It is a classic home dish in Luzon, served on rainy days or to people who are recovering from illness, and it is one of the soups found on the tables of Filipino families everywhere, along with tinola and sinigang.
Main ingredients
Fish, ginger, rice wash water, pechay, cabbage, peppercorns. The soup is built on ginger fish broth and is usually served hot. Diet: pescatarian; usually gluten-free.
Explore: Fish and seafood soups · Rice soups · Cabbage soups · More soups from Philippines
Recipe
Method
- 1
Bring the rice wash water to the boil with the ginger, onion and peppercorns.
- 25 min
Simmer for 5 minutes, then add the fish and fish sauce.
- 310 min
Poach gently for 10 minutes without stirring.
- 43 min
Add the cabbage and pechay and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
- 5
Serve hot, with miso and tomato sauce on the side.
- ✓
Serve. About 35 min from start to bowl.
Sources
Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.
