Cardillong Isda is an excellent use for leftover fish! Cooked with juicy tomatoes, onions, and fluffy eggs, it’s a filling and delicious meal perfect with steamed rice.
Cardillong Isda
One habit that has saved me precious time and unnecessary stress over the years is batch cooking. I like to double or triple a recipe and freeze it in individual containers to thaw and reheat for future meals.
I also like to prepare a few key ingredients in bulk to create different dishes throughout the week. For example, I’ll make a huge batch of my tried and tested lumpia shanghai filling once a month, divide the mixture into resealable bags, and store it in the freezer for other dishes. Other than lumpia, I also use the versatile meat filling in sotanghon soups, siomai, tortang talong, and pearl balls, to name a few.
When I fry fish, I cook a few extra pieces, turning them into escabeche, isda sa tausi, or this cardillong isda for the next day’s meal. By simply adding sauteed onions, tomatoes, and beaten eggs to leftover fish, I have a whole new dish to enjoy!
Ingredient notes
- Fish– the recipe uses pompano, but you can also use other meaty fish such as galunggong, dalagang bukid, tilapia, or bangus
- Oil– use a heat-stable oil for frying, such as avocado, grapeseed, or safflower
- Tomatoes– use ripe tomatoes as they’re juicier and sweeter
- Onions and garlic– flavor base of the dish
- Eggs– well beaten
- Water– add more or less depending on how saucy you like
- Salt and pepper– season to taste
Sarciado vs. Cardillo
Both dishes are similar in preparation, wherein fried fish is cooked with onions, garlic, and tomatoes. The difference is, beaten eggs are added to the sauce of cardillo, while sarciado does not include eggs.
Cooking Tips
- The fish is fully cooked from the frying and needs only a few minutes in the sauce to heat up and soak up the flavors. It absorbs a lot of the liquid; feel free to increase the amount of water and adjust the seasonings if you prefer the dish saucy.
- For the best texture, give the beaten eggs a few seconds to set and curdle before stirring.
How to serve and store
- Fish cardillo is delicious as a main dish for lunch or dinner. Serve with steamed rice for a hearty, tasty, and budget-friendly meal.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
- Reheat in a pan over medium heat to 165 F, adding more liquid and adjusting the seasonings if needed. Or microwave at 2 to 3-minute intervals until heated through.
Cardillong Isda
Breathe new life to leftover fried fish! Cardillong Isda cooked with tomatoes, onions, and eggs is hearty, flavorful, and pairs well with steamed rice.
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 30 mins
Ingredients
- 2 Pompano, cleaned and gutted
- salt and pepper to taste
- canola oil
- 1 onion, peeled and sliced thinly
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 3 Roma tomatoes, chopped
- 1 cup water
- 2 eggs, well-beaten
Instructions
- Rinse fish and drain well. With a knife, make two incisions across each side of fish.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- In a wide pan over medium heat, heat about 1 inch deep of oil. Add fish and cook, turning as needed, until lightly browned and cooked through. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels.
- In another pan, heat about 1 tablespoon oil. Add onions and garlic and cook until softened.
- Add tomatoes and cook, mashing with back of spoon, until softened and release juices.
- Add water and bring to a boil.
- Add fish and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes or until heated through.
- In a slow stream, add eggs to pan. Allow to slightly set and then stir into mixture, breaking into pieces.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.
Notes
- The fish is fully cooked from the frying and needs only a few minutes in the sauce to heat up and soak up the flavors. It absorbs a lot of the liquid; feel free to increase the amount of water and adjust the seasonings if you prefer the dish saucy.
- For the best texture, give the beaten eggs a few seconds to set and curdle before stirring.
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
