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Friday, April 2, 2010

Bacalao

Bacalao is a popular salted cod fish dish present in every Caviteñean house every Lenten season most especially on Good Friday. This is one the many dish we inherited from the Portuguese galleon traders that pre-dates Spanish occupation.


This is our version at home of the popular Spanish dish made of dried fish.


Ingredients:
2 big pieces bacalao (dried salted cod) or, as substitutes, dried salted lapu-lapu or barracuda (about 5 cups or more of shredded fish)
1 cup olive oil
4 large potatoes, cut to small cubes
1 head garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups garbanzos (chick peas), cooked
4 red bell peppers, diced
atchuete oil
laurel leaves
salt and pepper to taste


Procedure:
Soak the bacalao overnight. Drain. Flake fish, discarding bones.
Fry fish flakes in olive oil. Fry the potatoes to golden brown. Set aside. Saute garlic and onions in olive oil. Pour in atchuete oil and one cup water, and bring to a boil. Add the fish, garbanzos, peppers and laurel leaves, stirring. Then put in the fried potatoes. Add more olive oil, if necessary. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with hot rice.

Note: Some Caviteños add chopped cabbage as extenders. Others use tomato sauce for color rather than achuete oil.

Best paired with : Green Mango

Bacalao is also eaten as palaman for hot pandesal.

45 comments:

  1. I beg to disaagree with your opening statement that "Bacalao is a popular salted cod fish dish present in every Caviteñean house every Lenten season most especially on Good Friday."

    Not all people in Cavite eat and serve Bacalao at all any time of the year. Es[ecially using a recipe that required olive oil!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree, My family is "legitimo Caviteno" (not Cavitenean) and I don't remember ever having bacalao in our house during Lent.

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    2. I think this blog refers to cavite city in particular not the entire cavite provice.becuase here in cavite city, it has been a tradition that every household serves bacalao every good friday

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    3. I was the one that posted the reply on April 16 and I am from Cavite City, as were my parents, grandparents, great- and great, great grandparent.

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    4. dude(reply april 16)! baka meron kayong sariling buhay kaya hindi ninyo alam ang bacalao!

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    5. Hindi ako sigurado kung ano ang ibig mong sabihin ng "may sariling buhay" at kung ano ang kinalaman nito sa kung alam ko kung ano ang bacalao o hindi. Ang alam ko, mali na i-generalize na lahat ng Caviteno at naghahanda nito kapag Viernes Santo. At tama lang na tanggapin at respetuhin ito ng mga mambabasa sa halip na husgahan ang kaibahan na ito.

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    6. Maybe not all but most of those who live in Cavite City the Bacalao is very popular dish during lent. That makes it popular. The blogger says popular and in not any way said "everybody" or "everyone" in Cavite City.

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    7. Hi! I live in Cavite City and I can say that Bacalao is a popular dish here in Cavite City during holy week. Ika nga hindi ka taga Cavite City kapag hindi mo alam o hindi ka nakatikim ng bacalao. To my surprise Bacalao is only being in serve here in Cavite City after knowing from my friends oustide Cavite City like Dasma, Gen Trias Cavite and Bacoor Cavite. They are not aware of Bacalao. But anyways it doesn't matter. Every places has it's own specialty and delicacies and I'm proud that we have a delicious dish that was pass on from generation to generation; from my grand mother up to my mother and now to me.

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    8. me either i'm pure caviteno from bacoor and we dont serve that bacalao...

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    9. Wanna try something from Caviteno cuisine,i heard about this fish first from Tin2 Babao,she shared the dish on FB a Japanese recipe though...I'm sooo in love with the Caviteno menudo served during fiestas...for those Caviteno bashing this page online,why not cook this recipe instead,preserve ur rich culture...Olive oil is not at all expensive,u only use it for recipes requiring that oil...matagal nman gamitin...kindly broaden ur horizons...

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    10. Caviteño po ako na taga Cavite City, tama po na kapag lehitimo po kayo na taga Cavite City , malamang sa hindi e kumakain ka ng Bacalao. Kaya po ako napadpad sa blog na ito kasi po magluluto po ako mamaya ng bacalao... dahil miss na miss na namin... sa Rizal na po oasi kami nauwi

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  2. saan ko po mabibili ang achuete oil..gusto ko mag try magluto ng bacalao?..thnks po

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sis pwede mo naman syang gamitan ng basang atsuete o kahit tuyong atsuete sa palengke

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    2. Bili po kyo ng atsuete tpos i fry nyo with regular oil,cover it..pagnagkulay n po,tanggalin ang atsuete...it is also known as annato oil in other cuisines

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  3. I would say it is the tradition of the old folks Caviteños to cook "bacalao" a dish that they serve in celebration during the Lent season. Not all Caviteños are familiar with this tradition. Since "bacalao" is very expensive not all Caviteños can afford to buy this kind of fish. Maybe that is one reason why thay are not serve in every Caveiteño/s household. Another reason is the purpose of following their religious custom. . . . Señor Gallo.

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  4. Sabrosu el bacalao con calienti pa de sal. Si nuay tu chinchao, sagu o gulaman masque frio soda ( pepsi, coca cola) puedi ya. . . . Señor Gallo.

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    Replies
    1. Reading your post reminds me of my older folks. A true chabacanos. Bad thing is i can only understand but cant speak the language fluently because we only use tagalog inside house. About the topic!!! almost all chabacanos knows bacalao. Those who dont!!!! Malas nyo because it is muy sabrosu.

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  5. ....etong lutong ito ang bina balik balikan ko sa cavite..yung mga negative comment ewan ko lang kung kelan kayo pinanganak...pls read carefully..

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  6. bagay dyan enseladang kamatis sibuyas at letugas...

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  7. my mom used to make tanigue for bacalao. its paired with sago and gulaman and chinchao (have to buy it very early in the morning) I agree that not every one in cavite city eat bacalao esp. during Lenten season. seen it also how people alter the original dish to put veggies para daw pamparami...sad to say wala na yung dating lasa ng mga pagkain noon dyan sa caviye city..it's only the name ng mga matatanda ang natira :(...

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    Replies
    1. Chinchao! Gusto ko rin yun, mabilis nga lng maubos sa palengke ng cavite city. Twing mahal na araw eto ang fud nmin pati bacalao. Cguro hindi lahat nagluluto ng bacalao sa atin sa cavite city kc matrabaho itong gawin at mejo mahal.

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  8. As far as I can recall in my 72 years of existence, Bacalao cooked in olive oil has been a traditional fare during Good Friday and special occasions in my family. During lent we also have Baked Tuna (in cream of mushroom, potatoes and onions). On some occasions, pará makatipid, we use local daing na labahita. However, virgin olive oil is a must ingredient.

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  9. It appears there's some confusion here. True, not all Cavitenos are familiar with the bacalao. It is simply because this savory Spanish-Portuguese dish is a favorite of mostly Chabacanos living in Cavity City which used to be a spanish port thus the spanish influence. One may be legitimate caviteno but it does not mean he or she is a chabacano. And true, this is our traditional dish during lent here in the city.

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    Replies
    1. Yes a traditional Caviteñean dish during lent in Cavite City

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    2. Thank you for clarifying that. My grandparents were chabacaos. My grandmothers use make that delicious dish. Now that they gave passed on...i am continuing that tradition. I was born in Manila but both my are true Caviteño's. They spoke chabacano.

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  10. I'm not a native of Cavite City but living there for some years had made my family love this Lenten dish tradition which we look forward to every year. My Mom learned the recipe from a friend. And this is the one thing that I miss now that I live here in Toronto. Landed on this site in search of the recipe. My bacalao fish is soaking in water now. Can't wait to get cooking. Thanks for the recipe.

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  11. We are not from Cavite City but when my Grandmother is still alive she use to cook BAKALAO during Good Friday I miss it just last Sunday we had it as one of ourt menu for our yearly pabasa.

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  12. We always refer to "caviteños that lives outside cavite city as "taga-labas." Kayo yun malalakas ang accent. Yun legit daw yun nasa taas na taas, nde kayo siguro mahilig magluto o kayo yun lagi lang nabili na biling luto at di nagteterno—terno. digrasyaw bo!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. oliver castro solisMay 23, 2018 at 1:12 PM

      Whoa...No hitting below the belt. Taga labas ako pero I grew with bacalao,paella,callos,nilagang baka na may hamon china,and many more .Probably hindi lang nakasanayan ng ibang mga "taga labas" kumain ng mga sinasabi ninyo. I was raised with Bruun butter from Denmark and hamon china that my mother cook for two days.Cool and chillout lang walang bashers,

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  13. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  14. I'm not anywhere from there. But this dish seems good to me. I definitely will like to try it.

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  15. Hi i love bacalao pero ang hirap hanapin sa market san po ba ako pwede bumili ng gantong isda ?

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  16. Bacalao is the best. My mom and lola always cooked bacalao every Holy week. And until now, I still inherit the tradition.

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  17. Taga san rafael 3 noveleta,cavite po kami pero simula sa lolo ko hanggang ngaun alam nmin ang bacalao madami taga cavite nakakaalam nyan ang sarap nya na miss ko tuloy

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  18. Josko pagtalunan pa ang Bacalao
    Iisa lang din naman yan
    At mapupunta lang din sa mga tyan natin 😂

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  19. I'm glad I found this ! I'm from Cavite city and i love cooking traditional Caviteño dishes.

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  20. Para todo legitimo Caviteño Chabacano del ciudad de Cavite, ya cusi yo Bacalao esti añO (2019)y ya haci yo ensalada di pipino. Buenu combinacion esi na Bacalao. Cumi ya,que sabrosu!

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  21. Hi! I read this blog while craving for Bacalao at the moment. It's sad how the COVID-19 crisis is a hindrance for me to go home and celebrate the Holy Week in Cavite City. I will miss the Bacalo and Morcon ��.

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    Replies
    1. Nag crave r8n ako kaya nag hanap online which led me here, be safe there.

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  22. Iba ang purong Caviteño sa purong taga Cavite city...hindi ko namana sa byenan kong masarap mag luto nyan. Olive oil, garbanzos, red bell pepper, repolyo, and fish.

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  23. Craving for this since I moved here in Australia. Both of my parents just migrated in Cavite City ( they were from samar & iligan) but this dish has always been part of our lenten season. My sister said anything dried fish should be okay to substitute if I'm really craving for it, so might do it with a dried bisugo I bought at the Asian shop. Thank you for this recipe!

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  24. Thank you author! This dish is one of our most served food during lent but since my mom died, I am missing it more! This dish is part of the tradition in CAVITE CITY. IF YOU DON'T KNOW CHABACANO, YOU HAVEN'T EXPERIENCE THIS. :D Chabacano and Bacalao only exist in CAVITE CITY.

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  25. I am legitimo Manileña, but has been raised in a tradition of a bacalao dish during the lenten season. Let me explain that those Caviteños who deny having feasted on this dish at lent might not have had the opportunity to do so. Bacalao (codfish) is not native to the Philippines and therefore has to be imported from Spain (the dried salted ones). Also, olives are not native to the Philippines either. To be able to purchase this during the Spanish era, you might have to be an illustrado or a bit wealthy and not all Caviteños back then are moneyed, even at present. The reason why cod was dried and salted is because Spanish colonizers missed eating the fish and the only way to send it over was to pack it in salt to survive a three-month galleon route to the Philippines. It took so much trouble ergo it was only exclusive to the Spaniards and their "amigos", that's why only a few prominent Filipino families can afford it. So, yes I believe those Caviteños who say it never was eaten within their families, but I also believe those who did and still do.

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