Espada (Family Trichiuridae) or Bolungonas, Sikwan, 
Balila as it is known in different parts of the country are long flat bony fish that thrive in mid to deep waters. They possess a stunning silver/steel colored skin that if the fish is fresh, glistens like polished metal. I have never to my knowledge eaten espada but I just loved the graphic quality of this photo I took many months ago so I thought I would put a brief post on it for those who have eaten it and know what to do with it. Apparently it is a common pulutan dish, fried up and munched on with beer?, tanduay?, tuba? Please enlighten. And how do you prepare it?
10 Responses
Ang tawag namin sa Ilokano ay bulong ite unas( leaf of sugar cane) masarap na iprito o kaya niluluto nang suka(nilingta)market man ginugutom mo ako, ang masama wala dito yan.
Marami bang tinik? Hiwain lang at iprito? It looks great but how does it taste?
My mom fries it the regular way, with just a little bit of salt. In my opinion, it is best deep fried. Di po sya matinik so madaling kainin>
My mom just fry it crispy, eat with fresh tomato or simply steam it with little oil, salt and some tomato.
does not really taste great. the best fish for frying would still be “palad”, a flat fish with a light yellowish side on one and a black side with eyes. please try to make a feature on this yummy, odd fish.
Thanks everyone for those cooking suggestions. Lee, I do have an entry on Dapa or flatfish which I believe is also palad… its one of my first entries https://www.marketmanila.com/archives/dapa-flatfishfloundersole dated 11 Nov 2004 when i was in the test phase of this blog! Please look it up!
if you go to areas of La Union, you will see a lot of
dried fish vendors and Espada is one of the best!
thanks for the link. just bought a half kilo of palad for 50 pesos last wednesday, 2 good sized pieces.. ones without obvious tails like the ones in your article. did not fillet them though, just scaled and fried them until crisp. i should try to fillet my next purchase… should look for a decent knife to do the job.
Lee, the ones without obvious tails are “sole” which are also flatfish and related to the more famous “dover sole” you would eat in London or Paris restaurants… the ones with tails are more like flounder or fluke… Taste here is nearly the same but the sole in general are viewed to be more delicate fleshed fish.
i know my comment is waaay tooo late already but i just wanted to add… espada as we call it tastes good and we usually clean it and cut it 4-5inches long and sprinkle salt and pepper and roll them in some flour with a little cornstarch and salt and pepper. we fry them up and when it turns golden brown we place them on paper towels to remove excess oil. it goes well with tomatoes, onions and fish sauce. meat is delicious and nde matinik…