Off the Grid RECIPE SECRETS: Making Your Own Authentic Spanish Sardines
July 28, 2014 | By: Stephanie Quesada How It Works
How to make Authentic Spanish Sardines
DIY Delicacies for Emergency Food Rations
by Stephanie Quesada for REACH Web
Cooking shows are a great source of information when it comes to DIY recipes and home-made delicacies.
The best thing too about watching how to cook TV shows is that you learn how to make food on your own, especially if the recipe they feature can keep for weeks or months, and that kind of recipe is a lifesaver.
Luckily, I saw a show where they made some Spanish Sardines, and it’s so easy that even a ten-year-old can cook it. And now, because I’ve tried cooking it and eating it, and I figured that since we have an Off the Grid theme going on, you need to be able to keep extra food rations for emergencies, and one of the best will be Spanish Sardines!
Fine Spanish Sardines might run out if an emergency situation arises, so the best way to have them is to learn how to make them yourself!
The ingredients for this recipe are all super cheap, except for the Olive Oil which can really take a load off your wallet if you buy the extra-virgin kind, or even the regular kind if you’re the type of person who has to stick to a meal budget.
Also there are many people who can’t really stand the smell of Olive Oil when it is being cooked (which is fruity if you take time to sense it and not really offensive like say bagoong), so you can use a variety of other oils such as Grapeseed oil or Coconut oil if you’d like, just include a spoonful of real butter or real margarine for flavor. What you’re going to need are:
A wok A cooking ladle A stove A cover top or lid for your cookware The ingredients for this recipe are:
2-4 Dulong or Tulingan fish (which are the regular fish used for sardines, but you can also use Galunggong, Mackerel or Milkfish)
Two tablespoons of chopped garlic Carrots, sliced ½ tsp Pepper Salt Chopped Onions Chili pepper or Red bell pepper (depending on your preferred level of spiciness) ¾ Olive Oil
What you first need to do is place about two tablespoons of olive oil on your wok, and sautee the garlic until fragrant. Add the onions and sautee for a few minutes until they are semi-transparent, then add the rest of the Olive Oil.
Place the fish and the rest of the ingredients in the wok, and lower your heat to the lowest possible setting.
Cover your wok and wait for at least ten minutes before checking if the fish is soft enough that it almost breaks apart. When that happens, you can serve it, or even bottle it up for later use, or give them as unique, home-made gifts that your friends and relatives can surely appreciate!
Voila! Instant emergency rations, good for 2 meals!
If you decide to bottle them up, you can also print your friends’ or relatives’ name and maybe a small dedication note on a piece of sticker paper before you wrap them up as gifts for that extra bit of thoughtfulness on your present. Who doesn’t appreciate a small amount of heartful personalization?
Just make sure you dry the ink well before you stick them on the jars, and if you have some clear packaging tape, stick a bit of that over your sticker to laminate it over the bottle. That way, even of you spill a bit of oil, you won’t ruin your sticker and you can just wipe it off!
Next time you watch a cooking show, pay close attention and try to write down the recipes so you too can share your knowledge and give out ideas for keeping or preserving food for emergency rations, and maybe improve your skills in cooking as well!
Image: thumbnail image cropped from main. Image copyright by Tamorlan.Usage: Creative commons 3.0 license
