Pesa

Pesang Bangus by Mommy Shelette.

In Tagalog, pesa refers to a type of stew with ginger, while bangus is milkfish.

Pesa is usually associated with dalag (mudfish), but of course there are many variations. You can even make a pesa with chicken! That would be called pesang manok.

It’s been said that the word pesa is derived from a Chinese term for something that is plainly boiled. The Filipino pesa must have ginger! And for the broth, use rice water, aka rice washings… that’s the water in which you’ve rinsed uncooked rice.

Complete recipe and more photos to be posted after the website update. Do check back. Thanks!