Domesticated Dani: Evolution of a Recipe

[schizoauthoress]

When I was growing up, one of my favorite dishes that my grandma would make was Nilaga, a Filipino beef stew. It had onion, garlic, potato, cabbage, and bok choy. She always seasoned it with whole white peppercorns. It was cooked until the meat was almost falling apart into shreds (not quite in the pot, but definitely when you pushed at the meat-cubes in your bowl) and served on top of plenty of rice.

Now that I cook for myself, I usually make Nilaga with fish (almost always white fish). The fun part is the variations.

Sometimes I omit the garlic and onions. Sometimes I use savoy cabbage instead of bok choy. Sometimes I add black beans. Sometimes I don't add salt and pepper (ground black pepper).

Just today I made a really tasty version of my fish soup. Just recording the ingredients here:

1 small-medium golden potato, peeled and cubed
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 sole fillets
6 white button mushrooms, chopped
about four stalks of bok choy, leaves torn and stalks chopped small
salt and pepper
a splash of lemon juice

I covered the potatoes in water and boiled until somewhat soft. Then I added the frozen fillets, pulling them out and chopping them up when they thawed. Added mushrooms. Chopped and tore the bok choy, added them to the pot and let it simmer uncovered for a while. Added salt to taste and a sprinkle of pepper, stirred a bit to mush up the potatoes and thicken the broth. Added a small splash of lemon juice as a final touch.