Inununan

Inununan is the paksiw of Visayas.

If you ask me how it is different from paksiw, it may be hard to give a definite answer. Because for me, they have more similarities than differences. I tried researching more about how it is differentiated from the usual paksiw, but there are no clear answers to this. In my opinion, what makes this dish unique is that it is something that the Visayans are proud of.

There are many variations of this dish. So people tend to base what recipe they will follow depending on their preference. If you want to add vegetables, you can include bitter gourd and eggplant as ingredients. But not adding vegetables is also all right. In fact, it is said that the original inununan does not contain veggies. Additionally, they say that this Visayan dish shouldn’t be added with water. Therefore, they marinate the fish with nothing but pure vinegar and spices. But since not everyone can handle such powerful flavor, other versions of the recipe allow the adding of water.

I wanted to prepare something simple for my family. That’s how I stumbled upon this recipe. It’s good to have such recipes in Filipino cuisine. A dish that is cheap, healthy, and easy to make. You may encounter a few complaints from your children at first. But they will be able to eat dishes like inununan more in the future once they get used to them.

Tips How to Cook Inununan

• The choices for the fish to use in the recipe are limitless. Be it tilapia, bangus, galunggong, or tulingan. You can use any fish you like.
• Once the vinegar marinade boils, do not mix it. Let it boil and simmer at a certain time. This will make the fish absorb as much flavor as it can.
• For a more authentic taste of inununan, use a clay pot for cooking if it is available in your home.

Recipe