Saturday, June 24, 2006
Kinsan
By Jenara Regis Newman
We are acquainted with a large variety of fish in the market: lapulapu, pugapo, katambak, bangus, tilapia, tanguige, anduhaw, bawodnon, borboron, bansikol, lagaw, bilong-bilong, bolinao, etc. But do you know kinsan?
If you don’t, its not surprising for this fish is caught in abundance only in Aloguinsan, and the Bureau of Fisheries does not know exactly what it is except to say it’s of the grouper family, a “relative” of lapulapu which they have not met before.
Kinsan, says Aloguinsan mayor Cynthia G. Moreno, is caught in great numbers in the months of April, May and June, when the sea of Aloguinsan is relatively calm, though it is also caught year-round. It is a relatively big fish, with a foot-long kinsan, weighing about three kilos, considered “small”. It grows bigger and can weigh as much as ten kilos.
The fish is a town favorite, not only because it is unique to the place, but also because it is particularly delicious, especially for tinola and on-on, as well as for plain frying. It is terrific for kinilaw which Mayor Moreno says is served on special occasions.
The flesh of kinsan is white, firm and can be served in a variety of ways: steamed, filleted, deboned. At the recent first ever Kinsan festival, the fish was served as breaded kinsan fillet with tartar sauce, fish head with tofu and taosi sauce, fried boneless kinsan with sweet and sour sauce, steamed kinsan fillet with ham and vegetables, and steamed kinsan with soy sauce. All absolutely good.
If you want to have a taste of all this goodness, the dishes are now available at the Manila Foodshoppe, Capitol branch.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (June 24, 2006 issue)
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