Escabecheng Maya-Maya (Sweet Sour Red Snapper)

A delightfully tasty sweet and sour fish. This recipe I have here is fried maya-maya or red snapper fish poured with sweet and sour sauce and garnished with vegetables. Cooking this sweet sour fish is easy and ingredients are simple and can be bought readily in supermarkets.

But one ingredient that might not always available is the green or unripe papaya which makes this a unique Filipino escabeche dish. Aside from the usual sliced carrots, bell peppers, onion and ginger, this sweet sour fish is added with grated green papaya which reminds me of atchara, a sweet sour relish made from grated unripe papaya.

Print Recipe

How to Cook Escabecheng Maya-Maya

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time45 minutes mins

Course: Fish Recipe

Cuisine: Filipino

Servings: 2 to 3 servings

Author: Manny

Ingredients

For the fish

• 1 1/2 kilo. whole maya-maya
• salt and pepper to taste
• cooking oil for frying

For the sweet sour sauce

• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 pc onion chopped
• 20 grams ginger sliced or julienne
• 2 small red and green bell pepper julienne
• 10 grams yellow ginger juiced
• 1 cup vinegar
• 5 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 cup grated green papaya
• Salt and pepper to taste
• chopped scallion for garnishing optional

Instructions

How to cook Escabecheng Maya-Maya

• Season fish with salt and pepper. Fry fish in oil and keep warm.
• Saute garlic, onion and ginger. Stir for 2 minutes.
• Add red and green bell pepper, yellow ginger juice, vinegar, sugar and grated green papaya.
• Simmer for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Arrange fish on an oval platter. Pour sauce over it. Garnish with scallion (optional). Serve hot.