Ginataang Tilapia

I'm not usually a fan of coconut milk but when I saw the recipe for this super-easy fish cooked in coconut cream, I just had to try it. The recipe I read about actually had spinach but since I had none at the house at the time, I don't have it included here. This was so easy to make and it was done in such little time, that it made me not only a fan of coconut milk, but confirmed that I'm a fan of super-easy recipes.

Needed:
2 medium-sized fresh-caught whole tilapia, cleaned
1 medium finely chopped onion
3 T finely chopped garlic
1 inch peeled ginger, sliced thinly
1/2 finely chopped japaleno pepper
2 small pieces whole jalapeno peppers
4 T patis (Filipino fish sauce)
1/2 T cooking oil
1 can coconut cream (milk)

1. In a semi-shallow pan over medium heat, saute garlic, onion, pepper, and ginger until onion becomes transluscent. Make sure that the pan you will cook this in can accomodate both tilapia fish without going over the pan. It also should have a cover to steam-cook the fish.

2. Add patis, then add the coconut milk then lay the whole peppers on the milk. Let simmer for about 5 minutes until the coconut milk starts to cook and simmer continously.

3. Lay both tilapia in the pan over the sauce, cover the pan, and lower the heat. Cook for about 15 minutes or until the fish is done. The fish will essentially be steam-cooked in the covered pan in the coconut milk sauce. The fish will render some of its juices that will dilute the coconut milk. Taste the sauce and season to your liking. For added heat, slice open the cooked jalapeno peppers.

4. Enjoy over hot rice.