I was raised with a practice that "fresh" meant getting your seafood right after the fishing boat docks or at the wet market in our small town in Sorsogon (south of Philippines) early in the morning. For my maternal grandmother, Lola Onie, early in the morning meant 5:00 AM, just right before sunrise. If not from the fishermen and the early market trips, Lola would take us along the shore to pick up shellfishes or managunhas. All of these turned me into a seafood snob of some sorts. My Lola taught me well on how to spot a good one. When I moved to the city, my trips to the wet market involved endless debates with fish vendors. It took me years to build a relationship with my fish vendor who, in time, got used to having items being returned back if they were not as fresh as she claimed but she loves me as a suki (loyal customer).
Supermarkets might not be a great place to find good quality seafood, at least in the Philippines. I had numerous experiences buying seafood at several of them (with big names, which I will not mention) which I regret doing so to this time. They usually stock up a lot, store the unsold ones until they are "acceptable" to be sold and display them again the next day. The worst ones are usually the ones which were put on sale. This also works for meat sold at supermarkets, never get those which are on sale.
The advantage of getting your fish from a "small" fish vendor (small was used here for the lack of a better term), they do not stock more than they can sell because they operate daily on a revolving fund, which means that when you come back tomorrow they will have new stocks, i.e. the most fresh you can probably get in Metro Manila. Most importantly, you can always haggle to get a better price. A disadvantage of this would be that small fish vendors offer less variety; often they have only the types of fish which people commonly buy like galunggong (big-bellied round scad), tilapia, tahong (mussels) and the likes. The key to overcoming this is have a good relationship with your fish vendor so you can order other varieties should you need to.
(NOTE: Wet markets might not be the cleanest place and the water they use after cleaning your fish might not be good so it is a must to have them cleaned and washed well before cooking them.)
How to prepare it
The advantage of getting your fish from a "small" fish vendor (small was used here for the lack of a better term), they do not stock more than they can sell because they operate daily on a revolving fund, which means that when you come back tomorrow they will have new stocks, i.e. the most fresh you can probably get in Metro Manila. Most importantly, you can always haggle to get a better price. A disadvantage of this would be that small fish vendors offer less variety; often they have only the types of fish which people commonly buy like galunggong (big-bellied round scad), tilapia, tahong (mussels) and the likes. The key to overcoming this is have a good relationship with your fish vendor so you can order other varieties should you need to.
(NOTE: Wet markets might not be the cleanest place and the water they use after cleaning your fish might not be good so it is a must to have them cleaned and washed well before cooking them.)
After washing the frozen fillet, rub it with an ample amount of salt and ground black pepper.
Add minced or crushed garlic and ginger.
You might need to use foil if you are using a rice cooker steamer. Set the foil just around the steamer and place the fillet.
Steam for about 8 - 10 minutes.
Set on a plate and squeeze as much lemon juice as you want.
I added Java mint for additional kick, just tear the leaves up and spread on top.
If you tried this recipe with another type of fish, do tell us how it worked. :) We have been meaning to try as many recipes as we can which doesn't use oil as in frying and sauteing and less soup-y (like cosido).
If you are not THAT confident when checking if the fish or shellfish is fresh, check out these tips from Hank Show in Before You Buy Fish or Shellfish at About.com.
