Not too long ago, consumers had no choice as to what part of the bangus to buy. Bangus was always sold whole. Thus, we had to settle among us kids who would get the belly, eyes, cheeks, tail, back, or head. To get the parts we love often meant bribing younger brothers with chocolate and other treats.

Parents no longer face this problem. Public market vendors sell bangus all cut up and sold separately. I prefer buying bangus from the frozen section of the supermarket, which offers a wide array of bangus parts processed and packed to keep well in our home freezer.

Several new cuts and semi-processed products could even make anyone an excellent kusinero by lightening the burden and taking care of the tedious steps some recipes call for.

Rellenong bangus 

Boneless stuffed bangus is one of the most popular party dishes that end up being reserved as take-home gifts. Poor hosts could just watch as hours of hard work end up on someone else’s dining table. 

Traditionally, rellenong bangus is made by asking the fish vendor to gut and scale the fish, then separate the skin from the flesh without tearing a hole. All bones are picked and the fish flesh is minced, sauteed with onions, carrots, green peas, garlic, black pepper, and chopped potatoes. The stuffing is spooned back into the skin and the stuffed fish is wrapped in foil before baking until stuffing is all done. The mixture is bound with egg and starch or flour. Some add raisins.

Easy rellenong bangus

Using boneless ground bangus from the supermarket freezer, prepare a big batch of stuffing. Form the stuffing into fat logs and wrap the logs in foil. Using the bangus head and tail, position one head and one tail on each log to suggest a whole fish. Bake or grill until done.

Bangus sisig 

Sisig na bangus is now considered one of the new classic pulutan dishes and most restaurant chefs still go through all the trouble of pre-cooking and deboning the fish. They have not discovered how easy it is to stir-fry ground bangus with garlic, onions, chili peppers, siling labuyo, and bell peppers. 

For classic sisig, skip the mayonnaise and egg toppings. Serve on sizzling cast iron plate.

Bangus tocino 

This is for tocino lovers who are staying away from pork. It takes only a few minutes to mix and cook. Mash ground bangus with coarse black pepper, Mama Sita’s Tocino Mix, and a binder (egg, starch or flour). Test the seasonings by frying a small patty. You may need to add a bit more brown sugar to the mixture to capture the tocino taste.

Lumpiang shanghai

Simply use bangus as a substitute for the ground pork in any lumpiang shangai recipe. Add chopped kinchay and green onions, if you want a healthy version.

Bistek na bangus 

Stir-fry onion rings until wilted. Add ground bangus and continue cooking on high until juices are reduced. Season with calamansi juice and soy sauce. Serve sizzing hot.