HowtoMakeSmokedFish(Tinapa)

January 11, 2015 Food Business 1 Comment

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Smoked fish or tinapa is a style of fish preservation
wherein the fish are cured by smoking. The smoking of fish
is generally done for the unique taste and flavour imparted
by the smoking process. Because of its unique taste, making
smoked fish or tinapa at home is also an ideal business to start.
You can make different variants of smoked fish.
Materials:
1 kilo tamban or galunggongSalt
Utensils:
Kitchen knifeSmoking traysTin cans

Procedure:

1. Cut the fish along the back just above the backbone to split it
open leaving the belly solid.2. Remove all internal organs and
blood.3. Make another cut under the backbone.4. Wash well and
soak for 30 minutes in a solution of 1/2 cup salt and 4 cups water.
5. Place the fish in a coarsely woven basket and dip in boiling 10%
salt solution (approximately 6 tbsp salt for every 4 cups water until
the eyes turn white)6. Arrange fish in smoking trays and drain for
10 minutes.7. Partially dry fish in cool, shady place for about 3
hours before smoking.8. Smoke fish at 32-38oC for 1-2 hours or
until golden brown in color.9. Cool smoked fish for a while and
brush with vegetable oil.

Read more at BusinessDiary.com.ph:

http://businessdiary.com.ph/600/how-to-make-smoked-fishtinapa/#ixzz3ZDXjUQUt

10
SEP
2007

Marketman Learns How to Make Tinapa

from Scratch!!!
by Marketman

Very early in the life of this blog, I had a very poignant exchange of
emails with a reader based in the Middle East. The jist of those emails
was that the life of an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) was tough, he
had to seek work elsewhere to feed his family, and that he and his
family would survive the often gut-wrenching experience, despite the
challenges. But if there was one thing he wanted a taste of from home,
it was some beloved tinapa (smoked fish). So his request at the time
was for me to teach him how to do that somewhere in the middle of the
desert. I didnt know how to make tinapa then and asking around
provided some vague descriptions of the steps, but the next best thing I

could suggest was for him to head to a delicatessen or food hall at an

English Department Store with branches all over the Middle East, and
ask them for some kippers, a smoked fish that if microwaved and served
with vinegar, could substitute for our own tinapa rather nicely. To this
day, I recall those emails and it is one of the primary reasons why I have
such a soft spot for the millions of Filipinos who almost have no choice
really but to toil wherever they are on the planet, on land and on sea. I
have since received at least two dozen similar emails from all corners of
the globe for a way to replicate the unique smoked taste of tinapa. So
you can understand why I have wanted to track down someone who
would be willing to show me the ropes, making tinapa from scratch, and
last week I finally got my chance

I have been purchasing tinapang galunggong from Manang Nery Manalo

at the FTI AANI Taguig Market for many years. Our crew at home love
the tinapang galunggong and I have a fondness for the tinapang bangus
that she sells. Every other week, we stock up on several kilos of goodies
and she has always given me a very good price. I featured her name in
about the second month of this blog, and that particular post has since
gotten a tremendous amount of hits (several thousand page views) and
brought Manang Nery several customers. Her daughter, a student, was
even able to download the post and their family were thrilled to
see themselves featured on the World Wide Web.

I have often asked Manang Nery if she would be kind enough to show
me the ropes of tinapa making and she has always graciously offered to
do so. But one thing always led to another and somehow we never got
our schedules in sync until last week. Their manufacturing operations
are located in Rosario, Cavite, a small old coastal town roughly 30
kilometers from Manila. We started off at about 6:30 a.m., and got there
just before 8 a.mafter stopping several times to check on directions
and calling Manang Nery for reassurance that we werent lost. On
the way there, we saw the historic home of Emilio Aguinaldo in Kawit,
Cavite (why isnt it Cawit, Cavite or Kawit, Kavite???).

After greeting us roadside and helping us secure a parking space, we

walked to the site of the tinapa production. Housed in the home of
relatives of Manang Nery, when asked what name I should give the
operation, they said to call it Bettys Tinapahan though there
were about 18 people working there and they were all related to each
other, many of them members of the Torres family, in-laws, cousins, etc.
A relatively modest sized lot at say 800 square meters, most of the area
was used to dry fish. The first step in tinapa manufacturing starts with
the fish. In this case, I will describe a start to finish procedure for
galunggong, though they make many kinds of tinapa and daing. I have
never seen this process detailed on the web/net, and frankly I will not
give away too many details, so that Manang Nery doesnt bop me on
the head, though she gave me clearance to observe the process in
detail, take notes, interview the cooks, and ask extensive questions
about the process.

Here I found out my first relatively shocking discovery I would have

figured that they were located near the coast in Cavite because the
galunggong were landed on bancas straight at the factory, but it turns
out we dont have enough consistent supply of locally caught
galunngong anymore, so what many if not most tinapa makers today
use is FLASH FROZEN galunggong imported from Taiwan and purchased
in Manila! I suspect these are the catch of large fishing trawlers in the
South China Sea, but still, Taiwanese fish???

The fish are then defrosted, rinsed and dried in the sun on rattan/reed
mats for roughly an hour or two. Once they are ready (a touch and feel
procedure done by the experts), they are plunged into a large kawa or
kawali (pan) filled with water and about half a sack of sea salt. This
enormous kawa is boiling romantically over wooden embers and the
whole process is both primitive and utterly fascinating. Utterly
fascinating. Cooked salt encrusts the kawa and it is a powerful food
sight.

After some boiling in salt water, the fish are carefully removed and laid
out on racks while they are still hot, taking care not to smush the fish
while they are being arranged. These are then rinsed with fresh water

before they are stacked and readied for the huge smokers The
smokers are made of cement and look like huge ovens with a
compartment below for the wood chips or shavings that are used to
provide the smoke. Once the process gets going, it is like a fluid
assembly line, constant boling of fish, arranging on racks, smoking, etc.
This tinapahan uses hardwood shavings and with a bit of red ash from
the fire under the kawa, they start a smoke alarm 9 fire in the smokers
and shut the lids. They keep checking to make sure the fire hasnt
died out but isnt too strong to burn the fish either and after a period
of time, the fish are ready to be removed.

What emerges rom the smoker is a rack filled with characteristically

burnished golden brown tinapa and the transformation from frozen fish
to market ready tinapa takes maybe 4-6 hours total! Once the fish have
had a chance to cool, they are packed into baskets and sold to
dealers/traders who line up at the factory past lunch and who take them
directly to neighborhood markets to be sold immediately. Oddly, tinapa
doesnt keep for more than a few days unless you freeze or refrigerate
them.

I tasted the freshly smoked tinapa (fish), and it was superb!!! Still moist,
but nicely smokey, and not overly salty I should point out that this
method of making tinapa (if it is similar across the Philippines) is a bit
unusual when you compare it to traditional western hot or cold smoking
methods that do not boil the fish first and instead rely on really long
smoking to effectively cure the fish flesh and permeate it with a smokey
flavor. I had a wonderful morning at Bettys Tinapahan in
Rosario, Cavite and I cannot thank them enough for sharing the way
they make their tinapa. Oh, and to tie this post up, at least 3 of the men
in the tinapahan had spent 2 to 10 years working in the Middle East and
at least one said he was able to make a version of tinapa in Saudi Arabia
so it isnt an impossible dreamyou just need to experiment. Use
the oilier types of fish, boil with lots of salt, smoke the fish and fry it
afterwards Oh, and not only was everyone at the tinapahan so
welcoming, they even provided a nice breakfast and coffee! Many, many
thanks to Manang Nery and her husband, Rogelio who manned the fish
boiling station, Rey who did the smoking and the wonderful ladies and
gentlemen who toiled at everything else, they are in the first photo up
top. A more detailed description of the entire morning is something I am
saving in case I ever write a book