On The Road - Belém (Pt. 10) - RECIPE - Pan-fried Filhote

We'll wrap up our series of "On the Road" posts about the city of Belém and its unique regional cuisine, based on the bounty of the world's largest river system, with this simple recipe for pan-fried filhote, one of the typical fresh-water fishes of the Amazon. The entire culinary culture of Belém, like the very life of the city itself, depends on the riches of the river and the rain forest that fills its basin. In Belém everything can be traced back, at some degree, to the waters that flow more than 4000 miles across the basin and to the plant and animal life that flourish there.

The Amazonian rain forest is the most bio-diverse ecosystem on our planet, and the food resources there, properly managed and controlled, could continue to nourish the bodies and souls of the regions inhabitants for millennia to come. Let us hope that we humans wisely shepherd this most unique of the world's natural resources.

This recipe is a typically regional way to cook filhote. The fish is only available in the region, however, but the recipe adapts wonderfully to all sorts of fresh-water and salt-water varieties of fish. Try it with catfish, with halibut or any other white-fleshed firm fish of your choice.
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RECIPE - Pan-fried Filhote
Serves 4

4 filhote steaks (or filets) about 1/2 lb (250 gr) each
2 limes
1 serrano or japapeno pepper
3 cloves garlic, crushed
salt to taste
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp extravirgin olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
1/4 cup finely chopped green onion, green part only
additional olive oil for frying
lime wedges for garnish
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Prepare the fish: wash the fish in fresh running water and refresh it with the juice of one the two limes. In a ceramic dish combine the juice of the the other lime, the white wine, the 1/2 cup water, the whole chili pepper, the garlic , the olive oil and the chopped herbs. Soak the fish in this liquid for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

Remove the fish from the soaking liquid. Dry thoroughly with paper towels. Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium high heat. When hot, add a small amount of olive oil. When the oil is hot but not smoking add the fish and cook over high heat for a minute or two on each side, until the fish is nicely browned on both sides and just beginning to flake. Do not overcook.

Remove from heat, then serve the fish immediately, accompanied by wedges of fresh lime.

Recipe translated and adapted from Cozinha Regional Brasileira by Abril Editora.

On The Road - Belém (Pt. 9) - A Very Big Puppy - Filhote

Probably the biggest puppy we ever saw was a two-month-old St. Bernard - it had to have been at least 100 lbs (50 lbs) and it was still a long way from being fully grown. At least he was the biggest puppy we'd ever seen until Flavors of Brazil's recent road trip to Belém, situated near the mouth of the Amazon River system. There we saw a puppy that was about 6 feet long (2 meters), probably weighed over 600 lbs (500 kgs) and instead of being furry and fluffy and cute was wet, slimy and ugly as hell. But it was delicious!

You see, the word for puppy in Portuguese is filhote (filho means son). But in Belém the word isn't applied just to young canines, it is also the name of a very large member of the catfish family, one of the largest fresh-water fishes in the world. This creature's scientific name is Brachyplathystoma filamentosum, and it also bears the alternative name piraíba.

filhote en route to market

This fish exists only in the rivers of the Amazon rain forest. It lives in the deepest parts of the river system, which are very deep indeed, and when caught on a line it puts up a tremendous battle. Fishing for filhote is a favorite activity for sports fishermen from all around the world who come to the Amazon to fish.

filhote at the market

But filhote is caught primarily not because of its value as a sports fish, it's caught for its delicate and delicious flesh. Filhote is one of the favorite eating fish of the region, if not the absolute favorite. Filhote has a clean, clear taste with none of the "muddy" flavors that often mar the flavors of other members of the catfish family. The flesh is a bright white in color and when cooked properly it flakes but doesn't fall apart.

Because the taste of filhote is subtle, most Belenenses prefer to eat it quite simply - to let the taste of the fish shine through. The most common ways to serve this fish are pan-fried, grilled or roasted, lightly seasoned, and without rich sauces. We'll provide a recipe in the next post.