Cannot find the fish mentioned in the recipe? Try a substitute.
Filipinos who have called the US, Canada, Australia (or any country outside the Philippines) home should try to include more fish in their diet for health reasons.
Coming from a country where people are considered more fish eaters should not be difficult for Filipinos to continue their eating habit. Visiting a fish market or shop, one will find a great diversity of sea food such as fish, crustaceans and molluscs fresh and reasonably priced.
One may say that the local fish are different from those in the Philippines. That may be true. But surprisingly, some of them are no different from Philippine fish, only they have different names.
It is not unusual to find differences in regional terminologies and preferences. Even here in Australia, over the years there is confusion about the names of seafood in different states. There are efforts to standardize the names of fish and these are set out in Marketing Names for Fish and Sea Food in Australia.
A piece of advice: If you have a recipe which you would like to cook and you cannot find the fish mentioned, try a substitute. Be flexible and make use of what is available.
Note: Substituting main ingredients, not only fish, applies to other recipes. Pork, beef, poultry --- these meats can be subsituted with one another. Do not be restricted by what is stated in the recipe. Be creative. And follow your preferences.
