Tuyo in Olive Oil (Dried Herring Fillets in Olive Oil)

This is an upgrade for the humble tuyo that I, like most Filipinos love to eat for breakfast. It’s usually part of that silog meal  (sinangag +itlog) garlic fried rice and egg. We didn’t have bottled tuyo in olive oil when I was growing up. Thank you so much for whoever thought of bottling tuyo in olive oil because now Filipinos abroad will not miss it anymore even if they’re away from home and for condo dwellers too who live in the Philippines and were  not allowed to fry tuyo or any “stinky” food in their units.

I remember helping my mom pack those little dried fish – we would wrap them in multiple layers of newspapers and put them in zip lock bags then sprayed with cologne to hide the scent of tuyo and stash them in a luggage in between clothes – to give to relatives in Cali with lots of prayers that it will not get thrown out at the airport by US Custom officers. 😀

For our own consumption at home, I like to make my own bottled tuyo in olive oil. Why make it when I can easily buy bottles of it at supermarkets?

Well…. I’m crazy. LOL.

I am sort of a food artisan. I love baking and cooking from scratch. For me it tastes better when I made it myself and the satisfaction of knowing what’s in my food some of the reasons why I sometimes do it the not-so-easy way.

I have to admit I hate the part of taking bones and scales off of the fish. It is labor-intensive *cry* hahaha

Making this made the house smell like tuyo which is not a pleasant smell for most people especially if you are not hungry.  I had to open all my windows and doors to let the smell dissipate but it lingers though so I had to light up scented candles and use my oil diffusers to totally rid my house of the smell.

This made me regret that I did not have a “dirty kitchen” made when the house was being renovated.

Oh, the sacrifices I make for being maarte (that’s loose Fil translation for being picky, choosy) with food.

But I would still make it again though. My diffusers are very  efficient anyways in getting rid of the smell and this is really worth it.

Why not try it, too? 🙂

Happy Cooking!

Note: Do not throw away the leftover Evoo when you finished eating the tuyo fillets. I like to use it for friend rice or for pasta. It is so full of flavor:)

The recipe is from here. I just used it as a guide and so should you. As you can see in the photos  I added more aromatics and less tuyo.  The second time I made it  I used less EVOO because I still have some left in the glass jar.

I fried and filleted the tuyo and added it to the oil plus enough to cover the tuyo.

Tuyo in Olive Oil (Dried Herring Fillets in Olive Oil)

• 30 pcs Tuyo dried herring
• 1 cup Olive Oil extra virgin
• 3 cloves Garlic lightly crushed
• 2 pcs Cayenne Pepper lightly crushed
• 1 pc Bay Leaf
• Cooking Oil

• Fry the tuyo in olive oil until almost all of the moisture has evaporated, about 6-8 minutes.
• Set aside to cool completely.
• Prepare the tuyo by removing the head first.
• Descale and remove the spines of the fish.
• Once you have the fillets, heat about a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil over low heat with the garlic, bay leaf, and chili.
• Cook until they become fragrant and the garlic is just slightly browned.
• Turn off the heat and transfer the fillets in a sterilized jar and pour the extra-virgin olive oil.
• Consume within one month.
• Serve with garlic fried rice and egg for breakfast, lunch or dinner 🙂

• Tags
• dried herring. hot and spicy oil
• extra-virgin olive oil
• Filipino breakfast
• pinoy food
• silog meal
• tuyo in garlic chilli oil
• tuyo in olive oil