Gourmet Tuyo (dried Herring) in Spicy Oil
Try this Gourmet Tuyo Recipe and bring your plain tuyo (dried herring) to a whole new level. Cravings solved because you can keep them longer!
Gourmet Tuyo is a current food trend in the Philippines. It is like giving our beloved dried fish a makeover and it is now more popular than ever! Whoever started this idea is simply a genius. It is funny how ‘tuyo’, which is originally considered, in the Philippines, as food of the poor (because it is cheap) became suddenly so glamorous! Although, through the passing of time, the love of Filipinos for ‘tuyo’ spread to encompass any social standing but this is now again a whole new level! AND I LOVE IT!
A bit of an info for my non-Filipino readers. ‘Tuyo’, meaning ‘dry’, is a kind of salted dried fish, usually herring. It has a pungent smell especially while being cooked, which is normally fried in oil. Here in Germany, they are also called ‘stinky fish’. Outside the Philippines, they could be available in Asian stores but I also saw them sold in Amazon in US.
I brought back a pack of ‘tuyo’ with me from the Philippines just so I could experiment with making gourmet tuyo. The thing is, it is not easy to cook ‘tuyo’ here because of the smell. Armin hates it (smell), of course, although he is always being nice and does not complain (so much). But I always try to keep the frequency to the minimum as I do not want our neighbors complaining:-). This gourmet tuyo is actually a solution. I only have to cook all of it once and store the rest for future consumption! And I found out, based on my personal experience, that the gourmet tuyo gets better as the days past by. My bottle of gourmet tuyo has been sitting in the fridge for 10 days as of writing this post and the flavors are becoming more well blended and enhanced.
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Gourmet Tuyo (dried Herring) in Spicy oil
INGREDIENTS
- 15-20 pieces Tuyo - (dried herring)
- vegetable oil - - for frying
- 1 cup olive oil - or sunflower/corn oil
- 3 cloves garlic - - cut into thin slices
- 1 red hot chilli pepper - (labuyo) - cut into slants or 1 teaspoon chili flakes
- 3 pieces bay leaves
- 5-10 pieces peppercorns - - slightly crushed
- 10-20 pieces pickled olives - - cut into circles (optional)
- 1 teaspoon paprika powder
INSTRUCTIONS
- Cut off the heads and fry the tuyo in hot oil over high heat until the scales start to come off a bit. Place fried tuyo on a plate with a paper towel.
- Remove the scales and soft parts. Can also be flaked and de-boned. Arrange the fried tuyo in a glass jar.
- In a saucepan under medium-high heat, combine the olive/sunflower/corn oil, garlic and red chili pepper, bay leaves, peppercorns and olives. Bring to a boil and add paprika powder. Cook just until the garlic becomes tender and slightly browned.
- Pour the oil mixture into the jar of tuyo, let it cool down before storing in the refrigerator. Store for at least 3 days before serving to allow flavors to blend.
- Serve with steaming hot rice.
RECIPE NOTES
So I still have to fry it? I was hoping I don’t need to so it won’t stink up the place., oh well 🙁
Hi Janet, yes, unfortunately, they still have to be cooked. But the good thing is you can cook a big batch and store for later use.
I would love to try this!
You should Minda, it is really good!
hi…what is the difference or better with vinegar or no vinegar in the recipe of gourmet tuyo?
Thanks
Hi Berna, I know other recipes add some vinegar to their gourmet tuyo. I think it is mainly to lessen the “fishy” (lansa) taste and for added flavor, same reason we dip fried tuyo in vinegar. It really depends on your preference.
Hi Bebs,
What’s the shelf life of this gourmet tuyo? 🙂
Hi Maebe. I am not entirely sure how long it can last but tuyo usually last a long time and so does the other ingredients. I think it is safe to say a month at least.
Planning to use these for business . How much is the ideal SRP? Thanks Bebs
Hi Ruth, I honestly do not have an idea. It all depends on how much the costs of the ingredients, your packaging and the time you will be spending on making them. Then you have to consider your competitors’ price.
Hi there,
How much is 1 serving? Doing a keto diet so bit conscious on my carb intake?
Hi Sheena, a serving is about 3-4 pieces of dried herring.
Hi! planning to make this one this coming Wednesday, is this okay to put this in a microwaveable instead in a glass jar? Thanks
Hi Katrin, I am sure it should be fine. Although I recommend using a glass jar as it does not affect the taste even after storing it for a long time unlike plastic containers sometimes do.
Thank you so much the reply. I guess i’ll be using glass jar. And another question, is paprika necessary or optional? Or any alternatives for paprika?
You can skip the paprika powder if you can’t get one. The flavor is anyway subtle although it gives it a nice red color.
Hi Ms Bebs, I was able to do this and we tasted it yesterday. But I’m not sure if the tuyo was over cooked or undercooked, because it was a little hard. Can you give me tips on how long should I cook the tuyo? Coz I cooked it as long as I can remove the skin easily, and the taste is good even without paprika 🙂
Hi Katrin, it is supposed to be just like how Tuyo is. If you want it a little softer, try simmering the fried Tuyo with the oil for a few minutes. You may want to try our Spanish Style Sardine recipe. It is also as good but uses fresh fish so the fish meat is softer.
I tried this recipe and it’s so good! Will add more garlic and chili in my next batch. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Mabuhay ka!
Thanks, Amelia! And I totally get adding more garlic…I like mine with lots of olives too!
thanks for this recipe!❤️
May I ask how long will it last if not refrigerated?
Hi JC, I think it should be ok for a long time outside the fridge if it has not been opened yet. How long exactly, I cannot say because it does not last that long in our house…????
Hi! thank you for this recipe!… I am going to try this one! 🙂
You’re welcome Danne! Enjoy!
Hi, Bebs! try adding some teaspoons of distilled cane vinegar or white wine vinegar on your oil mixture while cooking it. Adding some thinly sliced pickles and carrots (sliced like flowerettes) will do great wonders. Deboning the tuyo would be a lot better than the bone-in. I discovered that removing the head and the remaining intestines, then fast rinsing in running water before frying will do the trick of removing the unsavory smell on the tuyo..just dry them well before frying…just some thoughts 🙂
Thanks for the tips Daisy!????
Hello, Bebs!
I just printed your recipe. This will be my next project. Thank you for sharing. I’m EXCITED to make this. *^_^*
Love this article! I am eating gourmet tuyo from another brand and felt very much curious on how to make it at home. Thanks for this!
Hey, we are friends in IG! It’s good to see your page finally! – @eatsasmallworldph
Hey IG-friend! Nice of you to drop by and welcome to my page!
Thimbs up for this.
One of my favorite. Thank you
Thanks for sharing..I do love your page!
A big heap of rice with these gourmet tuyo sounds so good right now.
I seriously cannot stop eating if therse are in front of me:)
You know it!
Just checked out your wonderful blog! Nice work and keep it up!