Hill’s husband has fond memories of his Filipino mom cooking fresh fish that he, his brother and dad caught. This escabeche has the perfect level of acidity to pair wonderfully with black drum, a white fish with a mild, sweet flavor.

Fish
6 black drum fillets (about 2 pounds total), skin removed
Salt and ground black pepper
1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons olive oil

Escabeche
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 cup water
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons minced ginger, fresh or jarred
1 medium onion, sliced
1 small red bell pepper, sliced
1 small green bell pepper, sliced
1 small yellow bell pepper, sliced
2 medium carrots, julienned
3 cups cooked rice

1. Fish Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Gently pat down fish with paper towels. Season fish with salt and pepper. Place flour in shallow dish.

2. Lightly dredge fish in flour, coating each side, and shake off excess. Place on baking sheet and repeat until all fillets are coated.

3. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Pan-fry fish until golden-brown on each side, 2–3 minutes. Place on baking sheet, then repeat until all fillets are fried.

4. Place fish in oven.

5. Escabeche In a bowl, stir together vinegar, water, brown sugar and soy sauce.

6. Dissolve cornstarch in cold water.

7. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Sauté garlic and ginger until fragrant, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Do not let the garlic and ginger brown.

8. Add onion, bell peppers and carrots and sauté for 2 minutes. Pour vinegar mixture into skillet. Cover and bring to a boil.

9. Remove cover, add cornstarch mixture, and return to a boil, stirring until sauce has thickened. Serve fish over rice, then top with escabeche.

Serves 6.