Making Paksiw

2 medium-sized milk fish. Slice the 2 head parts (lengthwise, so that one head can be separated into two pieces). Slice the body into two parts diagonally. Clean well, remove all trace of dried blood. Reserve the tails for another dish.

Place in a stainless steel saucepan. Prepare green chili and 1 large ampalaya (bitter wintermelon). Clean and remove the top of the chili. Slice the ampalaya in half length-wise and scrape all the seeds and white membrane, discard. Cut into 1 1/2″ slices.

Add salt, a generous amount of distilled white vinegar and a thumb-sized piece of sliced ginger to the fish. Add water. Ratio of vinegar to water is about 3:1. The liquid should be sour. Add the prepared ampalaya and lay the chili on top.

Cover and cook on medium-high heat. When the mixture is boiling, reduce the heat to medium. The fish is done in less that 10 minutes. Serve hot or cold.