Tuna Skin Chicharon

One of the appetizers I learned to cook here in Gensan is tuna skin chicharon. Yup, chicharon! And it is equally delicious as the pork chicharon but much much healthier (you won’t need diet pills for this!). I saw packs of these being sold in tuna shops but didn’t realize it’s quite easy to make. Freshly cooked chicharon is way much better than those sold in stores. First, you do need fresh tuna skin! This is quite common in the markets here in Gensan although I bought the tuna skin from the market in Polomolok. This is popular as appetizers or pulutan and when I bought half a kilo (10 pesos only!), I asked the others who bought the skin how to cook it. This is sold in rolls of 500 grams each. The first thing to do is blanch the skin so you can remove the scales easily, marinate then deep fry.

Tuna Skin Chicharon

500 grams tuna skin
salt and pepper for marinating

In a pot, bring water to a boil. Meanwhile, cut the tuna skin into ~6 inch long cuts. Drop the skin in boiling water and let it stay for a minute. Remove from boiling water then skim off scales. Cut the skin into smaller serving pieces. Marinate in salt and pepper for 15 minutes. Deep fry till golden brown.