Shrimp Gumbo

I wanted to do my own version because some of the ingredients I could not find in supermarkets, so here goes!

Ingredients:

    1/2 kg. shrimps (15-20 pcs) sliced in half

    1 large breast of chicken, deboned and chopped

    1 Zuchini or Chayote cut into cubes

    1/2 lb. okra, chopped

    1 Large Green Bell pepper (cut into 1/2 " squares)

    1 Large Red Bell Pepper (cut into 1/2" squares)

    1 large onion (sliced into 1/2" squares)

    2 large tomatoes (chopped into 1/2" squares)

    3 cloves of garlic (chopped fine)

    1 cup of flour

    1 tspn of Cajun spice

    1/2 cup vegetable oil

    4 tblspns Sunshine hot sauce

    1 tspn chicken powder

    Salt & pepper to taste

Wash and pat dry the sliced shrimps and sprinkle 1 teaspoon of Cajun spice and set aside on a plate along with the chicken slices.

In a deep sauce pan, brown the flour in medium-high  heat while constantly steering to prevent from burning. Keep steering until you are satisfied with the brown color, then add 3 cups of water, add the chicken powder and steer until the gravy thickens.

In a soup pan, add some oil and saute the garlic, onions for a couple of minutes and add the remaining vegetables until soft. Then mix the gravy, chicken slices and shrimps and let the gumbo simmer until the shrimps are cooked. Then add the hot sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Serve in a shallow bowl while adding a tablespoon of rice. Enjoy!

Fried Pompano with Black Bean Sauce

 

I have been eating fried pompano regularly, about twice a week and after a while I wanted to do something different with it so here goes!

Ingredients:

    1/2 kg. pompano

    3 tblspns oyster sauce

    3 tblspns sweet soy

    1 tspn black beans

    1 tblspn corn starch

    2 slices of ginger (chopped fine)

    5 cloves of garlic (chopped fine)

    1 onion (chopped fine)

    cilantro and black pepper to taste

Wash and pat dry the pompano and make square slices and apply corn starch. Deep fry for 3 minutes on each side until crispy then set aside on a dish.

To make the sauce, saute the garlic, ginger and chopped onions and black beans  in a pan and add a dash of black pepper. Add a cup and a half of water and while stirring, add the sweet soy and oyster sauce. Fill a 1/3 cup of water with a tablespoon of corn starch and add to the pan. Stir until the sauce thickens then pour onto the pompano. Add som bits of cilantro and serve.

Congee with Chicharon, fried tofu, egg, scallions and fried garlic

 

 

I can say that this is a fusion of Chinese, Mexican, Filipino and American dish...why? American because I used 2 pieces of KFC chicken and a cup of rice to make the congee, Chinese for the 2 pieces of fried tofu, Mexican for the chicharones, and Filipino for the fried garlic and scallions.

 To cook the congee, I shredded the KFC chicken and dropped it in a pot of water (3 cups) along with the bones which I discarded later. I then added a cup of rice and stirred constantly as it boiled until I got the right consistency. Since KFC chicken has already a mixture of spices, I only added fish sauce to add more flavor. I bought a pack of chicaron from the supermarket along with the scallions and garlic. I bought the tofu from a Chinese deli store which I sliced and fried using vegetable oil.

To finish the dish I arranged everything in a bowl and just dropped a boiled egg as shown in the photo. So enjoy!

Salmon with Hollandaise/Tarragon Sauce

 

Ingredients:

    1 lb. Salmon

    1 stick of butter

    1 tblspn. cooking oil

    pinch of salt & pepper

    Hollandaise/Tarragon Sauce

        1 egg

        1 stick of butter

        1 lemon

        pinch of salt

        pinch of tarragon

In a frying pan, add the cooking oil and butter and bring to a medium/high heat. Saute the salmon and upon finishing add a pinch of salt and pepper.

In a deep pan, add around 3 cups of water and set to medium heat. In a small bown, heat a stick of butter and clarify using a spoon. Place a stainless steel bowl on top of the pan with heated water. Add an egg and stir/beat using a wisk. Add the clarified butter a little at a time while constantly stirring. Add half a lemon juice and a pinch of tarragon and stir until the sauce thickens to a consistency that of a gravy. Turn the heat off and pour the sauce on the salmon.

Serve with rice, sauted carrots and zucchini and corn.

        

    

Barbecued Tuna Belly

 

The Philippines is known for its bountiful tuna and is served in most Filipino restaurants. They are usually caught in the waters of General Santos and Davao and are sourced all over the country. Two of the more famous tuna meat parts served in restaurants are the belly and jaw.

Ingredients:

    1 Tuna belly, cut into 3 parts

    Marinade:

        1/2 cup soy sauce

        1/2 cup Sprite

        1 lemongrass stalk, cut into strips and pounded

        3 tablespoons, calamansi or lime juice

        3 cloves of garlic, chopped fine

        2 slices of ginger

        1 teaspoon of black pepper

        1 tablespoon of cooking oil

        1 hot chili, diced

        2 tablespoons of oyster sauce

To make the barbecue sauce, bring the marinade to a boil then add a teaspoon of water mixed with corn starch. 

When cooking/barbecuing the tuna, brush every so often with the marinade as the tuna meat opens in the process of cooking.

Shanghai Rolls

 Ingredients

Using the previous ingredients from the fish relleno, add 1/4 kilo of diced shrimp and 1 more egg and mix well. Using an egg roll wrapper, roll about 3/4 of an inch thick and seal the eggroll by brushing egg on the sides to seal the eggroll. Deep fry the Shanghai rolls for a minute or more until it turns light brown. Set aside to cool and cut diagonally in half.

Sweet & Sour Sauce:

    1 orange, press to extract juice

    2 tablespoons light brown sugar

    1 teaspoon soy sauce

    2 tablespoons of UFC banana ketchup

    1 teaspoon corn starch mix with 1/2 cup water

Mix ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil and until sauce thickens, and serve.

Whitefish (Bangus) Relleno

 Ingredients

    1 whole Bangus fish, deboned

    1/4 ground pork

    2 eggs

    1 carrot, diced

    2 tblspns pickle relish

    1 sml box, raisins

    1 small onion, diced

    1 clove garlic, diced

    1 teaspoon black pepper

    1/4 cup soy sauce

    2 tblspns oyster sauce

    3 calamansi juice or 1/2 lime juice

When buying the fish, ask your fish monger to clean and separate the meat from the skin so you won't have the trouble of doing it yourself (as I did). In a bowl, place the skinned fish and add 3 tablespoons of soy sauce and 3 calamansi juice. Using another bowl, debone the fish meat and add the rest of the remaining ingredients except for the eggs and saute the meat in a pan until the pork is well. Put aside to cool for 30 minutes and add the 2 eggs while mixing.

After 30 minutes, using a spoon, fill the skinned fish with the filling using the opening of the fish head and seal it using a toothpick.

Cook the fish in a wok filled with oil or on a grill but wrap the fish in aluminum foil so it does not stick to the grill. Slice and serve with soy sauce mixed with lime or calamansi juice.