Culinary Escapades: Nilasing na Hipon

We had shrimp lying around the fridge. There was an opened bottle of white wine in the cupboard. Solution: Put them together to make a delicious dinner for my mom and uncle!

Ingredients (for the marinade):

• Half a kilo of fresh shrimp
• 3 tbsp. of white wine (gin, tequila, or vodka will do, but amount and length of marinade time will vary)
• A tbsp. of olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Sliced ginger (little)
• A small red onion, sliced
• A medium tomato, sliced into small pieces
• A chili or two, sliced
• Seasoning (optional)

Other ingredients:

• 2 cloves of garlic, sliced
• A small block of butter (for frying)
• Olive oil
• Red bell pepper (optional)

Process:

• Mix the wine/alcohol with the tablespoon of olive oil in a mixing bowl. Add in all the ingredients for the marinade, except the seasoning.
• Throw in the shrimp. Sprinkle the seasoning on top of the shrimp.
• Mix them all together. Make sure to coat every bad boy in the bowl with the marinade.
• Leave for about an hour. Let the flavors get to know each other a little better.
• Prepare the pan. Let it warm up, but don't allow it to get too hot.
• Chuck in a small block of butter. Let it melt.
• Add in a small amount of olive oil. Eyeball the amount at this point. You have to consider the amount of shrimp that will go into the pan.
• Let the oil and butter warm up.
• Throw in the garlic. Let it brown.
• Drain or strain the marinade from the shrimp concoction. You can leave the solid ingredients in with the shrimp.
• Slowly introduce the shrimp to the pan. Be careful. The oil might react with the water in the shrimp.
• Lightly saute the shrimp until it gets a rich, orange hue, then you'll know it's ready.
• Enjoy!

How easy was that? Here's my very first take on the Pinoy hit, Nilasing na Hipon or Shrimp Cooked in Wine. 

It may not look pretty but trust me, it will taste phenomenal! The shrimp meat will suck in all the sweetness of the wine, combined with its own juices. You can dip it in ketchup if you want that extra sweetness and tang or enjoy it as it is. :)

Again, feel free to adjust the ingredients according to your own preferences. This is just my own formulation. 

Love,

SGT <3

Culinary Escapades: Aglio Olio with GG Flakes

When I'm not in front of the computer, writing or just randomly browsing, I'm either in front of the telly, watching a TV series I recently got hooked into, or I'm eating-slash-cooking-slash-eating some more. This is why my weight loss goals never progress, at least for now. But when I do cook, I try my best to come up with recipes that are not only healthy but are jam-packed with nutrients and of course, flavor as well!

My love for food started way, way back. But my mom always cooked. It wasn't until recently that I became quite conscious with what I eat (check out my previous post, My Sexy Revolution Starts Now). I love cooking for my family because well, they eat what I serve them and they seem to really like it! I'll be on my own pretty soon so it's practical and quite necessary for me to learn these kinds of things.

This goes without saying, but even in my cooking, I try to be as economical as possible. I believe that making do with what you have is pretty handy. I just don't get the splurge-all-the-time attitude, I find it wasteful. So, whenever I cook, I try to improvise and use whatever ingredients we have lying around at home (of course if I need something else, I'm gonna have to run to the grocery, but you get the point.)

Expect to see food stuff here on my blog every now and then. Check out my recipe of Aglio Olio with GG Flakes.

Ingredients:

• About half a cup of Olive Oil
• About 3 to 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• A medium-size chili, finely chopped
• Galunggong flakes (My mom pre-made these, I used the left overs from the galunggong lumpia she made over the weekend)

For the Galunggong Flakes:

• Cook the fish paksiw style (cook it in vinegar, onion, and ginger)
• Corn (hand-pick into smaller portions and bits) the meat of the fish, let the flesh crumble, the bones will separate from the meat easily, according to my Mom.
• Lightly saute it with chopped onions and chopped ginger
• Sprinkle a small amount of Magic Sarap and toss it while sauteing

Process:

• Boil water to cook spaghetti in, add a little oil and salt into the boiling pot of water first before putting in the pasta
• Heat another pan for the sauce, prepare the ingredients
• Pour in the olive oil into the pan. Let it warm up
• Throw in the chopped garlic, let them brown for a while.
• Incorporate the fish flakes and the chili.
• Toss and let them all get to know each other a little better.
• After about 8 minutes, your pasta should be ready (or until it's al dente)
• Strain your pasta.
• Serve the flakes and olive oil mixture on top of the pasta.
• Toss and enjoy!

* You may add salt, depending on your taste preference. I like it a little bland because the fish already has enough flavor, but feel free to sprinkle a little salt on the pasta before you devour it. ;)

This is just my own formulation. Feel free to adjust anything to suit your own taste and preference. :)

Love,

SGT <3