Sinigang Na Hipon (Shrimp Stew)

One of my favorite sea foods is Shrimp, making it Sinigang (stew) would mean a very diet-less-conscious weekend. 

Sinigang na Hipon

As an OFW, the absence of some ingredients in the country we are in, would always make us find the alternatives. Traditional Sinigang is cooked with boiled and mashed real tamarind fruit that would make Sinigang truly sour. But since Tamarind fresh fruit is not available anywhere here, thanks to Knorr Sinigang Mix for helping me out on this. 

Ingredients: 

- 1/4 kilo Fresh Shrimp

- 2pcs small Aravi (Gabi), chop into smaller sizes

- About 10pcs String Beans, cut into smaller sizes

- 2-3pcs chilli, cut into halves

- 1 medium sized onion, chopped

- 1 medium sized tomato, chopped

- 2 cups rice water

- 1 cup water

- 1 tsp salt 

- Knorr Sinigang Mix

For tastier Sinigang, when you cook your rice, set aside the water you used for washing it. This will be used as the soup of the Sinigang that you will cook.  

Procedure: 

- Put tomato and onion in a bowl, add salt and using your hand, extract the juice

- In a cooking pot, put the small Aravi, extracted tomato and onion (with the juice), and 1 cup of water and put on a medium heat

- Continue cooking until Aravi becomes softer that can be mashed

- Get at least some 1-2 cuts of Aravi from the cooking pot, put in a bowl, mash, and set aside 

- Add Shrimp, rice water, and string beans; let boil until Shrimp and string beans are cooked

- Combine the mashed Aravi back to the cooking pot to make the water becomes thick

- Add Knorr Sinigang Mix and Chilli, let boil for 2-3minutes

- Serve and enjoy! 

Paksiw Na Bangus with Bitter Gourd

Paksiw - is a Filipino term which means to cook and simmer in vinegar (wikipedia). Paksiw na Bangus (Milkfish) is a classic menu of typical Filipino family. There are other kinds of fish that can be used for paksiw. We can also add vegetables like eggplant, bitter gourd, or okra, and put some spice by adding green chili on it. 

This version is classic paksiw with ampalaya (bitter gourd).  

Paksiw Na Bangus with Ampalaya

 Ingredients:

- 1 whole Bangus, cut into smaller sizes

- 1 medium sized Bitter Gourd, cut into small size

- 1 Onion (chopped)

- 4 cloves of Garlic (pound)

- 1 cup of Vinegar

- 1/2 cup of Water

- salt and pepper to taste

- 1 medium sized Bitter Gourd (cut into smaller sizes)

Procedure:

- Layer onion and garlic at the bottom part of a cooking pan

- Put the fish over the layered onion and garlic

- Scatter bitter gourd around and beside the fish

- Add vinegar

- Add salt and pepper

- Heat on a low fire until fish turns semi-cook

- Add in water

- Let it boil for few minutes or until fish turns fully-cooked

- Remove from heat and serve

Seafoods Pad Cha

I once tried eating in a Thailand restaurant with friends and I found some Thai foods very delicious. The combination of sweet, salty, and spicy tastes of the foods that we ordered made my tongue crave for the same foods, or just similar to those.

Exploring the net provided me with Seafoods Pad Cha recipe. Pad Cha is a Thailand recipe which also means stir fried recipe with chilies and herbs. I found a lot of variants for this recipe but let me give you the most classic recipe in terms of ingredients. Since some terminologies are not familiar to me like krachai and shallots, I even searched for pictures using Google images just to give me the idea of how these look like and what it really is.

I hope friends from Thailand will accept this although some ingredients which may be significant with Pad Cha are not included here. Constraints include the unavailability of the other ingredients in the nearby grocery stores. 

My version of Seafoods Pad Cha

I also saw variants with very little (or almost no) sauce. But mine has more. I’d better reduce it next time I’ll try.This may not be as presentable as Thailand's original Pad Cha, but the foods that I tasted in the Thai restaurant is almost the same as the taste of this one.

Ingredients:

- 500gms mixed seafood

- 1 tbsp garlic, chopped

- 1 medium sized onion

- 1 medium sized ginger, cut into strips

- 1 tbsp fish sauce

- 1 tbsp oyster sauce

- 1 tbsp soy sauce

- 1 tbsp sugar

- ½ tsp chili powder

- 1 cup water (or at least ½ cup)

- cooking oil

Procedure:

- In a pan, fry mixed seafoods for 5minutes

- remove from heat, set aside

- on a separate pan, heat oil

- sauté garlic, & onions

- add ginger, and fry for some time

- add mixed seafoods, stir fry for about 3 minutes

- add water and let boil for some minutes

- add chili power, fish sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sugar

- mix well and let boil for some minutes

- remove from heat and serve

White Fish in Catsup Sauce

If you’ve got frozen white fish and don’t know what to do, try this simple version of fish in tomato and catsup sauce.

my version of fish in catsup sauce :)

Ingredients:
- 4 pcs medium sliced white fish
- 1 medium sized tomato, chopped
- 1 medium sized onion, chopped
- 2 inch long ginger, julienned
- Garlic, minced
- ½ cup tomato catsup
- ½ cup water

Procedure:
- On a small bowl, combine catsup and water, mix well
- On a pan, add oil and sauté garlic and onion
- add ginger and cook for 1 minute
- add tomato and stir cook for 3minutes
- add fish and stir cook for 10 minutes on low fire
- add fish sauce to taste
- add the catsup and water mixture, and cook for 3 minutes
- serve and enjoy!

Best with white rice as well! :)

Spicy Stir Fry Shrimp

Among my favorites, Shrimp and Crabs are of the same level – top! And I enjoy eating them whatever way they are cooked. May it be Hilabos (boiled in a little amount of water), Grilled, Sinigang (stew), Ginataan (cooked in coconut milk), Saucy, Buttered, or simply as an ingredient or topping to other menu, I see to it to enjoy my every bite :)

Whenever I crave for shrimp, I normally cook it Hilabos or Sinigang. But this time, I wanted to try something saucy and spicy.

Spicy Stir Fry Shrimp

Ingredients:
- 4-5 pcs medium sized shrimp
- Garlic, Ginger
- Chili powder, salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp catsup
- 1 tbsp sugar
Procedure:
- Combine soy sauce, catsup, and sugar
- Mix until fully blended, set aside
- Heat oil in a pan
- Sauté garlic and ginger until color turns light brown
- Put in the Shrimp, stir fry for 4-5mins
- Pour in the soy sauce, catsup, and sugar mixture
- Add chili powder, salt, and pepper and stir fry for 2mins
- Remove from heat and enjoy

Best with hot rice!

Pinaputok na Tilapya

Pinaputok is a Filipino term which means blast or pop. The reason why this menu is called as such is that since it is wrapped with an aluminum foil together with all the other ingredients, you will hear popping sounds while frying until it is cooked. The need to use a foil is that the creamy combination of the vegetables and oyster sauce will be prevented from mixing with more cooking oil.

Ingredients:
- Medium to large size tilapia
- Lettuce
- Ginger
- Tomato
- Onion
- 5-6 tbsp Oyster sauce
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Chili powder (optional)

Procedure:
- cut an aluminum foil good enough to cover the size of the fish
- place the lettuce, make it as the base
- place the ginger, tomato, and onion on top of the lettuce
- add salt, pepper, and chili powder to the fish and put on top of the ingredients
- pour in the oyster sauce
- using the sides of the aluminum foil, wrap the fish enough to cover it
- heat cooking oil in a pan
- deep fry for 5-8mins
- serve and enjoy!

Best with hot rice and Mango juice :)

Credits: Kuya Willy for his recipe

Sizzling Mixed Seafoods

Welcome to my very first food blog here in Lutuin at Kainin. I will be giving you the recipe of my own version of Sizzling Seafoods.

One of my relatives used to cook sizzling seafoods for us and his version is really very tempting and delicious as well. With my interest in how he cooks it, while being here in Oman with limited seafoods, I tried applying his recipe with what I can buy from the supermarket – frozen mixed seafoods :)

also good as appetizer

Ingredients:- 1 pack of mixed seafoods
- 6tbsp of catsup
- 4tbsp of chili or hot sauce
- 1 egg
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Garlic
- Cooking oil

Procedure:- in a pan, heat cooking oil
- add garlic and cook until color turns light brown
- add the mixed seafoods and stir fry for 5 minutes
- add catsup, chili sauce, salt, and pepper
- turn off the heat
- add egg
- serve and enjoy!