Shrimps in "The Whole Sha-Bang" Sauce

My family & I love trying out different restaurants. But I know you'll agree with me when I say that eating out can be really expensive...and the worst is there are times when the food we eat aren't worth the money we are paying! That for me is so disappointing! So to avoid this, we try to eat out less often. I cook most of the time and we just save eating out for Sundays and special occasions. And when there's a restaurant food that we really like, I try to recreate it at home. Doing that is a lot less expensive and definitely, a lot healthier! This recipe that I am sharing with you today is an example of that. You see, there's this restaurant here called The Boiling Crab where we've tasted the best Cajun Shrimp...but at $10 per pound (which is more than double the price for the jumbo prawns that we usually buy at El Rancho or the Asian store that we go to), the hubs & I both think that it's kinda expensive...and considering the long waiting time we have to go through before we get seated, we'd rather cook it at home. Besides, this dish is very easy to prepare. The only problem is knowing the exact spices that they use to make what they call "The Whole Sha-Bang Sauce" which they say is a combo of their rajun cajun, lemon pepper and garlic sauce. I've been trying to experiment on this for a year now...and finally, I am ready to share the recipe with you... 

This is my version of The Boiling Crab's The Whole Sha-Bang Sauce. Let me make it clear that this is not The Boiling Crab's exact recipe. I might have missed or added some ingredients, but I must tell you that this tastes so close to the original!

Want to know if that's true? Try it yourself! ;)

Shrimp, Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Salted Duck Egg Pasta

After a two-month break, Kulinarya Cooking Club Challenge is back with a very interesting theme for the month of February...and that is "PULANG ITLOG" (Red Egg) or what's also known as Itlog na Maalat (Salted Eggs) in the Philippines.

Like other Filipinos, I really enjoy eating itlog na maalat. I love it as a filling for pandesal, as a topping for bibingka and large ensaymadas, and as an accompaniment to any fried fish. When I was young, I loved eating it with daing na bangus for breakfast. I remember my mom slicing the salted eggs into wedges and serving it with diced onions and tomatoes and the fried daing na bangus. Hmmmm...that was one simple meal that never failed to satisfy my tummy! Having that on our table would always make me eat more rice than I usually do! 

For this month's Kulinarya Cooking Club Challenge, I decided to share a recipe that I created instead of the above mentioned ways that we Filipinos use salted eggs for. I call it Shrimp, Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Salted Duck Egg Pasta. It's a simple pasta dish that uses itlog na maalat  both in the sauce and topping, and that gives it an interesting texture. 

Shrimp and Tofu Lumpiang Sariwa

"Delight yourself in the LORD; 

And He will give you the desires of your heart." -Psalm 37:4

I fell in love at a very young age. Are you wondering how young??? Well, I was only 13 years old when I had my first boyfriend. Though many were saying that it was just puppy love, at that time I was sure that it's true love. I believed he's the one...but HE WASN'T. Though first love relationships can last for some people, for us it didn't. He left me for another girl just two months after my 18th birthday. And yes, my heart was torn into pieces. For more than a year, I felt devastated and I cried every day for over a month. But hey...don't feel sorry for me! My love story didn't end there! Two years after that break up, God answered my (and my mom's) prayers...the right man came along and my heart became whole again. Yes, you're right...I'm talking about Ryan - the man I am happily married to! God is good you know! Just when I thought I lost my one true love, God was actually leading me to the perfect person to spend the rest of my life with. He just made me and my first love cross paths just so I can better understand what matters most in life. When I realized that, all the regrets I've been having suddenly went away...and my life turned brighter. After a few years, I managed to be friends with my ex...and as years go by and I fall more in love with Ryan, I become more and more thankful to him for breaking my heart. It was probably one of the best things that happened to me. Not only did it make me a better person, it also led me to the perfect life that I have now. What could be better than that??? Truly, God knows what my heart desires - a simple happy life with a man who really loves me and two beautiful daughters who never fail to put a smile on my face! ♥♥♥  

This month's Kulinarya Cooking Club Challenge hosts, Abigail of My Nappy Tales and Marni of Kensington Kitchen want us to share a dish that reminds us of our first love. But that's not what I'm doing. Instead, I am sharing with you a dish that reminds me of those wonderful first years of my relationship with Ryan while we were still taking up engineering at the University of Santo Tomas(UST). Those were the days when we didn't have money to eat at fancy restaurants, and a twice-a-month date at either Goldilocks or Shakey's Pizza just across the UST Engineering Bldg. in España was all we could afford. 

Aside from Pancit Palabok, Filipino-Style Spaghetti, Lumpiang Shanghai, Pork Siomai, Chicken Lollipops, Bistek Tagalog, Binagoongang Baboy, and Baked Macaroni, there is this food that we really loved to eat at Goldilocks. Not only is it delicious, it's also cheaper thus perfect for our tight student budget. Just as the two of us were falling more in love with each other, we were also falling for Goldilocks' All Veggie Fresh Lumpia which is similar to the Chinese non-fried spring rolls. We just love how good those strips of carrots, green beans, mushrooms, squash, and lettuce were rolled in soft lumpia wrapper and topped with their signature lumpia sauce. We've honestly eaten tons of it, and had I not started making it at home, we could have been awarded  Goldilocks' Most Frequent Fresh Lumpia Eaters. LOL. Kidding aside, Fresh Lumpia is really delicious that's why we really love it.

For my Kulinarya entry, let me share with you my version of fresh lumpia. This is not all veggie, it has shrimps and tofu too, so it's tastier! I'm sure that like us, you will find this irresistible to fall in love with...

 

Fried Spiced Perch with Garlic Shrimps and Mushrooms

I remember how much I love spending most of my weekends at the beach with my family when I was young. Playing in the beach with my brother was so much fun for me. We loved to build huge sand castles, play tag or simply lay down on the sand. We also enjoy riding on our big inflatable tubes and let the waves drift us away from the shore.

But aside from all those, there's one more thing that I like about spending time at the beach. Can you guess what it is??? Well, it's being able to eat grilled fish that was freshly caught by the local fishermen. You see, the beach where we usually went to is very rich in marine resources and lots of fishermen go fishing there. During early morning, you can find fishermen unloading their catch on the shore, and my father would always buy from them.

Though fresh seafood are always available in the nearby wet market, nothing is fresher than a wriggling fish dumped in a grill. Even with just salt sprinkled on it, it's so tasty...and my brother and I enjoyed it so much!
Being able to experience how delicious fresh seafood are from an early age is the reason why I grew up being a seafood lover...and I'm glad that I did. Seafood  are not only delicious and versatile, they are also excellent sources of protein, vitamins and minerals with no saturated fats that we can get from eating most meats. I'm happy that just like me and Ryan, both our girls love them too.

This dish that I am sharing with you today is one of the seafood dishes that my daughters love much! It is a combination of ocean perch (which is not common in the Philippines), shrimps and their favorite mushrooms. Ocean Perch which is sometimes called redfish has a sweet, mild flavor and light-colored flesh that's quite tender and can be used in any recipe that calls for a white fleshed fish. We love it fried, grilled or baked.

Perch has a very delicate taste that you'll love even more with the addition of your favorite spices. As for me, I find garlic powder, paprika, basil and lemon pepper to work well on it. The fried perch alone would be good enough, but since the pack of perch that I usually buy has only 4-5 small-sized fillets in it, I love serving it this way, i.e., with garlic shrimps and mushrooms. :)

Shrimp Pasta in Mushroom Sauce

I've said many times before that my daughters love anything with mushrooms or mushroom sauce. Recipes like Beef Brisket With Corn Kernels In Mushroom Sauce, Baked Salmon with Asparagus & Mushrooms, Beef Balls in Mushroom Sauce, Filipino Burger Steak and Garlic Chicken Wings and Button Mushrooms are among those that never fail to put sweet smiles on their faces.

Last week when we all got tired of eating holiday leftovers, I thought of making this Shrimp Pasta in Mushroom Sauce which I haven't cooked for months. Unlike me and Cherlin, Clarise is not so into shrimps, but she's a big fan of this pasta dish. Whenever I cook it, she brings it to school the next day and she would request me to make it again soon...and it's all because it has mushrooms!  (",)

Farfalle with Mild Gambas

Remember the Spicy Gambas that I shared with you in September??? It is considered as the spiciest seafood dish in the Philippines, wherein Gambas(prawns) are cooked with siling labuyo(bird's eye chili) in tomato sauce. Though really spicy, this has been my favorite since my childhood days and I consider it as one of the best dishes that my father used to make. When I learned to cook, I’ve modified it to my taste and put twists on it depending on the occasion. For the holidays, I love using it as pasta sauce. When cooked with less chili pepper, Gambas would make a delicious sauce for any kind of pasta.

For The Shrimp Council's "12 Days of Shrimp" Promotion on it's Eat Shrimp Facebook page, I shared my Farfalle with Mild Gambas. The festive shape of farfalle combined with the awesome flavor of shrimps and the sweetness of bell pepper make this pasta dish a hit on the holiday table! 

Don't forget to check out my post on The Shrimp Council's "12 Days of Shrimp" Promotion, and find out why Christmas and this dish means so much to me. This is entry #9.

I am also giving away two sets of  this on Pinay In Texas Cooking Corner Facebook Page...so be sure to check it out! 

Have a great week everyone! 

Filipino Spicy Gambas

Have I told you that I am a BIG fan of shrimps???  Whether it's simply boiled, grilled, or sauteed, and  just plain or with vegetables or pasta, I love it! When I was pregnant with both Clarise & Cherlin, I was eating shrimps all the time! I guess that's why both of them love shrimps too!

One Filipino shrimp dish that I love to cook is the Spicy Gambas. If Bicol Express is the spiciest pork dish in the Philippines, Spicy Gambas is the spiciest seafood dish.  In this dish, Gambas (which is the Spanish word for prawns) is cooked with siling labuyo (bird's eye chili) in tomato sauce. When I was a little girl, my father loved to cook this dish whenever he had friends coming over to our house. Though his version is really spicy because of all the bird's eye chilies in it, I loved it and he couldn't stop me from eating it. I remember my father cooking it for me with no bird's eye chilies. He said it's kid friendly that way and I will enjoy it more. 

My daughters are still young and they don't like too spicy food, so I very seldom cook this dish as spicy as it should be. But today, I'm sharing with you my usual version of Filipino Spicy Gambas which is a modified version of my father's recipe based on what ingredients are available here in TX. Ryan and I love this with hot rice. It's also good with a bottle of beer! When I cook this for my daughters, I just remove the anaheim pepper and the chili sauce. With just the bell pepper, it has this sweet flavor that they really love!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. shrimps, peeled and deveined
• 1 ½ Tbsp Fish Sauce
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon extract
• ½ Tbsp garlic powder
• 3 Tbsp. garlic, minced
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• ½ cup red bell pepper, seeds removed and cut into 2" strips
• ½ cup green bell pepper, seeds removed and cut into 2" strips
• 2 pcs. anaheim pepper, seeds removed and bias sliced
• 2 Tbsp. rice wine
• ¼ cup tomato sauce
• ½ Tbsp Chili Sauce (or less, depending on how hot you want it)
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste