Shrimp and mango Spring Rolls

Conversation  with  girl friends these days are starting to get frustrating. Why?  Most talks tend to revolve around weighing scales , diet plans and something green .No, not that green. I'm talking about broccolis, beans, cucumbers, salads and like.  Not my favorite subjects, I tell you. I'm starting to miss the days when gushy girl talk  about Romnick Sarmento and his  I'll make-you- choke- on- your- own- spit gaze, are muffled over truck loads of chicirya and drums of soda. He was the Philippine's  Heart throb ( dub-dob dub-dob) of his time .   Used  to be the coolest guy on Earth, or so I believed . I young then ,with face full of zits and got no cable TV. That was long before I laid my eyes on Top Gun and Aviator glasses and Tom Cruise. Where did the years gone by ?

I invited few  girlfriends for lunch last month. Before talks and tips about how to shred unwanted pounds could even start, I whisk a some freshly deep fried spring rolls under their noses.  Served with a good dose of low-fat-not dip,  it was gone in a brisk.  LDL , 24 '' dream waistline and dietary restraints all thrown out of the window. Women, are just diabolical creatures, aren't we?

Shrimp Lumpia ala Emily

500 g, raw shrimp, peeled, divined and chopped coarsely

Marinade:  2 cloves of garlic finely  minced, 1 tsp.

grated ginger root, 1/2 tsp. sesame oil, 1 tsp light soy sauce,

2 tablespoon cornstarch

1 big mango, stone remove, flesh cubed or sliced, your call.

salt and pepper

1 small egg beaten

Spring roll wrapper, Oil for deep frying

Cooking Instructions:

Mix raw shrimp and the marinade mixture  ( exept cornstarch) together  Refrigerated for about 30 minutes. Before wrapping, season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle cornstarch.

Place spring roll wrapper on a work surface. Brush edges with beaten egg. Place about a tablespoon of  marinated shrimp and about 2 tablespoon of cubed/sliced mango. Form filling into a log, fold the lower edge of the wrapper over the filling. Fold the left and the right edges like an envelop. Roll up tightly. Repeat until shrimp filling and mangoes are used up.

Heat oil in deep fryer/ wok or pan. Deep fry spring rolls until golden brown. Serve piping hot and with  your favourite sauce. Like Garlic Aioli or sweet-chili Mayo dips.

  

Perfect finger food. Worth every damn calorie!

Another shrimpy tail-tale. A Coconut Shrimp Recipe

I know I already put an end to the shrimp chronicle BUT even Bubba and Forrest Gump were able to talk about shrimps for days.  So  after starting off with   this shrimp toast  recipe and moving on to a more luxurious  shrimp bisque recipe,  I decided to go on with this chronicle until somebody else would say ''enough already! ''. Which is not going to happen anyway, I hope.  Nobody that I know hates shrimps, even those who have allergies to it sometimes takes risk and eat it when pharmacy is in sight. Possibly stir frying shrimps in vegetables and taking antihistamines as dessert. I know somebody who does this but it's another story so we'll leave it at that.


Anyway, here is another very simple shrimp recipe  which is a guaranteed hit to everyone. Serve this on your party and they disappear in no time. If not, your guests must be strick vegans so it's not your fault. And yessssss it is also deep fried.

Crispy Coconut Shrimps.

The preparation is similar to firecracker shrimps. Shell raw shrimps leaving the tails on and marinate it for about half an hour or more. You can use the marinade in the firecracker shrimp recipe or you can simply season it with salt and pepper.  I used a small amount of chinese five spice powder with these basic condiments. Too much spices could over power the sweet and delicate flavor of coconut.

Then make a tempura batter using flour, baking powder, a pinch of cayenne pepper , salt and pepper. Pour  cold water into the dry ingredients  and stir everything until the mixture turns into a thick ( but not overly) batter. Dip the shrimp until well coated shaking the  excess off. Just batter it lightly, we want to eat shrimp, not fried dough.

In another bowl, mix desiccated coconut and breadcrumbs together. Dip the batter-coated shrimps and set aside.

Pile them neatly on the side while preparing your wok or fryer. Now heat enough oil that could irritate your cardiologist. When oil starts to sizzle but not smoke, let these shimps have their last swim. Two max. three minutes  is enough to turn them into a wonderful golden brown. Drain on paper towel and don't wait for them to turn cold before your eyes. Pop one in your mouth still pipping hot, that's when they taste best.

Puuurfrect finger food! But hey, if finger foods could get as  delicous as this, I'm willing to used my knees and elbows as well. Enjoy!

Firecracker Shrimp

Lets try to give this saga a rest before we develop some serious seafood allergies. Firecracker shrimp is a very simple  but  oh so so delicious finger food. Try counting every Shrimps before serving them because when these babies come out from the fryer, hands and salavating mouths appear out of nowhere.  So don't turn your back on these yummies since they tend to miraculously disapper. The cat took it! The cat took it! Alright enough babbling. Lets get back to business.

The Shrimp Chronicle part 3:
Firecracker Shrimps

I supposed it is called  firecracker shrimp because when  this big, fat and juicy Shrimp is  wrapped in a springroll skin with its tail exposed, it looked like one. It is a versatile recipe, one can use any spices or marinade. Here's how I did mine.

No that's not our neighbor's cat. I simply shell few big shrimps leaving the tails on. Let the tails alone! It has  an important function.  It gives you an excuse  to HOLD YOUR FOOD. You could never be fast enough when it comes to  eating these.  Forks and Knives will slow you down, believe me. Anyway, I used crushed garlic cloves, grated ginger root, few drops of sesame oil and light soy sauce and dash of salt and freshly grounded  pepper . Again, spices and seasoning could be altered. You can use onion or garlic powder, chili flakes, Chinese five spice powder, curry or cumin or  even Thai chili sauce as marinade. Anything you fancy. After seasoning add about a tbsp. constarch  to make your marinade cling to the shrimps. Use your hand to toss everything, be gentle there. Your food must know how much you appreciate them . Let it soak in the marinade for about half an hour.

before



after



Make a small incisions on the inner side of the shrimp to straighten  it up and making it easier to roll.

After marinating, pat the shrimps dry. Hot oil plus other liquid is like second degree burn waiting to happen. Now cut a big sheet of springroll skin diagonally. Use it to  wrap each shrimp.. tightly . The last thing you want is oil seeping in and breaking this lovely parcel apart  . Then use an egg wash  to seal it. Let these pictures do the talking, shall we?

It doesn't look too difficult, no? Now, into the hot oil! About 2 or 3 minutes will do or until the springroll skin  turns into a beautiful golden brown color.

If this shrimp could move,  I bet it would jump right back into the boiling oil . Somehow it knew, the first to be up gets eaten! The poor thing didn't even reached the serving plate. Ok, these three didn't....Enjoy!



Shrimp Toast

You could fry them to a crisp, steam, grill, bake, or blanch them.  I like 'em in my salad, in my soup, in my veges, in my sushi , in my dim sums and in even in my dreams. It doesn't take a genius  to figure out my undeniable love affair with  Shrimps and its big brother Prawn. So to show my homage and adoration to its goodness, I will be sharing a few shrimp based recipes that I've tasted and tested.

When cooking, there's only one rule in my kitchen and that is: ''No rules!''. I don't precisely measure ingredients in weights or mass but sort of throw things together instinctively. A dash of salt or adding more herbs and spices along the way until  I'm happy with the result .I throw a glance at  recipe books while cooking but  ALWAYS end up making my own version. The modification is based on our own preferences of course and what's available in our pantry ( which is rather small by the way). And here I am calling myself a foodie. Anyway, here is a very easy to make shrimp recipe that could be served as finger food or appetizer ( I won't say to no this at breakfast too....I know, I'm hopeless.)

The Shrimp Chronicle part 1:
Crispy Shrimp Toast

 Using a food processor, process about 500 g of raw, shelled , deveined shrimp/prawn until it resembles a  paste ( I like mine chunkier than smooth so few seconds will do and if you don't have a food processor but possesses Martin Yan's knife skills, then you could simply chop them finely), if you like to add more bite to it then add in half a cup of finely chopped water chestnut , throw something green in  for some color I used chopped scallions but you could use coriander leaves or parsley , add in a  thumb sized grated root ginger, about 2 cloves of garlic crushed, drizzle it with a bit of sesame oil, salt,  pepper, some sugar, throw in 1 egg and about a tablespoon cornstarch to bind the ingredients together. For those who like to have it spicy, chili flakes or even hot pepper sauce could be added to it. Mix thoroughly and set aside.

Meanwhile, prepare white bread slices with crust removed. Spread Shrimp/Prawn paste evenly then sprinkle over some  sesame seeds, pressing gently to make them stick. Cut the bread diagonally into four triangles.

Heat vegetable oil in a heavy pan or wok  until hot but not smoking. Fry triangles in batches. Takes about 30 to 60 seconds turning once until golden brown. Drain and serve to the neighbors if you're on diet......Sweet chili sauce goes wonderfully with it. Enjoy!