Curacha al Vapor y Langosta en Salsa Especial (Steamed Curacha and Lobster in Special Sauce)

Steamed Curacha and  Lobster in a Special Sauce

When we hear or see seafood, we always think it is very expensive especially lobsters and crabs, others think it is exotic, therefore must be cook with very expensive ingredients.  Sourcing them from the local mercado or palengke or from your manong or manang suki and much better from Kuya  Mangingisda is cheaper and they even reserve to you the freshest tienda that they have. With  Kuya Mangingisda,  I do not haggle or bargain but for my sukis, I do not ask them for discounts because they always give me one being a suki.  Therefore it is best to have a suki, well if they do have the goods that you want, they always source it from other vendors too. That is the price of having a suki. Besides, you are supporting the local economy and empowering the people in your community.

However, to have the best taste,  it does not really require long cooking preparations and hard-to-find ingredients. Today, I share with you how  I prepare kinds of seafood in a very simple way and in a very quick manner but the end products taste heavenly.   I always buy my ingredients from the mercado or palengke to get the freshest stuff! 

Curacha is a kind of deep-sea crab sourced from Southern Mindanao seas but the Marine Spiky Lobster or painted Lobsters abound in the seas of the Philippines specifically in the bottoms of the coral reefs.

 INGREDIENTS: 

• Fresh curacha and  lobsters catch
• Sea rock  crystal salt

Ingredients of the Sauce

• finely chopped spring onions
• finely chopped red hot chilies, labuyo is preferred.
• finely chopped onions
• finely  chopped garlic
• soy sauce
• coconut vinegar
• finely chopped the freshly picked coriander from the garden
• a little amount of coconut sugar

The special sauce or salsa

PROCEDURES:

• Wash and clean thoroughly  the  lobsters and the curacha
• Put the seafood in a steamer but make sure the water in the steamer mix it with the coarse sea rock salt crystals.
• Steam  the seafood until they are totally red or orange in colors
• When the color of the seafood is already orange or red,  it means it is already cooked
• Remove it from the fire and let it cool.
• Once cool, you have to cut linearly in a frontal manner from head to the tail but do not include the back.
• Then arrange it on the platter.
• They mixed all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and put it next to your steamed seafood.
• But before eating, make sure to remove the shell of the lobster and curacha. then dip into the sauce before eating it.

See it was easy and fun, it will take you only less than 30 minutes to prepare your steamed seafood with a special sauce where the materials are locally available.

NOTE: Make sure that lobsters and curacha are not overcooked or else the meat of the seafood will be tough and have a rubbery texture.

Avocado Fresh Tuna and Shrimp Salad

 INGREDIENTS:

• 1  avocado, firm but ripe, hash avocado is preferred
• 1 cup of fresh tuna chunks
• 1/2 cup of blanch  shrimps, deveined,  and cut into  smaller pieces
• 1 small onion, minced
• 1 small ripe tomato, minced
• sesame seeds for sprinkling

Sauce

        Mix the following until they will be blended well.

• 2 tablespoon of lime juice (kalamansi will do)
• 1 tablespoon of  olive oil (vegetable oil will do)
• 2 red hot chilies, minced.
• 1 tablespoon of  soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of white sugar
• 1 teaspoon of sesame oil (will add also an aromatic flavor)

PROCEDURES:

• Cut the avocado into half and remove the seed, then feel it.
• Put the avocado into the plate and filled the avocado with the tuna chunks 
• Add on the top of the tuna,  the shrimps
• Then spread the onions and tomatoes
• Then pour on the top the sauce and sprinkle the sesame seeds
• It is good to serve it with chilled and cold pomelo and mint juice.

Sweet and Spicy Shrimp Asparagus

 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4  kl of shrimp, unshelled and deveined
• 1  bunch of young asparagus 
• 2  cloves of minced garlic
• 1 small onion minced
• 2 pcs of small, red  chillies minced.
• 1  finger of  ginger minced
• 2 small tomatoes, sliced thinly
• 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• salt to taste 
• 2  tablespoons of  sesame oil.

PROCEDURES:

• heat the wok  until it is hot and the pour the sesame oil until it is very hot
• saute the onions, then garlic ,and then ginger
• then add the chillies
• add the  shrimps and keep stirring it 
• add the tomatoes, then the  asparagus
• keep stirring it, then add the  oyster sauce , the put a half cup of water
• then add the asparagus, cover  the wok  until the asparagus will be tender
• when it is tender, add salt to taste until  to your desired saltiness
• then mixed the sugar, taste its spiciness and the sweetness  and it should be  equal but the taste of the shrimp and asparagus must be prevail from all ingredients.
• do not overcooked, make sure that the asparagus is crunchy and  the shrimp is not  rubbery in texture.
• to avoid the rubbery texture, remove immediately the shrimp  when it turns red or orange in colour.
•  it is best to serve  it with  fresh  hot, steam rice.

COCONUT HEART ( UBOD) SALTED EGG SALAD in GARLIC KALAMANSI JUICE DRESSING

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 medium  size boiled salted eggs ( itlog na pula or maalat), cut into dice
• 1/4 kl of coconut  heart ( ubod)  julienne cut
• 1 medium slide tomato,  slice into dice
• 1 medium size  red onion, slide thinly in a vertical manner
• 1 teaspoon of  roasted garlic
• 2 tablespoons of  calamansi juice or lemon juice 
• 2 leaves of lettuce

PROCEDURES:

• In a clean bowl, mixed  and toast all the  ingredients slowly except for  calamansi juice and roasted garlic.
• Once all the ingredient are well mix, add the calamansi juice and then sprinkle the roasted  garlic  and toast all the ingredients again.
• then  in a  serving plate, arrange the lettuce leaves in a  circular manner and then put the mixed ingredients in the middle of it.
• Then sprinkle the remaining  roasted garlic on the top. By the way, if you want it more salty, then add salt.
• Then serve it immediately to retain the crunchiness of the  coconut  heart.

CANTALOUPE KALAMANSI HONEY COFFEE

Cantaloupe Kalamansi Honey Coffee

Wanted to have a  healthy drink that boosts your immune system and also at the same time keeps you perky during the day?  Then prepare this   Cantaloupe Kalamansi Honey Coffee.

Cantaloupe Kalamansi Honey  Brewed Coffee

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 medium-size cantaloupe (honeydew melon)  peeled and cubes
• 3 tablespoons of freshly squeeze kalamansi, lemon juice will do.
• 1 tablespoon  of  instant coffee or   cap of brewed coffee
• 2 tablespoons of muscovado sugar
• 5 ice cubes

PROCEDURES:

• prepared the blender,  put the cantaloupe, then the ice cube, pour in the instant coffee or the 1 cup brewed coffee then add the sugar and lastly the kalamansi juice.
• blend  slowly the  ingredients until all the  materials are blended well, then  blend it at a higher speed for  1 minute
• pour into the class the blended ingredients and serve.
• if you opt for a warmer or hotter one, then use 2 cups of brew coffee without the ice cubes.

SPICY CLAM CURRY in COCONUT MILK SOUP

Clams are one of  best seafoods what contains a  lot of minerals and vitamins.  This cool  Holiday Seasons, this is one of the best to serve,  highly  nutritional,  economical and delicious.  To find a good quality clams in the market,  it must not very watery and smell fresh from the sea, Avoid buying it when it is  emitting a foul odor.

Spicy Clams Curry in Coconut Milk Soup

INGREDIENTS:

•              1 kilo of clams, medium size

•              1 medium size onion, cut into quarter

•              2 medium size tomatoes, cut into quarter

•              1 small, young fresh ginger, pound finely

•              4 pieces of green chilies

•              2 pieces of lemon grass, pounded and knot

•              2 tablespoon curries

•              1 cup of pure and concentrated freshly squeeze coconut milk

•              1 medium size green spring onion, cut in about an inch long

•              1 small size red bell pepper

•              salt to taste

Wine, is  recommended after having  seafoods like the clam soup after  dinner

.

You can remove the shells of the clams if you wish and if you  do not to have it in your soup.

PROCEDURES:

•              wash thoroughly the clams and drain, then set aside

•              boil two cups of water in the pot.

•             add the clams in hot boiling water, then after three minutes, when clams start to open, add the onions, tomatoes, ginger, lemon grass, curry and the coconut milk, stir gently the ingredients until it is half cook

•              then add a salt to taste

•              serve while it is hot

NOTE:  you can adjust the spiciness of your soup by adjusting the number of chilies added according to your   desire taste, either you want it hotter or less spicy.

UMI-BUDO (Sea Grapes) SEAWEEDS SALAD

Caulerpa lentillifera (sea grapes) or commonly known as Lato in the Philippines or Umi-budo in Japan is a seaweed that is edible and highly nutritious. This plant grows in the intertidal at 3 to 5 meters from the surface of the sea. This highly nutritional value seaweed usually grows wild but now this is a promising mariculture farming business. Though considered an exotic food to many, this a good substitute for other sources of food that contains the needed magnesium, calcium and iodine. In fact, this recommended for people having goiter.

Below, I will be sharing to you the simple preparation of  the  Umi-budo (Seagrapes) Salad.

INGREDIENTS:

·         1/4 kilo of Seagrapes or Lato

·         1 medium size Onion , thinly slice in  cubes

·         1 medium size tomato, thinly slice in cubes

·         1 small, young fresh ginger, thinly slice in cubes

·         kalamansi or lemon juice, freshly   squeeze

·         salt to taste

PROCEDURES:

·         wash thoroughly the  seagrapes and  drain well, cut them into bite size

·         mix all the remaining ingredients well until the salt is melted

·         put  in a dry, clean  serving plate the  cleaned, drained  seagrapes

·         then add all the mixed ingredients, slowly   it with the seaweeds

·     the  serve it   immediately  in  preparing this salad with other   recipes for the meal, it is  advisable to prepare this one last.

·         enjoy your  lato, umi-budo or seaweed salad.

CRUNCHY TUNA SALAD

In hurry  for work or trip but wanted to prepare a quick healthy meal, then try this 5 minutes  crunchy tuna salad.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 can unsalted tuna flakes
• 1 cup of  cubes  young cucumber
• 1 cup of cube  salad tomatoes
• 1/2 cup of   small cubes of onion
• a pinch of black pepper
• olive oil
• salt to taste

PROCEDURES:

• separate the  oil from canned tuna and  mashed the tuna
• combine all the all the cube ingredients and mixed it with the tuna in a salad bowl
• sprinkle it  with black pepper
• then  add the salt to taste
• then  sprinkle it with  olive oil
• and  toast it slowly 
• chilled it for a while and serve!

HOT CREAMY CHICKEN BAMBOO SHOOTS in BUFFALO MILK

Oh, this is monsoon season, with the drizzles and fogs covering the environment and that sedentary feelings we need some seasonal comfort foods while cloak in our monsoon wears! Bamboo shoots are in season and I just simply love it cooked  with chillies or  ginger with coconut milk with my steamed rice as a comfort food in my native Philippines. But alas, this  is Himalayas, where the coconuts is a scarcity but why not use the nutritious and creamy buffalo milk.  Okey lets find out and try  this tropical monsoon favorite dish of mine here in the Himalayas!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1  cup of  fresh chicken breast  cut in cubes
• 2  cups of  bamboo shoots sliced, 2 inches in length
• 2 cups of freshly pasteurized buffalo milk
• 2 pieces of chattel, thinly and roundly sliced
• 1  onion, sliced thinly
• 2  pieces of  elongated hot chilly, sliced thinly
• 1  piece of medium size tomato, sliced
• 3 cloves of crushed fresh garlic
• 1 tablespoon of cooking oil
• salt to taste

PROCEDURES:

• heat the pan  and pour  the cooking oil until it is hot
• put the garlic until it is almost brown and add the onions and the chillies
• when the onions are almost brown, add the chicken cubes until it is golden brown
• then add the tomatoes and cover  the pan  for few minutes
• when the tomatoes started to produce a sauce, the add the bamboo shoots and mixed it well
• after mixing, add the buffalo  milk,  and the chattels, cover the pan until it boils and the chattels becomes soft.
• then add the salt to taste and simmer it for a while
• then viola, you are now ready to eat your hot, creamy chicken with bamboo shoots in  buffalo milk.

YOUNG JACKFRUIT PIGEON PEA VEGGIE DISH ( Langka at kardis)

INGREDIENTS:

• two cups of peeled, and cube young jackfruit
• 1 cup pigeon peas
• 1 small size of crushed   chop ginger
• 1 small piece of finely chopped onion
• 1 gloves of crushed garlic
• 2 tablespoons of  soya sauce
• 1 pinch of white sugar
• 1 cup chopped fresh mustard leaves
• 2 tablespoons of  sunflower oil
• 1 teaspoon of 

PROCEDURES:

• heat the sunflower oil in the pan
• sautee' the garlic, ginger and the onions until  golden brown
• then add the sliced young jack fruit, mixed a bit with the ingredients
• then add  four cups of water
• when it boils add the pigeon peas
• then boil again until it  jack fruit and th pigeon peas become tender
• when it is tender, add the soya sauce, and the sugar and let it simmer
• add salt if you desired
• then add the chopped mustard leaves
• then serve , your jackfruit pigeon peas dish!

VEGGIE MEAT WITH YAK CHEESE

One of the  best thing here in the Nepal is the availability of the fresh herbs. The veggie meat is readily available in the market and it is cheaper than any other part of the world since there is large part of the population who are vegetarians. I  love  to experiment dishes  that I decided to try adding yak cheese to my veggie meat dish and viola, it  taste better.  Find out below this healthy dish that  I prepared for dinner which is  a favorite request of my  vegetarian  friends.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1  and  1/2 cup of veggie meat
• crushed garlic gloves
• thinly sliced onions
• fresh make tomato sauce
• 1/2  cup of grated yak cheese
• Japanese soy sauce or salt
• mustard oil
• sesame oil
• thinly slide cabbage
• chopped coriander leaves 
• 5 pcs of seedless olives

PROCEDURES:

• heat the mustard oil in the wok until hot
• fry the garlic until golden brown  and  the onions until it will be  brown
• then add the veggie meat until it is mixed well with the other ingredients
• add the  fresh tomatoes sauce, plus the soy sauce  but salt  can be used too until the desire  flavour
• then add the  black pepper powder or you can used also freshly grind linger if you want a more asian flavour but that is optional
•  then add a little water until it will boil 
• add the cabbage until done and  the olives  with the  yak cheese until  the cheese blend with the ingredients
• the sprinkled it with  the sesame oil to add more aromatic flavor
• then add the freshly chopped coriander leaves
• then serve it hot.

SPECIAL GUNDRUK

Gundruk ko acchar

One of my favorite Nepali meal fare is Gundruk. It is good to have it with  hot steam rice and with the dhal.  During the onset of the  winter season-, October to November ,  radishes, cauliflowers, and mustard flourished in Nepal.  and there is an abundance of this leafy  veggies that Nepalese preserve the leafy veggies into gundruk. Nepalese  prepare this side  dish for the off season when it is difficult to grow green leafy vegetables. It is easy to prepare.

INGREDIENTS and PROCEDURE OF GUNDRUK

• shreds or cut the leaves of the mustard (sag for about an inch or so desire length after washing it).
• air dry the shredded leaves for about two days under the sun
• place the shedded leaves in a clean earthen pot or jar and covered it with warm water up to the brim.
• allow it to ferment for a week while placing it under the sun
• then strain  the shredded leaves, and put it in a   willow made bamboo and dry it under the sun
• When it is completely dry, stored in a clean container and any time you can prepare a  gundruk ko chol ( gundruk soup) or gundruk ko acchar (pickled) or  you can make your own gundruk version.

Here is my own version of  GUNDRUK KO ACCHAR  as a side dish.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 onion  sliced thinly
• 3 cloves of garlic crushed
• 2 tomatoes thinly sliced
• 2 small chillies finely chopped
• freshly pressed turmeric paste instead of the dry one is much better than the powdered one
• two cups of gundruk
• two tablespoon of ghee (from the buffalo)
• and  fine pressed garlic
• salt to taste or soya sauce
• freshly fresh turmeri

PROCEDURES:

• heat the ghee under moderate flame till hot
• sautee the  garlic till brown, then add the onions, chillies, turmeric paste and the tomatoes
• then add the gundruk, add a little water till the tomotoes will be turn into paste and the gundruk is cook,  then add the salt or soy sauce until it is  cooked.
• remove it from heat  and place in a plate and then serve with hot steam rice and dhal.

TWIST to make it SPECIAL GUNDRUK!

• you can add a few drops of sesame oil to your gundruk  ko acchar to add more aromatic appeal and garnish it with sesame seed! and taadang you will have a very enticing  and delicious  gundruk!

GREEN MUSTARD ZUCCHINI OMELETTE

Nepalis diet will not be complete without the famous  "sag"   especially when they eat their dhal bhat.   Mustard locally know as sag grows throughout the year  here in  Nepal. But today, I will share with you how to cooked  mustard leaves differently  as one of the major ingredients in the omellete that I cooked for breakfast. The recipe below cost only less than a hundred rupees but very healthy, and it is good for three person. Happy breakfast!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 pcs beaten eggs
• 2 pcs thinly sliced tomatoes 
• 1 clove  crushed garlic and fine chop
• 1 pc of small young fresh zucchini, thinly sliced
• 5 pcs freshly picked  mustard leaves,sliced horizontally
• 1 tablespoon of ghee (home made)
• salt to taste

PROCEDURES:

• heat the pan  and put the ghee to melt
• when the ghee is already hot, sauteed the garlic and onions till golden brown
• then add the zucchini and tomatoes, stir fry it until brown and the when the  tomatoes are cook.
• sprinkle it with the salt
• pour the beaten egg slowly to cover the veggies, 
• the flap it side to side until golden brown
• then serve!

SPICY ORGANIC FRIED BROWN RICE: Asian Style

As an Asian, rice is staple food for us, so if have to cook rice now a days, we have to cook plenty enough to last for a day. But we need variety too, not only steam rice. One of the things to do is to prepare fried rice from your cook steamed rice this winter.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups of  steam brown rice
• 1/2 cup of dice carrots
• 1/2 cup of dice  onions
• 1/2 cup  of dice capsicum
• 1 pc of  spring onions, slice thinly
• 3 crushed cloves of garlic and mince
• 2  chillies, green and red, cut thinly
• 2 spoons of soy sauce
•  1 tea spoon of  powdered black pepper
• 1  cup of left over meat, mince
•  sesame seed oil

NOTE: All ingredients are locally source and organically  produce

PROCEDURES:

• heat the wok, drop an ounce of sesame oil until hot
• sauteed the garlic first till it becomes brown  
• add the  carrot, onion, spring onions, chillies and left over mince meat
• after three minutes if constant stirring the ingredients, add the rice
• continue mixing through constant stirring unit the rice grains are dry and no longer sticky
• add the powdered black pepper,salt and the black soy sauce
• Stir until ingredients mix well and do not stick with each other.
• garnish it with raddish and tomatoes and basil leaves.

Then serve it with rice coffee or ginger lemon tea and fruits.

UNOVEN CHOCO-PEANUT OATMEAL COOKIES

INGREDIENTS

• ·        ½ kg oatmeal
• ·        1 cup cocoa powder
• ·        1 cup butter
• ·        ½ cup of peeled peanut
• ·        1 pc egg, beaten
• ·        1 cup powder milk
• ·        1 tea spoon vanilla
• ·        2 cups warm water

PROCEDURE

• ·        Pour in the bowl the oatmeal, cocoa powder, powder milk and mixed them
• ·        Pour the warm water by stirring it constantly in slow motion and add slowly the butter, peanut  and egg, until all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed, then add the vanilla while stirring  the ingredients
• ·        The form the ingredients into small balls in your hands and flatten it into small circles
• ·        Heat the frying pan, smear it with small amount of butter when it is non stick. However, if you are using a non – stick then no need to used butter.
• ·        Put the flattened cookies on the heated pan and turn it upside down once in a while until becomes dried and brown.
• ·        Let it cool and put it in a zip bags later and it will last a week without refrigeration.
• ·        Now, you can eat your homemade power cookies! Enjoy it with my honey ginger lemon tea.

SPICY SUCCULENT KATHMANDU SALAD

Namaskaar from Nepal!

As the winter fast approaching and fuel crisis looming in this Himalayan nation, to conserve the fuel and liquified petroleum gas for cooking , and to keep us warm, I am sharing to you the spicy succulent salad that you can easily source out from the neighborhood  tarkari pasalmaa.

INGREDIENTS:

·        1 cup tomatoes, unseeded and cut into cubes

·        1 cup Apple Pear cubes

·        1 cup cucumber, unseeded and julienne.

·        1 small onion mince

·        Chili powder

·        1 teaspoon salt

·        1 teaspoon sugar

·        1 spoon lemon juice extract

·        3 small stalks of celery, mince

·        3 leaves of basic mince

·        1 teaspoon of olive oil

PROCEDURE:

·        Combine  the cucumber, tomatoes, onions, apple pears

·        Add the salt, sugar and chilli powder, mixed it slowly

·        Then put the lemon juice extract

·        Add the mince leaves and the olive oil to the  mixture

·        Chill in the fridge for ten minutes and viola, you have your salad!

CHICKEN AND SHRIMPS SWEET AND SOUR SOUP

INGREDIENTS:

·                1 pc of a chicken quartered breast

·                3 pcs. medium sized prawns

·                1 pc of unriped tamarind fruits, crushed finely

·                1 small pc of finely crushed  gingers

·                1 pc of red long chilli

·                1 small bunch of spring onion  leaves

·                2 small pcs of tomatoes, quartered

·                Salt to taste

·                Some green and leafy vegetables

PROCEDURES:

·                Boil   5 cups of water, then add the crushed  gingers and tamarind fruit until it is blends with  the water

·                Then add the piece of chicken breast until it becomes tender.

·                Add the  prawns, tomatoes and the chili

·                Let it boil until the skin of the sliced tomatoes starts to peel out.

·                Remove some of the slice tomatoes and crushed them and return then to the boiling pot

·                Then add salt to taste

·                Add the spring onion leaves and the green leafy vegetables

·                Do not over cooked the green and leafy vegetable, so that they will be crunchy.

·                Serve the dish while it is hot.

NOTE:  the mashed tomatoes will give the sweet and sour flavor of the soup.