I love Crabs

My love for crabs started when I was a very young girl.  I love everything about crabs.  I love their shape, I love their color, I love how feisty they are and most of all I love how DELICIOUS they taste!

There was a time I was obsessed with the claws. Trying to get the last morsel of meat out of them. Recently I discovered that the tiny legs have such sweet and yummy meat.  Before I use to disregard the legs, now I gather every leg,  these have become my favorite.  I simply break the legs and then squeeze the meat out.  My family thinks I am being a crab cheapskate and what I am doing is silly, because my fingers at times become sore from the squeezing.   But I tell you for me the meat I get from the legs is worth all the trouble :)



My Favorite Dessert - Vanilla Ice Cream

To celebrate the end of summer I would like to give honor to my favorite summer dessert - vanilla ice cream.  

You got me through this summer when the heat was unbearable and the humidity was horrible. You were there for me when I was feeling down, ready to lift my spirits any time.  Some people consider you plain, since you have no frills - no nuts, no chocolate shavings, no marshmallows and other stuff to make your special.  But for me there is beauty in your simplicity. I love and will miss your smooth creamy texture, and your gorgeous white color.  Till next summer my dear friend.  

Lola Tela's Shrimps with Garlic

The other day Mom was in the mood to cook.  You see my mom is a good mother, however cooking is not one of her favorite mom activities, to her cooking is chore she would rather not do.  She is more of a arts and crafts kind of mom.  She makes beautiful gift wrappings, and whenever there is a kid's occasion to be celebrated she makes beautifully done decorations and give-aways.

So when she is in the mood to cook it usually is a good dish.  Last week she made my Lola Tela's Shrimps with Garlic, a simple yet flavorful dish.  Mom rarely makes this dish, probably she cooks this twice a year. Mom learned this dish from Lola Tela, upon taking my first bite of this dish I could not help but remember Lola.  

She was the aunt of my Dad.  I only met her when I was in my teens, because she lived in Zamboanga. I wish I had met her sooner because she was a great woman.  She always had a zest for life and had a great sense of style coupled with a fantastic sense of humor. I remember her telling me the story of her going to church to pray that she be blessed with children. At this time she had been married for a couple of years and yet they did not have any kids.  Soon after that prayer she became pregnant with her firstborn, soon after that she was pregnant again with her second child, then she was pregnant again with her third.  She was blessed with 6 kids. So after she gave birth to her youngest she went back to the church and thanked God for the blessings, however she also requested that God stop blessing her with babies because she already had 6.  God did hear her prayer, however after several years she was blessed with a 7th child.  I guess God really loved Lola to have blessed her 7 times.  

I loved how she told this story in her distinct voice and perfect English and how animated she was. Sadly she passed away early this year, she was a great lady and she is missed by all she touched.

Love you Lola Tela.

Here is the recipe:

1/2 kilo shrimps, leave the shells on

1/2 a bulb of chopped garlic

salt to taste

cooking oil

Fry the chopped garlic in oil until it is aromatic.  Then add the shrimps, season with some salt.  Cook until the garlic turns brown and the shrimps are fully cooked through. 

Camaron Rebosado (Battered Prawns with Sweet and Sour Sauce)

One of my favorite dishes that my Lola use to make.

Fresh and succulent prawns + crispy batter + sweet and sour sauce = PERFECTION!, no more words are needed.

Here is the recipe:

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 kilo prawns, shelled and deveined, leave the tails on

2 large eggs, beaten

oil for deep frying

1. In a mixing bowl, combine flour and salt.  Dredge each prawn in the mixture, then dip in egg then dredge again in flour.

2. Heat oil in a pan or wok.  Cook prawns in batches until they are cooked.  Drain on paper towels.

For the sauce:

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup tomato ketchup

1/2 cup vinegar

2 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 cup water

Place sugar, ketchup and vinegar in a saucepan.  Bring to a simmer over low heat.  Stir in cornstarch mixture.  Continue to stir until sauce is thick, make sure to stir occasionally. 

Deep-Fried Crab

This is my parent's favorite crab dish.  We use to order our deep-fried crabs from Aling Letty's at  the Seaside Market in Baclaran, but we have not ordered from there in  years.  So when I found a recipe I had to make it.  The first time I made this dish Mom and Dad upon taking their first bites both looked towards me, with smiles on their faces, and they gave me the thumbs up.  My Dad says that my version is even better than that of  Alling Letty's.  I don't quite believe him, I think that's just him being  encouraging and a loving Dad. 

May I suggest that when you make this dish, eat it with your loved ones.  It makes it a more fun and fulfilling eating experience.  I have plenty of fond memories eating crabs, not just with my family but with my dear friends. I have enjoyed several crab meals with my Mars Jen and Joan.  Both of whom I have not seen for a long time and miss dearly.  I hope to sit down at the table with my Mars soon and enjoy eating crab while sharing stories and laughs.  

Here is the recipe:

2 large live crabs

minced ginger (optional, I don't use ginger because my parents don't like the taste of it)

chopped siling labuyo

2 tablespoons sesame oil

salt and pepper to taste

flour

cayenne pepper

oil for deep frying

1. Wash the crabs, then place in the freezer for about 2 hours to put them to "sleep".

2. After 2 hours take the crabs out of the freezer, take off the talukap (top shell) and the claws. Then chop the body in half.  Crack the claws using the back of your knife or cleaver.

3. In a bowl mix together the minced ginger, finely chopped siling labuyo, salt and pepper, and the sesame oil.

4. Pour the mixture over the crab, make sure to coat each piece.  Marinate for 30 minutes.

5. Lightly season flour with cayenne pepper.  If you like it hot you can add more cayenne pepper.

6. Dredge each crab piece in the seasoned flour. If you like a thick coating for you dish, add water to the flour to create a thick batter, then dip each piece in the batter instead of dredging.

7. Deep-fry in hot oil until cooked.  Drain on paper towels, then serve immediately, and most importantly happy eating :-)

A Family Favorite - Gloria Maris Restaurant

Old Family Picture at Gloria Maris CCP Complex taken
sometime in the 1980s

Growing up in the '80s family milestones were usually celebrated in a Chinese restaurant.  Our favorites were South Villa in Greenhills and Gloria Maris in the CCP Complex.  Our clan celebrated anniversaries, birthdays, graduations, and even a wedding in these two restaurants.

Yesterday, after a long absence, we visited Gloria Maris at the Alabang Town Center.  We ordered the same dishes that my Tito Ed used to recommend to us - hot prawn and chicken salad, fried rice, steamed suahe, fish lip soup with black vinegar of course.  In between bites, we could not help but recall the many meals we had with had Tito Ed,  his favorite dishes, and the happy moments shared during those family occasions.

At the end of our meal I got a wonderful treat, I bumped into a very good friend who I have not seen for many years.  She was also at Gloria Maris with her clan - parents, brother, pamangkins, husband and two adorable little daughters.  I am sure they too were making happy family eating memories.

Weng it was great seeing you, hope to bump into you again soon :-)









Aligue Rice

So delicious,  worth ditching your diet for a day or two ;-)

Had to take another picture of the beautiful aligue covered grains

I have very vivid memories of my Lola and Mom cooking Taba ng Talangka. They would boil some water then pour it over the live tatangkas.  After a few minutes the water would be drained, then using their fingers they would squeeze out the aligue from the talangka.  At the end of this tedious process their fingers would hurt from all the squeezing.  They would then cook the aligue with loads of garlic and onion, and simmer with vinegar.  The delicious scent of this wonderful dish can be smelled from my room.  I would eagerly count the minutes to when I could have lunch, and how many servings of aligue rice I would be consuming.  At the table I would show my appreciation to  Mom and Lola for all the hard work they put into making this.

But these days it is more convenient to use the bottled version, though not as good as Mom's and Lola's.  It has been a while, most likely 4 years, since I have had this dish.  Yesterday we bought two bottles at P280.00 each, we were surprised that it costs that much.  So I made sure that I got everything out of the bottle.  To make it more bottled version more flavorful we sauteed minced garlic and diced onion, then we lower the heat before adding the taba ng talangka to the pan.

It was delicious, so worth it, though I probably need to double the dosage of my anti-hypertension meds today :-)  

My Favorite Breakfast

Several pieces of Spam, fried eggs, sliced tomato and sinangag that is the perfect breakfast for me.  In every bite I take I make sure I have a bit of spam, egg, tomato and rice.  The best meal to start the day with.

This post is dedicated to my friend Mikhail.  Hope this makes you happy :)