What's Your Favorite Shrimp Recipe?

31 July 2008 Labels: , 0 comments

I love shellfish, shrimps and lobsters in particular. We usually have lobsters during the summer months, when it is plentiful therefore at their cheapest. Shrimps, meanwhile are available all year round. One of the dish I like to cook during the summer months is sauteed shrimp with corn. It is a super quick dish, no cooking skills required. Fresh corn is best for this recipe and some green vegetable like Spinach or Bokchoy. In the Philippines, my mom use Malunggay for the greens. If you're lucky enough to live in Florida or California, then use this for that unique taste.

I am always on the look-out for simple shellfish dishes like this. I know that there are a lot of recipes on the net but you're not really sure if it's good or not. What's your favorite seafood recipe? If it's unique and inventive, maybe you would want to enter it in the Great American Seafood Cook off . It's great that they hold this contests for seafood lovers, it gives amateur cooks a chance to show off their skill and win great prices. This will also help showcase all seafood that are available locally which would in turn help our economy. I'm lucky enough to live near the largest fishing port in the nation so I know that the seafood I get from the local fish monger is fresh and local.
Read more for the recipe.



Shrimps with Corn

10 pcs shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 1/2 cup corn kernels (2 ears of corn)
1 tbsp canola oil
1 small tomato, chopped
1/3 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
salt or fish sauce, to taste
ground pepper
1 cup spinach or any green, leafy vegetable
2 cups chicken stock
2 tsp cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tbsp chicken stock

Saute garlic, onion and tomatoes in oil until tender. Add shrimps and cook until pink, set aside the shrimps. Mix in the corn kernels, chicken stock, fish sauce and ground pepper. Bring to boil and cook about 5 minutes, just until the corn kernels are tender. Bring back the shrimps to the pan, add the spinach and the dissolved corn starch. Cook until the sauce thickens (less than 2 minutes). Serve with steamed rice.



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Real Belgian Waffles...Finally!

22 July 2008 Labels: , , 7 comments


All these years of making Belgian waffles from scratch went down the drain. I thought that what I was making was a recipe for Belgian waffles. Boy, was I wrong! As you may know, we spent a month touring in Europe. One of the countries we visited was Belgium and what else do you have to try when you're in Belgium? Belgian waffles of course! We did not go to a restaurant for this or waited for breakfast to try it, why? Belgian waffles are eaten as a snack in Belgium and are available everywhere. Yes, even in a small snack stand in the beautiful Antwerp Hauptbanhof (train station).



I still remember my first bite of this Belgian waffle. It is crispy and the chocolate sauce and fresh whipped cream just melded with the warm waffle. Gosh, was I in heaven! From that moment on, I vowed that I will find the 'authentic Belgian waffle' recipe. My Dutch friends told me that this waffle's batter is unlike the ones we make here in the US. It is not a liquid batter but a soft dough which gives the Belgian waffle it's irregular shape as you can see in the photo. The Belgian waffle is also sweet, you can eat it by itself unlike the US counterpart where one needs Maple syrup on it.

The photo on the left is the beautiful train station of Antwerp.
So now, I am on a quest to find the AUTHENTIC BELGIAN WAFFLE recipe. I found a couple on the internet and will try the first one tomorrow. I'm crossing my fingers that it will be just as good or at least close enough to the real Mc Coy.

P.S. Do you also know that the French Fries was invented in Belgium? Oui!

This recipe is for the crispy and light Belgian waffle. This is not for the waffle pictured above. I'm still on a quest for the perfect recipe.

Brussels Waffle

10 tablespoons butter
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon salad oil
1 tablespoon vanilla flavoring
2 cups milk
2 cups water
1 ounce fresh yeast or
1½ envelopes granulated yeast
4 cups sifted flour
4 eggs, separated
½ cup sugar

Heat ½ cup of the water to lukewarm. Dissolve the yeast in the water. Put the flour into a large bowl. Stir in the egg yolks, the sugar, and the yeast. Beat in the remaining water, the milk, the butter, salt, salad oil, and vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth. Beat the egg whites until they stand in stiff peaks. Fold them into the batter. Let the batter stand for 1 hour, stirring it 4 times. Bake the waffles in a waffle iron as usual. Serve with whipped cream, fruit, jam or sugar.

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