Fried Shrimp in Salted Egg Yolk

I hope everyone's weekend was way better than mine.  I was in pain all weekend long as a result of yet another steroid shot to my injured elbow ...Ughhh, being the fourth shot within the last six months, I think they have outlived their usefulness.  As a result, there has been no significant effect on the pain anymore.  It is still at the same intensity as it was before the last one...they need to find a better treatment regimen for me... 

On the bright side, I cooked an excellent dish today.  Cooking is like my oasis in the desert that helps to keep me going when things are not going as they should.  It helped keep me sane when I went through a rough patch and still does help keep my brain occupied now since I do not use it as much as I did when I worked... another added advantage is that it helps exercise my elbow and hand to keep it moving....hehehe... okay, enough about my problem and moving on to the good part...

This dish is Chinese in origin but uses ingredients that are commonly used in Asian cooking.  One of the main ingredients which, in my opinion, takes this dish to an entirely different level is the addition of salted egg yolks into the sauce.  The salted egg yolks just makes the sauce creamy and tasty.  Although salted egg yolks were used in the dish, surprisingly, it is not salty at all so do not be afraid of seasoning your shrimp or adding salt to the cornstarch or all-purpose flour used in dredging the shrimp prior to frying.  

Serve this with a piping hot bowl of steamed rice and use your hands to dig in.  While that may sound barbaric or crude to a lot of people, I do think this is the best way to eat this dish...hehehe....that's just the Filipino way of enjoying a meal.  Of course, I have never been too good with using my hand to eat rice with but I definitely use my hands to peel the shells off the shrimps and dunk it in its sauce.  The shrimps are good but the sauce is divine... As the Kentucky Fried Chicken slogan goes, these babies are finger lickin' good

BTW, do not throw away the salted egg whites since that can be used in another dish which, in my opinion, is a great accompaniment to this dish.  Recipe will follow.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs large shrimps

1/2 cup cornstarch

salt and pepper, to taste

1/4 cup oil

1/2 block butter

1 head garlic, peeled and finely chopped

6 hard-boiled egg yolks, mashed

1,  In a bowl, mix cornstarch, salt and pepper.

2. Lightly dredge the shrimp in cornstarch mixture, shake off excess.

3. Heat a non-stick wok over medium heat.  Add oil.

4, When oil is hot, add shrimp and lightly saute.  Cook until shrimp turns orange in color then immediately remove from heat.  Transfer shrimp to a paper towel lined plate to drain excess fat.

5. Add garlic to the oil and saute until fragrant and soft.

6. Add salted egg yolks and stir to dissolve.

7. Add shrimp back to the wok and stir to mix.

8. Remove from heat and serve.

Fried Garlic

Fried garlic is one of the toppings that is frequently used in Filipino dishes...at least from the place that my family was from. We use it as topping for fried rice as well as soups and porridge. The smell is heavenly and permeates the whole house. It gives an impression of a lived-in, warm house. It also conjures up an image of a loving family gather together to share a meal prepared by a loving mom :) Ah, it makes me miss my mom and wish she is here with me right now but I am sure that she is happily looking down from up above.

This is a simple addition to any dish which gives it a nice extra flavor and dimension. It only takes a couple of ingredients and few minutes cooking time. You have to be careful though not to burn them as they will taste bitter and not fit to eat. I find that gently frying them works in making sure that they don't burn and stay crispy longer. They are actually readily available in the Filipino store but I like frying my own since they do not really take that much time and effort. I usually use a few bulbs of garlic at a time and them place them in airtight container to keep them crispy and ready for use anytime I need them. To save time, you can use a food processor to chop the garlic but make sure that they are chunky instead of finely chopped. I prefer to chop them by hand though.

Ingredients:

4 or more bulbs of garlic, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup oil

1. Heat saucepan over medium heat. Add oil and heat it gently.
2. When oil is moderately hot, add garlic and fry them until they turn golden in color. Make sure you stir them frequently while frying to prevent burning.
3. Remove from heat and place on a paper towel lined plate to absorb excess oil.
4. When they have cool down, transfer to an airtight container to store.

Garlic Fried Rice (Sinangag sa Bawang)

Ingredients:
Rice is a staple in the Filipino diet so it is no surprise that we have a lot of rice dishes which range from plain old steamed rice to sweet as well as savory dishes. In the Philippines, most people eat rice three times a day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). If you go to any household around meal time, the possibility of seeing rice at the dinner table is very high. To a Filipino, a meal without rice isn't really a meal but rather a snack...that is how much we love rice :) There is a running joke about spotting a Filipino in a dimsum place. Just look for someone who eats dimsum with steamed rice...hehehe.


Aside from steamed rice, another favorite rice dish is fried rice. This is a staple in almost all of the restaurants - from the neighborhood turo-turo (hole in the wall resto) to the fanciest digs - in the Philippines. There are so many variation to this simple dish but the most common is garlic fried rice. The reason is probably because it is cheap as it only involves a few ingredients but taste so good. Although it is served on all three main meals, it is famously associated with breakfast as part of several traditional breakfast combination such as longsilog (long for longganisa = Philippine sausage; si for sinangag= fried rice; log for itlog = eggs), tapsilog (tap for tapa = cured beef slices), and tuyosilog (tuyo = dried fish)to name a few. The garlic rice that I made was served as a breakfast combo hotsilog which uses Philippine style hotdog, garlic fried rice, and sunny side up egg. Hotdog is cooked according to direction and eggs are lightly fried. Together they taste really yummy and delicious. For a more authentic Filipino breakfast, you can serve this combo with a combination of sliced onions, tomatoes, and salted eggs splashed with a little vinegar.



1 tbsp cooking oil for sauteeing
3-4 cups of day old cooked rice
1 - 2 shallot, finely minced
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tsp soy sauce
sea salt, to taste

1. Heat pan over medium heat. Add oil and let it heat up a little bit
2. Add garlic and shallot. Cook until fragrant and translucent.
3. Add rice and mix with garlic/shallot mixture. Saute for about 2 minutes.
4. Add soy sauce and mix well.
5. Season with salt according to taste
7. Continue to cook for another 4-5 minutes then remove from heat and transfer to a serving dish. Serve warm.