Ukoy - Filipino Potato Shrimp Fritter thingies...

This is so old school, my momma forgot that she used to make these. I kept talking about the potato shrimp patties she used to make until the lightbulb in her head lit and she went, "Oh...ukoy. I forgot all about those!"

So in a mommy daughter bonding moment, we gave it a shot. Of course, there were squabbles about how it should be done...but in the end, it looked and tasted FREAKING delicious. By the time I realized I wanted to take pictures, we were gripping the side of our stomachs going, "oh...why did we eat it all?"

Ingredients

2 large potatoes
2 medium carrots, julienned
1 large onion, cut into rings and then cut in half
2/3 cup of flour
1/3 cup of cornstarch (you can add more of the flour and cornstarch but keep the proportions)
1 tsp of salt
3 stalks of green onion, chopped
1 1/2 lbs of shrimp, shelled, deveined, cut in half (lengthwise)
1/4 cup of waterblack pepperoil for frying


Method

Peel and then grate the potatoes (use the big holes on the grater).

Add the carrots, green onion, and onions.

Mix it up.

Add the shrimp, flour, cornstarch, and water.

Mix it up.

Salt and pepper time. (By this time you should have a thick but slighly runny, potato heavy batter)

In a pan, heat up about an inch of oil (enough to almost cover the patty).

Using a saucer or small plate form a little potato patty.

When the oil gets hot, slide the patty into the oil.


Serve with a dipping sauce of 2:1 vinegar and soy sauce, plus crushed garlic, and fresh cracked black pepper. Don't forget the steamed rice.

Prawn Toast

I fell in LOVE with these while living in Scotland...I can never find them in the US. I think that's a good thing.

This recipe can easily be doubled for a larger crowd.


Ingredients

20 fresh uncooked large shrimp (about 1 pound)
4 eggs
2 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp salt
Pinch pepper
3 slices sandwich bread
1 green onion
3 cups (480ml) vegetable oil
4 Tbls Sesame Seeds

Method

Peel shrimp, removing tails. De-vein.

Since I am lazy, I put all the ingredients EXCEPT the sesame seeds, vegetable oil and sandwich bread into a food processor, making a paste.

Remove crusts from bread (make sure your bread is DRY and not fresh. Day old bread or even older bread works best. If you cannot get old bread, simply toast your bread. Fresh bread will absorb the oil when you fry this mixture) and then slice bread into triangles, going from one corner of the piece of the bread to the next - like an X.

Place one spoon full shrimp paste on each piece of bread

Gently press shrimp to adhere to bread

Dip moist side into the sesame seeds spread out on a plate

Heat oil in wok over medium-high heat until it reaches 375F (190c)

Fry 3 or 4 shrimp toast pieces at a time in the hot oil until golden, 1 to 2 minutes on each side. Drain on absorbent paper

Lumpia...mmm...

This is fairly close to what nanay (aka Mommy aka Nang Corit) would make back in da day. She stopped when I was about 14 or 15, but when I was making up my own stuff, I always kept in mind some of her ingredients. The rest I had to wing and hope I got it right.

NOTE ON A DIPPING SAUCE TO SERVE -- I LOVE this sauce my mother used to make - think it is called suca or suka, I don't know how to spell it.

1 cup apple cider vinegar
4 to 5 cloves of garlic crushed
a very generous helping of crushed pepper.

Let sit for an hour or longer...The stuff made of food heaven!

ALTERNATELY IF YOU DON'T WANT TO DEEP FRY

You can turn your oven up to 375F - 400F, brush the outsides of the with olive oil/vegetable oil/peanut oil and bake for 15-20 mins on one side and then flip over, baking until all meat is cooked.

Makes 15

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound ground pork (I also love to put in a pound of shrimp that has been peeled, de-veined and chopped extremely fine)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup minced carrots
1/2 cup chopped green onions (I despise chopped green onions so I omit or use 1 cup chopped onion instead of the 1/2 cup mentioned above)
1/2 cup thinly sliced green cabbage (sometimes I am NOT in the mood for cabbage, so I will either use a cup of finely sliced green beans OR bean sprouts)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon soy sauce (sometimes I might add an extra 1/2 tsp to an extra tsp)
30 lumpia wrappers
2 cups vegetable oil for frying

Directions
Place a wok or large skillet over high heat, and pour in 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Cook pork, stirring frequently, until no pink is showing. Remove pork from pan and set aside. Drain grease from pan, leaving a thin coating. Cook garlic and onion in the same pan for 2 minutes. Stir in the cooked pork, carrots, green onions, and cabbage. Season with pepper, salt, garlic powder, and soy sauce. Remove from heat, and set aside until cool enough to handle.

Place three heaping tablespoons of the filling diagonally near one corner of each wrapper, leaving a 1 1/2 inch space at both ends. Fold the side along the length of the filling over the filling, tuck in both ends, and roll neatly. Keep the roll tight as you assemble. Moisten the other side of the wrapper with water to seal the edge. Cover the rolls with plastic wrap to retain moisture.

Heat a heavy skillet over medium heat, add oil to 1/2 inch depth, and heat for 5 minutes. Slide 3 or 4 lumpia into the oil. Fry the rolls for 1 to 2 minutes, until all sides are golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately.

Lumpia Shanghai

There are days I just want lumpia (which will be in another post soon) or lumpia shanghai. Lumpia vs Lumpia Shanghai is a bit different - lumpia has some veggies while the lumpia shanghai is 99% meat.

Below is the one recipe I pulled together one day and it's been something I make when I have those...monthy cravings. ;)

NOTE ON A DIPPING SAUCE TO SERVE -- I LOVE this sauce my mother used to make - think it is called suca or suka, I don't know how to spell it.

1 cup apple cider vinegar
4 to 5 cloves of garlic crushed
a very generous helping of crushed pepper.

Let sit for an hour or longer...The stuff made of food heaven!

Blah blah blah bold italics are merely suggestions... blah, blah, blah

• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 pound ground beef (I sometimes use a pound of shrimp - peeled, tails removed, de-veined and chopped extremely fine, of course.)
  
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
• 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1/2 to 3/4 tablespoons salt (if you're feeling a bit more health conscious, you can omit the salt all together because I think the soy sauce is salty enough)
  
• 1 (16 ounce) package spring roll wrappers
• 1 1/2 quarts oil for frying

METHOD

In a Large bowl, combine ground pork, ground beef, onion, and carrot. Make sure to completely mix everything. I suggest using your hands. Knead the meat in the bowl if you must. Gradually blend in the soy sauce , black pepper, garlic powder, and salt until all ingredients are evenly distributed.

Lay out a few wrappers at a time on a flat surface, and place about 2 tablespoons of the filling in a line down the center of the wrapper. Make sure the filling is no thicker than your thumb, or the wrapper will cook faster than the meat. Take the bottom and top edges of the wrapper and fold them towards the center. Take the left and right sides, and fold them towards the center. Moisten the last edge of the wrapper to seal. Now repeat using the rest of the wrapper.

Heat the oil in a deep-fryer or heavy skillet to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Fry 3 or 4 lumpia at a time. Fry for about 3 or 4 minutes, turning once. Lumpia are cooked through when they float, and the wrapper is golden brown. Cut in half, or serve as is with dipping sauce.

ALTERNATELY IF YOU DON'T WANT TO DEEP FRY

You can turn your oven up to 375F - 400F, brush the outsides of the with olive oil/vegetable oil/peanut oil and bake for 15-20 mins on one side and then flip over, baking until all meat is cooked.