Last month during my visit to my daughter and her family in Georgia there was an epic snowstorm in the East Coast. My grandson, Devon, requested I make him some “Sinigang”. I was surprised that he even knew what it was, but it seems that one of their friends makes it. Of course I said yes, after all that’s what Nanas do, cook for the grandkids! This Shrimp Sour Soup is the perfect comfort food for cold rainy (or snowy) days!
This was one of my favorite childhood dishes and I was happy to find out that my grandchildren love it too. Like many Filipino dishes this soup is very easy to prepare. Traditionally my grandmothers used tamarind (sampaloc) or the small Filipino limes called “Calamansi” to make the soup sour. These days it’s so much easier, you can buy the powdered soup base at most Asian markets or even order it on Amazon! (Affiliate Link)
This dish is typically eaten with steamed white rice with a side of “Patis“, Filipino fish sauce also available at Asian markets and on Amazon. It can be made with fish, shrimp, or meat with assorted vegetables like spinach, radish, eggplant, tomatoes, onions, or string beans. This time I made it with shrimp, spinach, radish, tomatoes, onions, and jalapeno pepper. I like to add the pepper to give it a bit of spice, we all love spicy things in our family.
In most Filipino households this shrimp soup is made with whole shrimps, meaning shrimps with shells and heads on. I’m not a big fan of shrimp heads so I use shrimps with shells on. You can also use prawns if you have any handy.
Mungo Guisado or Filipino Mung Bean Stew is a classic comfort dish, it’s one of my favorites. Mung beans in case you didn’t know are the beans that produce bean sprouts. That crunchy sprout commonly used in many types of Asian Cuisine.
In many Mungo Guisado recipes including the one my grandmothers used they would soak the dried mung beans, in Tagalog its called Mungo beans, in water for hours. My recipe doesn’t call for soaking the beans; skipping the soaking step in my opinion makes my recipe much easier as you don’t have to plan on making the dish hours ahead.
I love mungo guisado on cold rainy days. Eaten with freshly steamed white rice makes it a filling and comforting meal. I use bok choi, Chinese cabbage, in my recipe; but you can use any type of leafy greens such as spinach, bitter melon leaves, kale, or mustard greens.
Here’s my recipe, hope you love it as much as I do!
Ingredients:
2 Cups Dried Mung Beans – available in the Asian markets
2 Tbs. Vegetable oil
1 Large onion chopped
1 Tbs minced garlic
1 Cup tomatoes diced
6+ Cups Water
2 – 3 Tbs Patis – Fish Sauce – adjust to suit your taste
1 Lb. Shrimp shelled and deveined
1 Large Bunch of Bok Choi or other leafy greens roughly chopped
Directions:
Heat oil in large pot
Sauté onions until they start to turn translucent
Add Garlic until it starts to brown
Add Tomatoes and cook until they start to soften
Add dried mungo beans
Add at least 6 cups water and stir well
Bring to a boil then reduce heat and cover pot
Cook for at least an hour or until the beans are softened to your liking – you may have to add more water if the mixture is too thick – add water 1 cup at a time until you get the desired consistency
Stir in Patis and shrimp -you can adjust amount of fish sauce to your liking or leave it at 2-3 tbs and let everyone add more later if they prefer
Cook another 8 minutes or so until shrimp is cooked, they are pink
Cook for at least an hour or until the beans are softened to your liking - you may have to add more water if the mixture is too thick - add water 1 cup at a time until you get the desired consistency
Stir in Patis and shrimp -you can adjust amount of fish sauce to your liking or leave it at 2-3 tbs and let everyone add more later if they prefer
Cook another 8 minutes or so until shrimp is cooked, they are pink
Add bok choi or leafy greens
Stir in and cook until leaves are wilted
Serve hot
Togue Guisado or Sautéed Bean Sprouts is a sauteed mung bean sprouts with shrimp, chicken, tofu, carrots, and bell pepper with chicken or shrimp broth. This is also super easy to prepare and to cook kind of dish. You can add leftover chicken, beef or even fish on it.
This is my version of Togue Guisado (Sautéed Bean Sprouts) Filipino Recipe! Enjoy!
Ingredients:
8-10 cups mungbean sprouts
1/4 pound pork lean, pre-boiled
¼ – 1/2 pound shrimp, shelled
5 pcs. tofu, fried (optional)
1/2 cup carrots, julienned
4 stalks green onion, sliced diagonally, thinly
1 cup chicken broth
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pc. large onion, chopped
2 tbsp. fish sauce
2 tbsp. cooking oil
½ tbsp. salt or salt taste
¼ tsp. pepper or pepper to taste
Directions:
In a wide pan over medium heat, pour in the cooking oil, then sauté the garlic and onion.
Add the pork, tofu, shrimp and fish sauce and cook for 10 minutes.
Add the mungbean, and chicken broth and cook for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Wash and soak mungbean sprouts in water for 5 times before cooking and do not over cooked the mungbean sprouts, it does not taste good when it’s soggy.
Ginataang Gulay is a stew like dish usually prepared with different kinds of vegetables like green beans , okra, squash, ampalaya, eggplant and sitaw. A little slices of meat and seafood are also added to add more taste and flavor. This is very simple yet a mouth watering meal of the day.
Any kind of Filipino dish that has gata (coconut milk) as a main ingredient is called “Ginataan”. In tropical Countries like my home town Philippines, coconuts are common and abundant so we don’t have a problem processing amazing and fresh coconut milk straight from our coconut trees. This is a very common homemade dish and is usually prepared for lunch with steamed rice.
This is my version of Ginataang Gulay (Vegetable Simmered in Coconut Milk) Filipino Recipe! Enjoy!
Ingredients:
½ pc. medium calabasa (pumpkin or squash) peeled, seeded, cut into 1-inch cubes
8 oz. fresh or frozen young green jackfruit, thawed and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 pcs. medium eggplant, ends trimmed and cut into 1-inch thickness
8 to 10 pcs. green beans, ends trimmed, cut into halves
1 can (19 oz.) kakang gata (coconut cream)
½ lb. pork belly, cut into 1-inch strips
½ lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tbsp. shrimp paste, sauteed
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 pc. onion, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp. cooking oil
1 cup water
1 tsp. salt or salt to taste
¼ tsp. pepper or pepper to taste
Directions:
Heat oil in a wide pan over medium heat.
Then add the onions and garlic and cook until limp.
Add the pork, stir occasionally and cook until lightly browned.
Then add the shrimps and cook till color turns pink and add shrimp paste and cook, stir regularly, for about 1 to 2 minutes.
Then add the coconut cream and water, bring to a simmer and continue to cook for about 3 to 5 minutes or until slightly thickened and reduced.
Add the jackfruit and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes.
Add the calabasa and cook till tender but firm.
Then add the eggplant and green beans and continue to cook till vegetables are tender and sauce is thickened.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve while it’s hot,
Share with family and friends and Enjoy!
Ginataang Gulay (Vegetable Simmered in Coconut Milk) Filipino Recipe!
Ukoy is a typical Filipino appetizer, snack, or even main course. It’s a mixture of bean sprouts, tofu, sweet potato, or other veggies usually topped with small unpeeled shrimp that’s battered and fried. In short it’s the Filipino version of Shrimp Fritters.
In the Philippines it’s usually eaten as a crunchy snack and is made with the veggies and small unpeeled shrimp. The shrimp is eaten peel and all making it very crunchy indeed. In our family we serve Shrimp Fritters as a main course with steamed rice. We use larger shrimp that are peeled and de-veined. We always dip it in a spicy garlic vinegar sauce. It’s super yummy and is one of my favorite Filipino dishes.
The batter is traditionally made with corn starch instead of flour making the shrimp fritter crispy or crunchy. I make mine with Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour and they are very crispy!
Here’s my version of Ukoy, Filipino Shrimp Fritters!
Makes 6 Shrimp Fritters
Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour
1/2 Cup Water
2 Large Eggs
4 Oz. Garlic – finely minced
4 Oz. Firm Tofu – cut into small cubes
1/4 Cup Green Onion – finely chopped
1 Tsp. Salt
1 Tsp. Ground Black Pepper
6 Large Shrimp – peeled, de-veined, and butterflied
Oil for frying
Directions:
Whisk together eggs, water, Mochiko flour until smooth. Batter will be thin.
Stir in the rest of the ingredients except shrimp and oil.
Heat 1 1/12″ of oil in pan.
Drop 2 Tbs. of batter in pan. Oil should sizzle.
Place a shrimp in the middle and cover with 1 tbs. batter.
Fry until golden brown then carefully flip over.
Fry other side until golden brown.
Drain on paper towel
Repeat with remaining batter and shrimp.
Transfer onto serving plate and serve
Sauce:
Mix together 1/2 cup white vinegar, 1 clove roughly chopped garlic, 2 small crushed hot peppers, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. black pepper
Last month during my visit to my daughter and her family in Georgia there was an epic snowstorm in the East Coast. My grandson, Devon, requested I make him some “Sinigang”. I was surprised that he even knew what it was, but it seems that one of their friends makes it. Of course I said yes, after all that’s what Nanas do, cook for the grandkids! This Shrimp Sour Soup is the perfect comfort food for cold rainy (or snowy) days!
Ukoy is a typical Filipino appetizer, snack, or even main course. It’s a mixture of bean sprouts, tofu, sweet potato, or other veggies usually topped with small unpeeled shrimp that’s battered and fried. In short it’s the Filipino version of Shrimp Fritters.
