Archive for Chamorro Sides

Shrimp Patties

Hi everyone!  This is Hannah, Annie’s daughter.

I made some delicious shrimp patties for lunch one day. My version is somewhat different from the “regular” recipe most people have.

What’s different about my version? I don’t use any eggs. It started out as a mistake one time when I was making shrimp patties and forgot to put eggs in the batter. However, I liked how it turned out. The inside was nice and fluffy, and my shrimp patties were nice and round (my neighbor called them “shrimp balls”) and not flat.

Give my recipe a try. Let me know how you like them. My family loves them; I hope you do too!

SHRIMP PATTIES

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INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 cup thinly sliced fresh green beans
  • 2 cups peas
  • 1 cup chopped onions (about 1/2 a medium onion)
  • 3 cups corn kernels (I love lots of corn in my shrimp patties)
  • 4 cups shrimp, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons minced garlic
  • 2 cans evaporated milk
  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons baking powder
  • 5 tablespoons Dashida seasoning (the seafood flavored kind)
  • 1 teaspoon Accent
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • Oil, for frying

 DIRECTIONS:

1.  Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Do you know how to tell if the oil is hot enough and ready? My mom taught me a great trick.  Use the tip of a wooden spoon (I used a wooden chopstick) and dip it into the oil.  If little bubbles start to form around the wood, then the oil is hot and ready. Make sure the wood is clean and dry first; you don’t want hot oil to splatter and burn you.

Here is a short video clip. You can see all of the little bubbles form around the tip of the wooden chopstick. This tells you that the oil is hot and ready for frying.

2.  While you’re waiting for the oil to heat up, mix all of the ingredients (except for the oil, of course) in a large bowl.

3.  Drop spoonfuls of batter into the hot oil and fry until golden brown. Note: I used a small ice cream scoop that holds 1 1/2 tablespoons. This is also what makes the shrimp patties nice and round like doughnuts. (Maybe that’s why my neighbor calls them shrimp balls, LOL.)

 

I added a lot of photos below to show you the process.

Enjoy, and I hope you like them!

~ Hannah

 

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Place the shrimp and vegetables in a large mixing bowl.

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Place the flour and other dry ingredients in a smaller bowl.

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Add all of the dry ingredients to the bowl of shrimp and veggies.

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Pour the evaporated milk into the mixing bowl.

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Mix, mix, mix! 🙂

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Check to see if the oil is hot. Scroll up and watch my video that shows what to look for.

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When the oil is ready, use a small cookie scoop to drop the batter into the oil. This makes the shrimp patties nice and round.

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Don’t put too much into the oil. You want to leave enough room to allow the shrimp patties to cook evenly, plus overcrowding might make them stick together when you drop the batter into the oil.

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The shrimp patties usually turn on their own, but if they don’t, turn them occasionally to ensure even browning.

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Fry until nicely browned.

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Place in a colander or strainer to drain the excess oil.

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The small cookie scoop I use makes shrimp patties that are a little bit bigger than the size of a ping pong ball. I think it’s the perfect size — not too big, not too small.

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The inside is nice and fluffy.

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Pile on the goodness! 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Grilled Eggplant with Coconut Milk

I just love eggplants — stir fried with beef or chicken, sautéed with onions and scrambled with eggs, eggplant parmesan, and a favorite — grilled eggplant with coconut milk, lemon juice, green onions and hot pepper.  DELICIOUS!

The Chamorro name for this dish is Padu’ Lalu’.  It’s what my dad (in his 80’s) calls it, but since I don’t hear it called by this name anymore, I’m assuming it’s an antigu name.  Nowadays, you hear this dish called Eggplant Fina’denne’, or it’s named by what it is–eggplant with coconut milk.  Whatever you call it, it’s delicious.  Add it to your fiesta table menu.   🙂

Grilled Eggplant with Coconut Milk (Padu’ Lalu’)

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Ingredients:
  • 6 eggplants (see note 1 below)
  • 1 can coconut milk or cream
  • 1 tablespoon lemon powder (see note 2 below)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • Hot pepper, to taste
  • 4 stalks green onions
Directions:

1.  Prepare the eggplants for grilling by pricking them all over with a fork.  This is so it won’t burst during the grilling process as the natural water in it heats up.

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2.  Grill the eggplants, turning them over frequently to ensure even cooking.  Grill until the skins are dark brown, even black and the eggplant is soft to when you touch it.

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3.  Soak the grilled eggplant in a bowl of water to cool it down.  Peel the skin off the eggplant.  Place the whole eggplants in a shallow dish (my mom actually cuts the eggplant into small, bite-sized pieces).

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 4.  In a small mixing bowl, mix together the coconut milk or cream, lemon powder, salt and hot pepper.  Mix until the lemon powder and salt dissolve.  Taste, then adjust the amount of lemon powder, salt and hot pepper to your liking.  Pour the mixture over the eggplant.  Sprinkle the green onions over the eggplant and coconut milk.  Stir gently to combine.  Serve and ENJOY!

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Note 1:  I like to use the long, skinny Japanese eggplants for this dish.  Buy eggplants that are still firm and not too fat, with very little to no blemishes on the skin.  You can use the large, oval eggplants common in grocery stores, only use 1 or 2 smaller ones.  You’ll need to grill or broil these longer as they are thicker and will take longer for the middle to cook through.

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Note 2:  If you don’t have lemon powder (on Guam, a favorite is Yours Brand lemon powder), you can use unsweetened Kool-Aid lemonade mix.

lemon powder

 

 

Grilled Eggplant with Coconut Milk, served with BBQ ribs, White Rice and Fina’denne’

 

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Lumpia

Lumpia is a staple at most Chamorro gatherings.  There are fried and fresh versions, both of which are extremely popular.

There are so many variations to the types of filling you can use.  I’ve used ground beef with vegetables, ground pork with vegetables, added noodles and diced potatoes to the mix, used shrimp (especially when making fresh lumpia), and for dessert, banana-brown sugar lumpia (or Turon).

Lumpia is delicious eaten as-is, without some type of dipping sauce.  But while I’m on the subject, let’s talk about some of my favorite lumpia dipping sauces: garlic-vinegar, garlic-lime-sugar-fish sauce (don’t knock this one until you try it), sweet and sour, and the ultimate Chamorro favorite–fina’denne’.

No matter what your filling or dipping sauce, this is sure to be a crowd-pleaser at your next gathering.

Click on the photos below for my recipe and step-by-step instructions for making Fried Meat-and-Vegetable Lumpia.

lumpia 1

lumpia 2

lumpia 3

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