Rellenong Alimasag

Stuffed Blue Crabs 
First time cooking this dish, and I don't think I will make this again. Just removing the crab meat from its shell is a tedious task, especially if you cannot get enough meat from the crab. It would be much easier if I had an extra set of hands. It is rewarding though once it's done, because the boys love it! 
Rellenong Alimasag, also known as Stuffed Blue Crabs, is either baked or fried and can be serve as an appetizer or main dish with steamed rice. This is made by boiling the crabs and removing the meat from the shell and legs. Just the crab meat alone is not enough to use for stuffing.  Therefore, a crab meat extender is necessary. In this recipe, i used potato as an extender, and with the addition of carrots and some of the other ingredients, the fillings are surely enough.
 

Rellenong Alimango or Stuffed Bluc Crabs - with step-by-step procedure.

Ingredients:

3 large - Alimasag / Blue Crab (washed well, steamed and meat extracted)
1 large - Potato (diced into small pieces)
1-2 medium - Carrots (diced into small pieces)
1 medium - Onion (minced)
2 cloves - Fresh Garlic (minced)
1/2 cup - Bread Crumbs
2 large - Egg
1/2 medium - Red Pepper (chopped)
3-4 tbsp. Fresh Parsley (Chopped)
1 tsp. - Garlic Powder
1 tsp. - Ground Black Pepper
1 tsp. - Salt or to taste
2 tbsp. - Butter for sauteing
1 cup  - Canola Oil for frying

Let's Cook!

1.  In a pan over medium heat, put 2 tbsp. of butter and heat until it begins to foam.
2. Saute garlic and onion, then add diced potatoes and cook 4 minutes.
3. Add carrots and cook for another 2 minutes.
4. Turn off heat and place the mixture in a large bowl.
5. Once the temperature cools down a bit, add chopped red bell pepper and chopped parsley. Mix well.
6. Combine the mixtures with bread crumbs and eggs. Mix thoroughly.
7. Stuff the shell with the mixture.
8. Heat a frying pan and add in cooking oil for frying.
9. When the cooking oil is hot enough, fry the stuffed crab shells. With the stuffing facing up. Slowly ladle the hot oil and pour it on to the stuffing to cook gradually.
10.  Turn over the crab shell and fry the side with stuffing over medium heat for 6 minutes.
11. Remove from pan and dish out.

 

Sauteed Okra with Imitation Crab Meat

In cooking, you need to be creative and adventurous in your kitchen. You must learn how to use whatever ingredients are available in the refrigerator, freezer and pantry or cupboard. This way, you're not only saving a trip to go to the grocery, you are also saving time and money for not wasting any food.

In my refrigerator, I found a package of okra, and in the freezer was a package of imitation crab meat from the seafood mix that I used when I cooked Palabok. I removed it from the seafood mix, because I don't want it in the Palabok. From the freezer, there also was a package of shrimp shells. Whenever I had to remove the shrimp shells, instead of discarding them I always saved them and placed them in the freezer for future use like shrimp broth. To make the broth, simply put the shells in a small pot and add 1-2 cups of water, then bring it to a boil. After boiling, strain. Now you have a shrimp broth. This simple dish also includes butter, garlic, onion, ground pepper and fish sauce.

Sauteed Okra with Imitation Crab Meat

Ingredients:

1-2 lb. Okra (washed, cleaned and cut in half diagonally)
1 cup - Imitation Crab Meat (cubed)
5 cloves - Garlic (minced)
1 medium - Onion (sliced thinly)
1 tsp. - Ground Black Pepper 
2 tbsp - Fish Sauce or to taste
2 tbsp. - Butter (for sauteing)
1 cup - Shrimp Broth

Let's Cook!

1. In a medium pan, heat butter until it is foaming.
2. Saute garlic and onion.
3. Add imitation crab meat, stir and cook for 3 minutes. 
4. Add okra followed by shrimp broth and simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Season with fish sauce and black ground pepper to taste.
6. Simmer for another 3 minutes or until okra is done.
7. Dish out with steamed rice and enjoy!

 

Chicken Wings Lollipop

Chicken Wings Lollipops

Chicken wings are great finger foods savored by almost everyone. However, the boney part of the wing is a tad of a hassle to eat. This can be more enjoyable to eat by making it into a fun lollipop like chicken wings.  They are very easy to grab with your fingers and to nibble. This is done by frenching down the bone of a chicken wing. Frenching is accomplished with the use of a sharp paring knife by cutting the skin all around,  then scraping down the meat from the bone, and pushing the meat down to the other end.
I used both wingettes, or the flat wing tip, and drumettes in this recipe. I removed the smaller bone of the wingette to make it all look uniform.

Fresh Chicken Wings - Wingettes and Drumettes

Ingredients:

2 lbs. Fresh Chicken Wings - Wingette and Drumette (washed frenched)
1 cup - All Purpose Flour
1/2 cup - Corn Starch
1 pc. - egg (Egg wash)
1 tbsp. - Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp. -  Onion Power
1/2 tsp. - Black Ground Pepper
1/2 tsp. - Salt or to taste
2 cups - Canola Oil for frying

Frenched Chicken Wings

Let's Cook!

1.  Combine all the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
2.  In a separate bowl, beat egg to make egg wash.
3. Individually dredge the frenched wings in the flour and cornstarch mixture, then dip it in the egg wash.
4. Dredge again for a second time in the flour and cornstarch mixture. 
   
5. Make sure every single wing is evenly coated. Place on a large plate and let it set for a couple of minutes.
6. Heat up a deep frying pan and add cooking oil.
7. When the cooking oil is hot enough, put the wings in individually and gradually.
8. Fry until golden brown.
9. Remove from frying pan. Put in a colander to drain the oil and transfer to a platter with a paper towel liner to absorb the remaining oil.
10. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce and enjoy!