Crab Cooked in Coconut Milk

Ginataan, is a Filipino term which refers to food cooked with gata - the Filipino word for coconut milk. Literally translated, ginataan means "done with coconut milk". Due to the general nature of the term, it can refer to a number of different dishes, each called ginataan, but this time our recipe is Ginataang Alimasag or Crab cooked in Coconut milk.

Ingredients and cooking procedure after the jump.

Ingredients:

* 6 medium size of Crab

* Squash

* Squash Flower / Bulaklak ng Kalabasa

* Yardlong Beans/Sitaw

* Spinach

* Coconut milk, 1 whole coconut

* Garlic

* Onions

* Chillis

* Fish Sauce

Cooking Procedure:

* Saute' garlic and onions, add fish sauce and coconut milk

* Let it boil then add the crabs

* Once the crab turned orange color, add the squash,  squash flowers and the spinach

* Let it cook for few minutes and turn off the fire and add the chillis.

* Please make sure that the vegetables are half cooked, overcooked veggies don't taste well.

This recipe is very easy to do and serves 6 people.  Eat it with steamed rice.

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How to: Clean Clams

One of my favorite seashells are clams, make a soup and the gingery taste of it taste so good. But before you can enjoy eating clams, you must thoroughly clean it first to remove the grain of sand.


Here's how to clean the clams:
1. Tap clams on the side to see if they are still alive. Clams that do not close when tapped should be thrown away.
2. Place the clams in water with salt (about 1/2 cup per gallon) for 2 to 3 hours in order for them to "vomit" the grains of sand and grit that still be found inside.
3. Thoroughly wash the clams prior to cooking. If necessary, scrub them in order to loosen barnacles on the shells.
4. When cooked, discard the clams that remain closed. Clams that are alive will open when cooked.

How to: Clean Mussels

There are a lot of easy recipes that you can do with Mussels or Tahong in Tagalog, but first you have to be sure they are clean and grit free to enjoy them.



It is very important that the mussels are alive before cooking, dead mussels can be unsafe to eat and might be poisonous or will irritate your stomach.





Here's how to clean the mussels:

1. Thoroughly clean mussels by washing and scrubbing them to remove dirt and grains of sand.

2. Pull the beard from the mussels by using one's fingers, or use a kitchen knife as an alternative.

3. Tap mussels on the side to see if they are still alive. Mussels will either close or open when tapped.

4. Mussels that are already open prior to cooking should be discarded, they are already dead. On the other hand, discard mussels that remain closed even when cooked, they are also already dead and should not be consumed.

Bulalo Cebuano Style

Ingredients:

2 kilos of Beef bulalo (Bone marrow)

1/2 kilo of grated gabi

1/2 kilo of chinese pechay

25 grams of green onions

10 grams of garlic

20 pieces of pepper corns

1/4 kilo of shredded labong

1/2 kilo of corn on the cob but by 1 1/2 inches

8 cups of water

salt

MSG (Vetsin)

Cooking procedure:

1. Boil bulalo (bone marrow) once, remove scum.

2. Boil again and add all the above ingredients except the chinese pechay.

3. After 3 minutes, lower fire to simmer. When bulalo is soft, add Chinese Pechay and a dash of msg.

Can serve up to 8 persons.

Kalderetang Kambing (Goat Kaldereta)

Ingredients:

1 kg. of goats meat

1/2 bottle of green olives

1/2 can of green peas

2 cans of liver spread

1 can of tomato sauce

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup of bread crumbs

1 tbsp. of Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp. of Tabasco sauce

2 tbsp. of olive oil

2 tbsp. of Achuete coloring

1 bay leaf

4 potatoes cut in cubes

1 carrot medium sized but in cubes

2 sweet red pepper

half tsp. of minced garlic

Cooking procedure:

1. Marinate goat's meat overnight in 1 cup vinegar seasoned with salt, pepper and minced garlic.

2. Cut goat's meat to 1 inch cubes and fry in deep hot fat until brown and tender. Set aside.

3. Add tomato sauce, then the meat, bay leaf, achuete coloring, liver spread and 1 cup of boiling water. Let it simmer until tender.

4. Add the remaining ingredients and serve after simmering for five minutes.

Can serve up to 10 persons.

Photo via [Flickr]

Leche Flan

Leche Flan is one of my favorite dessert, and here is the recipe for you to try it.



Ingredients:

* 10 egg yolks

* 1 can (390g) condensed milk

* 1 can (390g) evaporated milk

* 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract



The preparation time for this dessert is 30 minutes and estimated cooking time is an hour.

 



Cooking procedure:

1. Get a saucepan and combine the water & sugar, bring to a boil for a few minutes until the sugar is caramelized.

2. Get the aluminum moulds and pour the caramelized sugar, spread the caramel on the bottom of the moulds.
3. Blend well the evaporated milk, condensed milk, egg yolks and vanilla.

4. Pour the mixture on top of the caramel on the aluminum moulds, about 1 to 1 1/4 inch thick.

5. Cover moulds individually with aluminum foil.

6. Steam for about 20 minutes or bake for about 45 minutes. Before baking the Flan, place the moulds on a larger baking pan half filled with very hot water, pre-heat oven to about 370 degrees before baking.

7. Let cool then refrigerate.