seafoods – Mei's Cookery®

Prep Time: 15 mins | Cook Time 5-8 mins | Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

2 pounds large shrimps, or prawns
¾ stick unsalted butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 small ginger, thinly sliced
1 tbsp minced garlic
5-8 red thai peppers, or Siling labuyo, sliced (We like it spicy so I used 8 peppers)
1 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 (7.5 oz) can sprite
½ cup chopped fresh parsley
Salt & ground black pepper

Directions

Using scissors, you may want to, (or not) trim tendrils off. Using the same tool, cut the back of the shrimps open starting from below the head, down to the tail. Remove veins, rinse and set aside. Repeat the process until all shrimps are cleaned. Drain very well.
In a large pan, heat butter and oil over medium heat. Add onion and ginger, and sauté until onion is translucent. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Stir in shrimps, peppers and soy sauce. Sauté for 3 minutes. Add sprite and parsley. Season with salt and black pepper, and cook over medium-high heat for 3 to 5 minutes, or until most of the liquid is reduced.
Remove from heat and transfer to a serving dish. Serve hot.

Notes: Drain shrimps really well to prevent too much liquid expelled while cooking. And when the shrimps are almost done cooking, add a tablespoon of (olive) oil, then turn up the heat and stir shrimps for 1 minute. Immediately turn off the heat afterwards to prevent shrimps from over cooking. Shrimps are done when they are dark pink/red. Over cooked shrimps are tough and chewy.

Prep: 45 mins | Cook: 45 mins | Yield: 35-40 oysters

Oh, oysters! They are so good! The PappaDs’ fried oysters used to be our favorite, but like any other typical restaurants, sometimes their oysters are good, and other times they’re not. So since we are addicted to this pearls’ mother tuff, I decided to try my own deep fried, crunchy and juicy oysters, and bam! We got the perfect deal right from our kitchen. The recipe is real easy to make and the most amazing part is that they are quite a lot better, and healthier than PappaDs’. 😉

Ingredients

1 ½ pounds shucked oysters
1 cup milk, plus 1 tablespoon
½-1 tablespoon cold water
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup cornmeal
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon kosher salt, or more
Vegetable oil, for frying

Directions:

Rinse and drain the oysters and place in a small bowl, add the 1 cup milk, cover with plastic wrap and let soak for 20 minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 tablespoon milk, water, cayenne and eggs. Using medium plastic container with lid, place the flour, cornmeal, black pepper, and salt. Put the lid on and shake well to mix. Pour enough vegetable oil to fill the heavy-bottom pot (or dutch oven) halfway. Heat until a deep-frying thermometer inserted in the oil reaches 360 degrees F, or set on medium-high.

Drain the oysters from the milk. In batches, dip oysters in the egg mixture then drop in the plastic container. Put the lid back and shake. Remove to a plate and repeat with the rest of the oysters. When oil is hot, fry oysters in batches. Do not overcrowd. Cook until golden brown and cooked through, about 2 minutes. Do not over cook. Remove to a paper towel and repeat with remaining oysters. Serve warm.

Spicy Marinara Sauce: (Yield; 2-2 ½ cups)

2 tablespoons extra-vrigin olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion
4 gloves garlic, minced
½ cup Chianti red wine
1 (28 oz) can No Salt Added crushed tomatoes
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and black pepper, to taste
1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and saute over medium heat until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the wine and cook on high heat until almost all the liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, crushed red pepper flakes, oregano, salt, and pepper. Simmer on the lowest heat for 30 minutes. Add the basil, and simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve.

Spicy Remoulade Sauce: (Yield: 1 ½ cups)

1 ¼ cups mayonnaise
¼ cup ground mustard
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon pickle juice
1 tablespoon (small) capers
1 tablespoon horseradish
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon hot paprika
½ teaspoon hot sauce

Place all ingredients into a food processor, or a blender and blend until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

NOTE: Be sure to make the sauce ahead of time.