Crispy Fried Fresh Anchovies

My sister-in-law's mom serves this dish and it is a hit. My brother recommended that we add this to our regular meals. So the first chance I got to find fresh anchovies (or dilis in our local dialect) I bough half a kilo or almost a pound. To make sure that you get the freshest catch, make sure that the fish is whole and firm. The skin and eyes are shiny and glossy and not dull. As for size, it would be up to you. My mom recommended to get the large ones which were about an 1 1/2 inches long.

So when we got home, I tried my hand at it and so far it would definitely be added to our regular menu. So I am sharing this simple (and inexpensive) dish.



1/4 kilo or 1/2 pound fresh anchovies
salt
1 slightly beaten egg with 3 tbsps. water
potato flour or potato starch
2 cups oil

Clean the fresh anchovies and salt it to remove the fishiness. Wash the fish again and let it drain well. Heat pan with oil. Dredge each anchovy in flour, then in egg wash, then dredge again in potato flour. Deep fry anchovies in several batches until crisp but not burnt. Remove from oil and drain excess oil in paper towels. Sprinkle with salt. Serve with vinegar and hot rice.

Going Calamares

Look how time flies when your busy with work, errands and other things. I do apologize for being gone for a long time. I have been busy with work and running errands for my family and friends. My aunt who came visiting just went back to the USA last week. So I have been running around looking for gifts that she will bring back. At the same time my brother came home to visit. Not only that I am helping a HS girlfriend with her wedding preparations. As a result, I have a ton of photos that need editing, posts that needs to be written and entries that I still plan to make. So things have been pretty hectic.

As for this entry, I would like to share with you one of our favorite dishes. Calamares is made out of squid's body that is skinned, cleaned, sliced into rings, coated with corn or potato flour, dipped in beaten eggs and deep fried until crisp. This is paired off with either tartar sauce, sweet chilli sauce or mayo mustard dip. Personally I prefer using potato starch or flour than corn flour. It produces a more crunchier and crispier calamares.

Did I mention that it is made out of squid body? You might be wondering what about the head. We add that too and fry it as well. But we make sure that the squid heads are dried well else it would be too moist and would not turn into crispy pieces.

The Ingredients:
1/2 kilo fresh squid, skinned, cleaned and ink sacs removed
salt and pepper
2 tsp. lemon juice
ginger slices
1 beaten egg
potato flour
cooking oil


Cooking Procedure:
After cleaning, detach the head from the body of the squid. Slice the body into rings by 1/4 to 1/3 of an inch wide. Marinated in lemon juice and ginger slices to remove the fishy smell for about 20 minutes. Remove from the lemon juice and ginger and lay out on a rack to air dry a bit. Lightly coat with potato flour each piece, dip in the beaten egg then coat again with the potato flour. Fry by batches in very hot oil. Once the crust has turned golden brown, take it out of the oil and drain. Make sure that you do not over cook the squid else them may become tough.

Place drained cooked calamares on a dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately with sweet chili sauce, ketchup, vinegar or tartar sauce.

My Notes:
- Use potato flour instead of corn starch. But if it is not available, cornstarch or corn flour.
- After cleaning the squid, air dry the squid to lessen the moisture.
- When cooking, the oil should be hot enough and the squid should be cooked in batches. Do not over-crowd the pan because this may cause the oil's temperature to drop.
- For a spicier approach, sprinkle salt, ground pepper and pepper flakes over hot cooked calamares.

Aligue Fried Rice

Everyone at home loves seafood and crab is one of the most after crustacean, most specially the ones that are rich with eggs or roe or what we call aligue. Others call aligue as "mustard" or "crab fat" because of it's yellowish color and the terribly rich in cholesterol. There are local grocers and food markets that sells jars or cans of this succulent treat and is readily available all year round. There are a couple of recipes that call for aligue, such as aligue pasta or aligue sauce to be paired off with slices of meat. So incase, there is a craving for aligue, one can easily grab one from the stores.

Having a couple of left over crabs, it was not enough for crab cakes. So I removed the excess roe and crab meat and threw in day old rice and mixed vegetables. So everyone had a chance at home to have a share (specially in the cholesterol). :D

The Ingredients:

2/3 cup cooked aligue and crab meat

4 cups day-old rice

1 tbsp. oil

2 tbsps. minced garlic

3 tbsps. minced white onion plus 1 tbsp. minced white onion

1/2 cup mixed vegetables (corn, carrots and peas; may be replaced with just corn and carrots or with other available combinations)

2 tbsps. oyster sauce mixed with 1-2 tbsps. water

1 scrambled egg, sliced into strips

ground pepper to taste

Cooking Procedure:

In a bowl, flake aligue and crab meat. Set this aside.

In a separate bowl, loosen the day-old rice from clumps. This would allow even distribution of the oyster sauce and other ingredients.

In a wok, dry fry the 1 tbsp. onions until it becomes dark in color and toasted. Set this aside. Pour in the oil and saute garlic and onions. Do not over cook the garlic else ti may become bitter. Add in the crab and saute until heated through. Try not to over heat because the meat may become too dry and tough. Add the rice and mix well.

Pour in the oyster sauce evenly over the rice. Season with ground pepper. Mix well to distribute the sauce evenly. Add in the vegetables and continue to stir until the vegetables are heated through and oyster sauce is evenly distributed.

Once done, transfer in a container and top with the scrambled eggs and toasted onions.

My Notes:

When ever my mom used to make fried rice, she would mix the day old rice with soy sauce or left over adobo sauce.