Spaghetti with Tri-Color Peppers and Mantis Shrimp

Look at what I found in the market earlier.

MANTIS SHRIMP!

The "meat" of the mantis shrimp is like a cross between shrimp and lobster; it's quite delicious with an interesting texture - sweetish, with a bit of a crunchy bite.  What I don't like about this shrimp is that the shell is pretty hard (although not as hard as a lobster or crab that you'd need a "hammer") such that it's difficult to open the shells with your hands.  Hubby used kitchen shears.  It's all worth it, all the same.

So, for lunch, we had this -

about 300 grams pasta, cooked al dente
500 grams mantis shrimp
4 slices of ginger
1/2 large sweet onion, sliced
6 cloves garlic, smashed
1/2 yellow bell pepper, sliced into rough squares
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced into rough squares
1/2 orange bell pepper, sliced into rough squares
2 medium tomatoes, sliced thinly
pinch of crushed chili
salt and pepper, to taste
4 - 8 tablespoons cooking cream
1/2 to 3/4 cup reserved pasta cooking water
fresh basil

Marinate the mantis shrimp in a mixture of oil, chili flakes and sea salt.  Set aside for a while.

Saute ginger in half oil, half butter mix.  Add onions and garlic.  When onions and garlic become soft and fragrant, add the peppers.  Stir fry briefly then add the mantis shrimp.  Cook about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the sliced tomatoes and crushed chili.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.  Throw in the pasta and mix well.  Add cooking cream and pasta cooking water and mix to coat the noodles thoroughly.  Add in the fresh basil last.  Serve immediately, garnished with a sprig of fresh basil.  Top with parmesan.

Regular shrimp may be used.

Sweet and Spicy Spaghetti (Filipino-style)

The Filipino style spaghetti is a sweet one, sometimes with a little spiciness. It is almost always present in a party for kids, together with other party standards such as barbecue, meatballs, fried chicken, and buko or fruit salad.

I grew up loving this spaghetti.  And while I now prefer the "real deal" spaghetti, once in a while I crave that childhood spaghetti...

Here is how I make mine -

1 large onion, minced
6 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
500 grams ground meat
10 slices of spiced ham, cut into squares
4 to 5 pieces (regular) red hotdogs, sliced
2 cups crushed tomatoes, with all its liquid
2 cups tomato sauce (or mix with banana ketchup)
diced pimientos, about 1/4 to 1/2 cup, drained
2 to 4 tablespoons brown sugar
salt and pepper, to taste
dried chili flakes
1/2 cup cooking cream
grated cheddar cheese
about 500 grams spaghetti, cooked al dente

Saute onions and garlic until soft and fragrant.  Add ground meat and cook until browned.  Add spiced ham and hotdogs.  Pour in crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce (and banana ketchup, if using).   Add diced pimientos.  Cook to a gentle simmer.  Season with sugar (if using banana ketchup use 2 tablespoons sugar only), salt and pepper, and chili flakes, to preferred taste.  Cook again to a gentle simmer, stir pot occasionally.  Lastly add cooking cream and heat thoroughly to cook.  Pour over cooked spaghetti noodles.  Top with grated cheddar cheese.

Personal notes -

1.  Truth is, I don't use banana ketchup anymore, ever since it occurred to me that bananas are yellow so how could the ketchup made from bananas be red?  But I understand that traditionally, banana ketchup is an ingredient of the Filipino-style spaghetti.

2.  I always add hotdog slices (the tender, juicy kind), but for some strange reason, this particular time, I forgot to get a pack of hotdogs from the supermarket so when I got home... no hotdogs, obviously!

3.  the diced pimientos can be omitted, but seriously, the dish tastes better with it added in.

4.  a whole cup of cream can be used, the sauce will taste a bit sweeter and milkier (which is not necessarily a bad thing)

5.  While I love the Filipino style spaghetti that's really, really sweet, served in a couple of establishments, I just can't bring myself to cook my home made version to be as sweet as the "originals".

In any case, my homemade version is yummy, but nothing really beats the original!!!