took a trip to my cousin jay's store seaside mart and picked up some sugpo, or tiger shrimp (of the semi-giant variety). i don't like doing too much to mask the flavour of very fresh seafood, so i decided to make a kilawen.
kilawen is the filipino version of ceviche, or seviche, a latin-origined dish where meats are "cooked" by an acidic liquid, and chopped onions and chilis are added. it is also known as kelaguen on island, and is a very popular method of preparing chicken, shrimp, beef, and venison. rumour has it that in the philippines, there's a version of shrimp kilawen where you take a live shrimp, squeeze a little lemon on it to stun it for a moment, then rip off the head and pop it down. i like my seafood fresh but, uh, no thanks!
this recipe is dead simple: cook and peel shrimp. squeeze out a lot of lemon juice, chop up any kind of onion and a couple of chilis, to your taste. i also add thinly sliced cucumbers and some chopped parsley for added texture and colour.
20040710
dead shrimp don't jump
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4 comments:
7/10/2004 08:45:00 PM
Looks good! I've never eaten shrimp served this way before. I guess I'm going to have to try now! I love the flavor of lime...must be very nice! =)
7/10/2004 09:20:00 PM
wait, you haven't eaten ceviche, or you haven't eaten a live shrimp with its head torn off seconds before digestion? ;-)
i think i forgotten to say to add salt and pepper to taste, but i guess that's a given....
7/11/2004 08:32:00 AM
Santos,
I've never eaten ceviche before! If you can believe that.
7/11/2004 09:54:00 AM
good morning reid!
i know quite a few people who haven't eaten ceviche. it's actually quite a dodgy proposition, eating something that's only cooked by marinating it in lemon or vinegar; i myself won't eat it in restaurants unless i'm sure they pre-cook the meat, or i'm assured of the quality of the kitchen. the original recipe for this *doesn't* call for pre-cooking, but i don't feel like accidentally poisoning anyone....
when i was writing this post originally, i checked to see if this was a universal food item, but i've read that its roots are latino. i don't quite have a grip on the whole latino vs latin vs hispanic thing, but i'm pretty sure latino refers to central and south american countries, *not* iberian countries like spain and portugal. so, even though the spanish and portuguese explorers left their extensive influence throughout asia, it was the peruvians and ecuadorians who brought ceviche to spain and the philippines....
arrgh. sunday morning, i'm writing a history paper--quick, someone pass me the funny papers :-)
having said that mouthful, i think most countries that have seafood as a staple have some version of it without the latino influence, as vinegar is a widely used preservative....isn't it?
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