A scientist in the kitchen

Staying at home for the holidays has made me enjoy a lot of dishes I rarely cook when I am back in Los Baños. For the record, most of the cooking I post in this blog are done at home. And since I am home only on weekends, I have to be choosy on what to cook for the day. I usually cook pasta and another dish while breakfast is almost always with fried rice.

Laguna de Bay

Since my sister and I were at home for several days, we have been going around town, visiting the town museum, our cousins and going to the market for our daily fare. Since our town is just beside Laguna de Bay, there are several freshwater selections, my favorite of which is the freshwater shrimps in coconut milk or ginataang hipon. I use to make them, but it takes to much preparation, I have to make a lot which we can’t consume in one or two eatings so I haven’t cooked it for a long time. Anyway, in the afternoons, the vendors sell the dish and for 10 pesos per cup it is not too bothersome for me. I like to eat it with rice or use it instead of meat for sauteeing vegetables especially monggo.

Ginataang hipon

500 grams freshwater shrimps

2 cups coconut milk

1 tsbp salt

Place coconut milk and salt in a pan and bring to a boil. Simmer for several minutes, stirring constantly, until coconut milk starts to oil. Add the shrimps and mix for a few minutes till shrimps are cook.

There are two preferences for cooking this dish. Some people prefer that the coconut milk has turned to oil and there is little or no milk left in the dish. To achieve this, simmer till most of the milk has turned to oil and place the shrimps. In this case, it is like frying the shrimps in coconut oil. For those who like a saucy consistency, simmer coconut milk till half the amount and place the shrimps. Cook till shrimps are done, usually a few minutes only.

I’ve been to a lot of places in the Philippines and it is only here in Laguna that I got the chance to taste ginataang hipon made with freshwater shrimps. Freshwater shrimps tend to be sweeter than their marine counterpart, smaller in size (usually less than an inch or two) and the coat is rather thick. Since it is very small, all the parts are usually eaten making a crunchy sound each bite. What’s more, the method of cooking with coconut milk is so typical of the place, the abundance of the land meeting the bounties of the lake. This is a dish I would associate with Laguna, and I think this is a fitting contribution to a Taste of Terroir 2008.

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