SPOONFUL - Mantis Shrimp Kilawin with Candied Kamias

Kilawin is a antive Ilokano dish, very much similar to to South America's ceviche. It's main ingredient is fresh meat or seafood and is cooked using an acidic solution of vinegar or calamansi or a mixture of both. 

                                      

For this recipe, I decided to use Mantis shrimp or locally known as alupihang dagat. It's meat tastes and feels like shrimp but it resembles a small lobster or ulang.

 I also used Kamias instead of the usual green mango as ingredient to my kilawin for two reasons, one, we have a tree in our backyard and it's bearing a lot right now, and two, I like the fruity sourness of kamias better than green mango. I used a blanching technique I learned from my instructor at Global Academy, Chef Garie Quiambao, to candy the kamias.

Here is the recipe:

Mantis shrimp, shell removed

Shallots, minced

Ginger, sliced into fine julienne

Siling labuyo, minced

Coconut vinegar

Rock Salt

Pepper, ground

Kamias, cut into rounds

For the candied kamias:

1. Blanch the sliced kamias in boiling water for 3 minutes. Repeat the procedure for about 6 times.,replacing the water each time. Drain and let it cool.

This blanching technique, as taught by my chef instructor, removes the bitterness of the skin of the fruit.When ti was shown to me, it was done in pomelo but since pomelo has a tough and thick skin it was done for twelve times.Kamias has a waxy skin that is quite soft so blanching it for 6 times would suffice.

For the kilawin:

1. Carefully remove the meat of the shrimp from the shell. Cut the underside of the exoskeleton and slowly pull the meat whole.

2. In a bowl, mix the shrimp meat with coconut vinegar, rock salt,pepper, minced shallots and siling labuyo  and ginger. 

3. Chill for about an hour before serving/plating.

         

I steamed the shell of the mantis shrimp for plating. The orange color is from the presence of chitin in the exoskeleton, like any other crustacean.

Happy cooking!