6.209

2 (Sun) August 2015

Mantis Shrimp with Salt & Pepper

2.0

at Tao Yuan

-Malate, Manila-

with the wife & kids, and the wife’s cousin’s family

Summer Vacation, Day 2 (see previously 6.208 Adobong Kangkong).

We’ll be spending a week together in the Philippines, followed by a week in Korea.  The wife and kids arrived yesterday afternoon.  Her cousin’s family will be staying with us until Tuesday.

Or so they say, “salt & pepper” refers to a Chinese method of preparation.  Consists of a central ingredient — most famously squid — lightly breaded, deep-fried, seasoned with salt and pepper, tossed with minced chilies and/or garlic.   Maybe because the Chinese use so many seasonings (e.g., soy sauce, oyster sauce), they feel the need to point out the simplicity of the salt and pepper.  On Google, most of the hits seem to be UK-based.  I’d never heard the term until coming to the Philippines, where the technique is very popular.

Mantis Shrimp with Salt & Pepper*, meh.  On a positive note, the garnish of deep-fried chili leaves were light and crispy, subtly fragrant, perfectly seasoned.  Otherwise, the flesh of the shrimp didn’t readily separate from the shell, making it sort of like soft-shell crab, but tougher, not as good.  The salt & pepper treatment was unremarkable, as usual.  Oh well.

*Neither mantis shrimp nor salt & pepper appears on the menu, and so was not among the 216 items covered during TEITY (see completed 6.095 Done).