From Blah to Better: How I Saved These Shrimp Crisps

During the All Saints Day long weekend, my family and I had a staycation and traveled to Tagaytay. On one of those days, we had dinner at Little Quiapo. I promise I will write about this soon. 

While waiting for the food, I went and explored the gift shop. 

I picked up a pack of shrimp crisps ("okoy" in our local language), thinking I was in for a crunchy, savory treat. I love okoy, you see. I eat with rice, as a viand. 

First impression? Crunchy, yes. But that's about it. They were bland. No salt, no pepper, no character. Then came the worst part: the center was saturated with oil. After a few bites, I got hit with a warm, greasy mouthful—like an oil dam broke open inside the crisp. Not exactly appetizing.

Did I throw them out? Of course not. Regular readers know how much I abhor throwing out food. 

Instead, I crushed them between paper towels to absorb some of the excess oil and gave them a second chance as a topping for mung bean stew or ginisang munggo as we call it here. That’s where things turned around.

The texture contrast worked surprisingly well. The soft, comforting mung beans played nicely with the crisp,  (well, now-seasoned) shrimp crisps. They soaked up the flavor of the dish, becoming a crunchy, savory highlight instead of a greasy regret.

I served it with bagnet rice with authentic Ilocos garlic and Ilocos bagnet (this was the last of the bagnet we got from Vigan that I froze) and that turned out to be a wonderful dinner. 

This isn’t the first time I’ve rescued a disappointing product by reworking it into something better. I’ve made it a habit to try and salvage ingredients or snacks that miss the mark—either by seasoning them differently or pairing them with dishes that bring out their best.

Not everything has to go to waste. Sometimes, all it takes is a little creativity—and a hot bowl of mung beans.

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’Til our next shared bite,

Stay cozy. Stay curious. Stay nourished.

LET'S EAT.

With grace, warmth, and a full heart,

Lady E

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