Try This!

Recipe Suggestions for Your Noche Buena
By Avhic Dadivas

Noche Buena is probably one of the most celebrated family dinners we have. We gather our family members and wait for the stroke of midnight to have dinner, in celebration of Christ’s birth.

This year, I want to steer away from the traditional Filipino dishes I normally serve. I want to try something special but still on the budget. That can be done! I love seafood and I came from Roxas City known as the Seafood Capital of the Philippines. This year, I am taking a piece of home to our dinner table.

Let me share with you three appetizing dishes you can prepare in three easy steps! Pick one to add to your Noche Buena menu for a more exciting Christmas dinner.

Dish No. 1. Prawns with Avocado Salad

What do we need?

• 2 pounds boiled or steamed shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 avocados, cut into large pieces
• 2 tablespoons of diced red onion

 For the Dressing

• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon parsley, chopped
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• salt and pepper, to taste

How do we do it?

1. Add shrimp, avocado, and onion to a large bowl.
2. In a 2-cup measuring cup, mix together ingredients for the dressing. Whisk until well-combined.

Add dressing to shrimp avocado salad until it has the amount you desire. Serve additional dressing on the side.

Dish No. 2. Scallop with Quail Egg and Bacon

What do we need?

• Fresh large diver scallops
• Quail eggs
• Fried bacon
• Cabbage

For the Vinaigrette:

• 3 parts olive oil
• 1 part lemon juice
• Pinch of whole grain mustard
• Salt

How do we do it?

1. Start with bacon. Cut into a small dice and cook in a pan with a little olive oil until most of the fat has rendered out. Transfer to a bowl and cover. Now take the lettuce leaves and using a cup or a ring, cut out circles for the landing pad of this dish. Cut the scallops in half. Season one side and fry them in a hot pan with olive oil for 1 min then turn them over for 30 sec and put aside. In another small pan cook the quail eggs for 1 min so the yolk is still runny but warm.

2. For the dressing, combine the vinegar and oil. You don’t have to measure; you may just eyeball the amounts.Then add the mustard and salt. Load it up in a jar and shake away.

3. Now assemble. Place the disks of the lettuce on a plate followed by a piece of scallop then top with the quail egg and crumble the bacon on top. Finish with a little of the vinaigrette.

Dish No. 3. Buttered Crab with Salted Eggs

What do we need?

• 2 kilos of crabs
• Unsalted butter
• 10 pcs. salted egg
• Olive oil
• Garlic

How do we do it?

1. Steam the crab and cut into halves. Next, separate the white and yolk of salted egg.

2. Heat the pan and let the butter melt. Then add a little of olive oil and sauté the garlic. Now add the egg yolk and the steamed crab.

3. When cooked, add the dried garlic.

*Not their actual photos