Squash Blog Hop: Spaghetti Squash Ukoy

This Blog Hop is made possible by Mis Pensamientos, @juniakk on Twitter.  I would like to thank her first and foremost, before I put everybody to sleep with my post that ran a little long ;-) .

Along with tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants, squashes are among my favorite edibles to grow in the garden.  I grow a few varieties each season, and among my favorites are:  butternut, kabocha, and burgess buttercup!  I love growing winter squash because they can be stored between 2 to 6 months!  Acorn squash do not keep as long, so I tend to prepare them for eating earlier on!

What’s new to me this season is spaghetti squash.  It started as a curiosity, and now I know it will return next year in the garden.

One needs a sharp knife to cut open a spaghetti squash, and although  one might just prick holes around the squash prior to baking, I decided to cut it in half to shorten the cooking time.   Face down in a baking pan, I baked it for 40 minutes at 375F.  A whole spaghetti squash on average cooks for an hour in the oven at the same temperature.

Shredding with a fork is easy once the halves cooled down a bit.

Ukoy is a traditional Filipino merienda (snack).  Most Filipinos probably never imagined enjoying it with bubbly or Riesling since it is a quintessential street food in the Philippines.  However, I have been offering ukoy at cocktail parties, proudly introducing ukoy to my foreign friends.  They love it.  After all, what’s not to love?  It has shrimps and fried!

Recipes vary from one town to the next, but shredded vegetables and shrimps in a flour/egg batter then fried in oil are common denominators.  You can also bake ukoy, though I have not tried successfully.

Where I grew up, we used either shredded squash or green papaya, onions, and shrimps (with heads and tails on) fried to a crisp in flour/egg batter.  However, here in the States, I’ve seen ukoy made with potatoes and carrots, bean sprouts, and zucchini.

Since I cook with whatever I have on hand, and I am allergic to shrimps, this version is very simple, using mainly spaghetti squash, green papaya [lucky day indeed], carrots, and green onions (no shrimps).

ingredients

  • 1 cup of oil for pan frying
  • shredded butternut squash (about 2 cups)
  • julienned green papaya (about 2 cups)
  • 1 carrot, julienned
  • 3 stalks green onions, julienned.
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper

batter

  • 1 cup rice flour and cornstarch combination
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 cup water (spaghetti squash has quite a bit of moisture; might need less water)
  • salt and pepper to taste

directions

  1. Heat oil in frying pan.
  2. In  a medium bowl make batter.
  3. Fold in shredded squash, green papaya, carrots, and green onions.
  4. Season with salt and pepper.
  5. Fry 1 heaping tablespoon size ukoy mixture until golden brown.  About 2.5 minutes per side.
  6. Serve with soy vinegar dipping sauce.

November is #SquashLove month!  Please join in on the #SquashLove fun by linking up any squash recipe from the month of November 2011.  Don’t forget to link back to this post, so that your readers know to come stop by the #SquashLove event!  

The Twitter hashtag is #SquashLove :-) .

I am co-hosting #SquashLove with the following bloggers!  Please stop by their sites and leave a note!  Thank you!

Baker Street | Anuradha : @bakerstreet29 Bloc De Recetas | Salomé : @blocderecetas Bon à croquer | Valerie : @valouth Cafe Terra Blog | Terra : @cafeterrablog Cake Duchess | Lora : @cakeduchess Elephant Eats | Amy  Food Wanderings | Shulie : @foodwanderings Hobby and More | Richa : @betit19 Georgie Cakes | Georgie : @georgiecakes Mike’s Baking | Mike : @mikesbaking Mis Pensamientos | Junia : @juniakk My Twisted Recipes | Dudut : @mytwistedrecipe No One Like Crumbley Cookies | T.R : @TRCrumbley Queens Notebook | Elizabeth : @mango_queen Simply Reem | Reem : @simplyreem Skip To Malou | Malou : @malou_nievera Teaspoon Of Spice | Serena : @tspcurry The Daily Palette | Annapet : @thedailypalette The Professional Palate | Regan : @profpalate The Spicy RD | EA : @thespicyrd Vegan Miam | Rika : @veganmiam

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