Sometimes, the simplest dishes satisfy our appetites the most. At the market last Saturday, I came across some medium sized suahe that were still very much alive. Not as large as 
prawns but larger than the grayish bait like shrimp, suahe are much paler or creamier in color than other shrimps. At PHP320 a kilo, they seemed a bit pricey for their size but cheaper than buying the same thing in Manila. I figured there were roughly 45 pieces in the kilo. Back home, they were cleaned up a bit (sharp “horn†and “whiskers†removed) tossed with some olive oil, lots of salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon and skewered three to a barbecue stick and grilled over a medium flame until just cooked. Serve hot, I like to dip them with spicy vinegar though all manner of sawsawans would work, pick your favorite…
While I was eating the shrimp, I realized that each skewer was roughly PHP20, or LESS than a stick of barbecue. That fact surprised me a bit and while you seem to get less 
meat/protein in the shrimp skewer, it still amazed me that something so good would cost less than pork. Even if you ate 5 skewers and some rice, they would only cost slightly more than a Big Mac with a drink and fries… And served beside pork barbecue, I was thrilled to see that the Kids in the house took several skewers of shrimp in addition to the more popular pork barbecue. Super simple, super quick, these shrimp skewers are the ultimate fast food if you have a grill going…
Still hungry? Why not check out these previous posts with shrimp/prawns…
Steamed Shrimp
Laing with Prawns
Sabaw na Kundol, Hamon at Sugpo
Ulang / Giant Freshwater Shrimp
Prawns for Breakfast
Sinigang na Hipon at Kamias
Santol at Sugpo sa Gata
Prawn/Shrimp Cocktail a la Marketman
Grilled Prawns with Garlic Butter & Dalandan
10 Responses
as usual ginugutom na naman ako sa mga photos mo MM :)
and you’re right, these are sweeter and tastier than the larger king prawns, and i think i used to eat all of it, i mean including head and tails, walang sayang :)
live shrimp here in HK costs about P180.00 a catty (650 grams or so) and I always buy some for steaming, then dipping in suka, bawang and sili. I also squeeze the juice from the heads onto a heaping plate of hot rice. Haay, the joys of simple food. Maybe you should write a book about it. :) No heavy sauces, no fancy shmancy plating, just good old food at its freshest and best, like pritong tilapia or pampano, grilled talakitok, longsilog!, daing na bangus with atsara, stir-fried crisp dark green leafy veggies, steamed crabs gosh I could go on and on and it’s making me hungry, so darn close to midnight! :)
I’ve never tried grilled shrimps, all the time they were just pan fried with the typical lemon-butter-olive oil mixture (at least that’s what I do) but my mother in law would always serve the suahes steamed…it’s really good breakfast fare, especially when it’s fresh, they tend to be sweet. So are these skewered shrimps eaten whole(shells included, except for the heads maybe)? My hubby says that you get the real nutrients (calcium) from the shells so it gets to be healthier and more nutritious than your typical sweetish barbecue, huh? And those shrimps look perfectly grilled (not burnt or anything):)
Yum, yum. Nothing like fresh shrimp :-)
Nothing beats fresh shrimp – they are the best whichever way you prepare them. I love your preparation and presentation very aesthetic nothing elaborate that sure hit the palate and very cost-effective. I would eat mine with chopped green mango, tomatoes, onion and the unassuming ginisang bagoong! We eat with our eyes first before it hits our palate.
Had some also during the weekend with some oysters,pampano, plapla,lapu-lapu,crabs,liempo,Vigan longganisa and Dagupan smoked bangus with some house guests. Almost every weekend we do have a shrimp dish and most often than not it is grilled and skewered or grilled and split at the back and flavored with butter and lemon. And though there may be different dishes at the table, I only go gaga over shrimps. Yum!
You know, I never thought of shrimp economics that way. In my mind, I always had it pegged as something delicious but expensive. Not for everyday. But the way you put it…hey, why not?
Parang gusto ko na sumugod sa palengke!
I am a shrimp lover! I can finish off a kilo or two of halabos na suaje with sinamak in one sitting. I think that’s one of the reasons why I have hypertension. My dad would feed me with the sweetest, freshest shrimps each and everytime I would go home to Bacolod. That and inihaw na bulgan! Heaven!!!
We usually grill these “basque” style…just tossed in olive oil, paprika, salt and parsley. Cook and toss in grill basket over the barbeque and enjoy!
can you give me an idea what can i do with my fresh tuna? Thank you MM