Regee was invited to give a talk and cooking demo to this very happy group, comprising members of Spouses of Heads of Mission (SHOM) at the Australian Ambassador's Residence in Forbes Park. Susan Fries (to the right of Regee in the photo below) is the current President of SHOM. Susan and several others present knew Gracita from her days in Manila when she was the President of SHOM. In fact, one of them sent a photo of the group to Gracita during the event!
Regee had prepared a talk about the culinary history of Filipino food but that somehow got side-tracked by the mention of her "Coconut Kitchen" cook book. She talked about how she became interested in all things coconut and her inspiration for writing the book. After that brief introduction, we all retreated to the magnificent kitchen for a cooking demo of one of her favorite recipes in "Coconut Kitchen"--roasted shrimp in coconut sauce.
Click on "Read more" below to see more photos
Here Regee is getting set up for the demo before she delivers her talk. I know that she would die for a kitchen like this--plus three assistants--but I fear she just has to make do with her current kitchen back home and me as her only kitchen help. Sayang!
Regee explains the the basics, how to prepare the shrimp, and the various ingredients that will be going into the coconut sauce. She said that this recipe is not only her favorite but also the easiest to prepare and present at a cocktail party if you are in a hurry.
Quite coincidentally, Stuart Hodge, husband of the Australian Ambassador, is an avid cook himself and gets to enjoy this wonderful kitchen on a daily basis. Plus, he is very much acquainted with coconut plantations and coconut products, including virgin coconut oil and lambanog (coconut liquor) which we got to sample after the demo.
The shrimp were prepared with a little coconut oil, salt and pepper and then roasted for about 8 minutes in an impressive industrial oven. They came out looking perfect--what else?
Unfortunately, we did not have half a coconut shell to place the shrimp in like we did on the cover of "Coconut Kitchen".
However, using small Chinese spoons with a dollop of the coconut sauce under the shrimp is another way of serving them.
There was great discussion on different variations for the coconut sauce after Regee emphasized that any recipe is just a guide and that you should adapt it to your own taste. Some members suggested that they would add sugar, while others wanted more (or less) salt; and Stuart thought adding a hint of chilies would be interesting. Go for it!
At the end of the demo, Susan presented Regee with a lovely SHOM shopping bag which immediately came in handy to carry some of the supplies home. It was a fun morning for all.
Regee had prepared a talk about the culinary history of Filipino food but that somehow got side-tracked by the mention of her "Coconut Kitchen" cook book. She talked about how she became interested in all things coconut and her inspiration for writing the book. After that brief introduction, we all retreated to the magnificent kitchen for a cooking demo of one of her favorite recipes in "Coconut Kitchen"--roasted shrimp in coconut sauce.
Click on "Read more" below to see more photos
Here Regee is getting set up for the demo before she delivers her talk. I know that she would die for a kitchen like this--plus three assistants--but I fear she just has to make do with her current kitchen back home and me as her only kitchen help. Sayang!
Regee explains the the basics, how to prepare the shrimp, and the various ingredients that will be going into the coconut sauce. She said that this recipe is not only her favorite but also the easiest to prepare and present at a cocktail party if you are in a hurry.
Quite coincidentally, Stuart Hodge, husband of the Australian Ambassador, is an avid cook himself and gets to enjoy this wonderful kitchen on a daily basis. Plus, he is very much acquainted with coconut plantations and coconut products, including virgin coconut oil and lambanog (coconut liquor) which we got to sample after the demo.
The shrimp were prepared with a little coconut oil, salt and pepper and then roasted for about 8 minutes in an impressive industrial oven. They came out looking perfect--what else?
Unfortunately, we did not have half a coconut shell to place the shrimp in like we did on the cover of "Coconut Kitchen".
However, using small Chinese spoons with a dollop of the coconut sauce under the shrimp is another way of serving them.
There was great discussion on different variations for the coconut sauce after Regee emphasized that any recipe is just a guide and that you should adapt it to your own taste. Some members suggested that they would add sugar, while others wanted more (or less) salt; and Stuart thought adding a hint of chilies would be interesting. Go for it!
And here is another way to present the roasted shrimp at a cocktail party if you don't have half a coconut shell to hand. But you will need cocktail sticks for dipping.
At the end of the demo, Susan presented Regee with a lovely SHOM shopping bag which immediately came in handy to carry some of the supplies home. It was a fun morning for all.
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