Alternative names | Ukoy |
---|---|
Course | Main course, side dish |
Place of origin | Philippines |
Serving temperature | Warm |
Similar dishes | Camaron rebosado , calamares , bazun khwet kyaw, bakwan |
Okoy or ukoy, are Filipino crispy deep-fried fritters made with glutinous rice batter, unshelled small shrimp, and various vegetables, including calabaza, sweet potato, cassava, mung bean sprouts, scallions and julienned carrots, onions, and green papaya. They are traditionally served with vinegar-based dipping sauces. They are eaten on their own or with white rice. They are popular for breakfast, snacks, or appetizers. Okoy are sometimes dyed bright orange with achuete seeds. [1]
Okoy has numerous variations using a variety of other ingredients, including replacing the shrimp with small fish or calamari. Okoy batter can also be made with regular flour, rice flour, or an egg and cornstarch mixture. It can also refer to omelettes made with mashed calabaza or sweet potato, with or without the shrimp. [2] [3]
According to Filipino linguist Gloria Chan-Yap, the name okoy comes from Hokkien ō+kuè, meaning "cake made from taro". However, they are very different dishes. The Hokkien dish is made from deep-fried taro and minced pork, while the Philippine dish utilizes none of those ingredients. The only similarity being that they are deep-fried and pancake-shaped. [4]
The most basic traditional okoy recipe uses a small amount of galapong (ground soaked glutinous rice) as the batter, spiced to taste with onion, garlic, salt, and scallions. It is mixed with mashed kalabasa (calabaza) and unshelled small shrimp. They are deep-fried as small flat patties until golden brown. Excess oil is drained on paper towels and the dish is served warm and crispy. [5] Okoy batter can also be mixed with kamote (sweet potato) or kamoteng kahoy (cassava), instead of, or in addition to calabaza. Other ingredients are also traditionally added, including mung bean sprouts (togue) and/or julienned carrots, onions, and green papaya. [6] [7] The dish is sometimes dyed bright orange with achuete seeds. [1]
Okoy can be eaten on its own or with white rice. It is usually eaten as a snack, as appetizers, or as a breakfast meal. Traditionally, it is served with a vinegar-based dipping sauce; like sinamak (vinegar with labuyo chilis, ginger, garlic, peppercorns, and onion) or pinakurat (vinegar with fish sauce, labuyo chilis, peppercorns, ginger, garlic, and dried mangoes). [3] [8] [9] But it can also be dipped in banana ketchup, tomato ketchup, sweet and sour sauces, or even garlic mayonnaise. [10]
Modern versions typically use regular flour or rice flour, instead of galapong. [5] Egg mixed with cornstarch can also be used. [3] [8] Okoy is also used to refer to savory omelettes made with mashed calabaza or sweet potato (more properly tortang kalabasa or tortang kamote , respectively), with or without the shrimp. [2]
The shrimp may also be omitted completely, especially when using mashed calabaza or sweet potato. The shrimp can be replaced with small fish like dilis (anchovies) or dulong (noodlefish), as well as calamari or even shredded chicken. [9] [11] [12] Larger shrimp, shelled and butterflied can also be used, and can be cooked tempura-style. [7]
The dish can be modified easily to use other non-traditional ingredients, [6] including potatoes, bell peppers, peppercorns, tokwa (tofu), grated coconut, and apulid (water chestnuts). [6] [1] A unique variant of the dish uses banana flowers (puso ng saging, lit. "banana heart") cooked in batter. [2]
A similar dish is tortang dulong or maranay which is an omelette made from very small fish from the family Salangidae known as dulong in Tagalog and ipon, libgao, or maranay in Visayan. [13] [14] [15] [16]
An omelette is a dish made from eggs, fried with butter or oil in a frying pan. It is a common practice for the omelette to be folded around fillings such as chives, vegetables, mushrooms, meat, cheese, onions or some combination of the above. Whole eggs or egg whites are often beaten with a small amount of milk, cream, or water.
Fried rice is a dish of cooked rice that has been stir-fried in a wok or a frying pan and is usually mixed with other ingredients such as eggs, vegetables, seafood, or meat. It is often eaten by itself or as an accompaniment to another dish. Fried rice is a popular component of East Asian, Southeast Asian and certain South Asian cuisines, as well as a staple national dish of Indonesia. As a homemade dish, fried rice is typically made with ingredients left over from other dishes, leading to countless variations. Fried rice first developed during the Sui Dynasty in China.
Sweet and sour is a generic term that encompasses many styles of sauce, cuisine, and cooking methods. It is commonly used in East Asia and Southeast Asia and has been used in England since the Middle Ages. Sweet and sour sauce remains popular in Asian and Western cuisines.
A fritter is a portion of meat, seafood, fruit, vegetables, or other ingredients which have been battered or breaded, or just a portion of dough without further ingredients, that is deep-fried. Fritters are prepared in both sweet and savory varieties.
Filipino cuisine is composed of the cuisines of more than a hundred distinct ethnolinguistic groups found throughout the Philippine archipelago. A majority of mainstream Filipino dishes that compose Filipino cuisine are from the food traditions of various ethnolinguistic groups and tribes of the archipelago, including the Ilocano, Pangasinan, Kapampangan, Tagalog, Bicolano, Visayan, Chavacano and Maranao ethnolinguistic groups. The dishes associated with these groups evolved over the centuries from a largely indigenous base shared with maritime Southeast Asia with varied influences from Chinese, Spanish and American cuisines, in line with the major waves of influence that had enriched the cultures of the archipelago and adapted using indigenous ingredients to meet local preferences.
Torta is a culinary term that can, depending on the cuisine, refer to cakes, pies, flatbreads, sandwiches, or omelettes.
The generic term for condiments in the Filipino cuisine is sawsawan. Unlike sauces in other Southeast Asian regions, most sawsawan are not prepared beforehand, but are assembled on the table according to the preferences of the diner.
Rice vermicelli is a thin form of noodle. It is sometimes referred to as "rice noodles" or "rice sticks", but should not be confused with cellophane noodles, a different Asian type of vermicelli made from mung bean starch or rice starch rather than rice grains themselves.
Shrimp or prawn dishes are often prepared by frying, especially deep frying. There are several styles.
Camaron rebosado is a deep-fried battered shrimp dish in Philippine cuisine. It is usually served with a sweet and sour sauce. It is a common dish in Philippine cuisine.
Lumpia are various types of spring rolls from Indonesia and the Philippines. Lumpia are made of thin paper-like or crepe-like pastry skin called "lumpia wrapper" enveloping savory or sweet fillings. It is often served as an appetizer or snack, and might be served deep-fried or fresh (unfried). Lumpia are Indonesian and Filipino adaptations of the Fujianese rùnbǐng and Teochew popiah, usually consumed during Qingming Festival.
Tortang talong, also known as eggplant omelette, is an omelette or fritter from Filipino cuisine made by pan-frying grilled whole eggplants dipped in an egg mixture. It is a popular breakfast and lunch meal in the Philippines. A common variant of tortang talong is rellenong talong, which is stuffed with meat, seafood, and/or vegetables.
Ginataang kalabasa, also known as kalabasa sa gata, is a Filipino vegetable stew made from calabaza in coconut milk and spices. It commonly includes shrimp and yardlong beans and either bagoong or patis. It can also be cooked with fish, crab, or meat and a variety of other ingredients. It is a creamy umami-laden dish that is naturally slightly sweet due to the calabaza. It is a type of ginataan.
Nilasing na hipon is a Filipino dish consisting of whole unshelled shrimp marinated in alcohol and various spices, usually coated in batter, and then deep-fried. It is usually dipped in a vinegar-based sauce. The alcohol used is traditionally rice wine like basi or arrack like lambanog; but modern versions can use other types of alcohol, most commonly gin, beer, or white wine.
Tortang kalabasa, also known as squash fritters, is a Filipino omelette made by mixing mashed or finely-grated pumpkin (calabaza) with flour, water, egg, salt, and pepper. Other ingredients like minced vegetables can also be added. It is very similar to okoy, but the latter is made with glutinous rice batter rather than eggs. Regardless it is sometimes known as squash okoy or okoy na kalabasa.
Burmese fritters are traditional fritters consisting of vegetables or seafood that have been battered and deep-fried. Assorted fritters are called a-kyaw-sone. Burmese fritters are generally savory, and often use beans and pulses, similar to South Asian vada.
Poqui poqui, also spelled puke puke or puki puki, is a Filipino eggplant and scrambled eggs dish originating from the Ilocos Region of Northern Luzon in the Philippines. It is very similar to tortang talong in that the eggplant is first grilled directly on an open flame, then peeled and mashed. It is then added to ginisa and scrambled eggs. It is garnished with spring onions. It has a creamy texture and is usually eaten as a side dish to grilled fish and meat dishes, but it can also be eaten with white rice. It is believed that the name of poqui poqui may have originated from the Hawaiian dish poke due to the influx of Ilocano sugarcane workers to Hawaii during the American colonization of the Philippines, although they are very different dishes.
Tortang sardinas, also known as tortang tinapa, sardines omelette, or tinapa fritters, is a Filipino omelette made by mixing shredded tinapa with eggs. It can also include tomatoes, onions, garlic, salt, ground black pepper, minced spring onions, and/or flour, as well as various other ingredients. It typically uses canned sardines, which comes with a tomato sauce which may or may not also be included. It is commonly regarded as a very cheap and easy meal to prepare, with a reputation similar to instant noodles. It is usually eaten for breakfast with white rice and banana ketchup. It can also be eaten as a sandwich with pandesal bread.
Tortang carne norte, also known as corned beef omelette, is an omelette or fritter from Filipino cuisine made by pan-frying an egg and shredded canned corned beef mixture. It is usually seasoned with salt and black pepper, but it can also include onions, scallions, garlic, and/or sugar. It is a popular breakfast meal in the Philippines and is eaten with white rice or pandesal.