Submitted by Vanessa Bondoc, my cousin-in-law
INGREDIENTS
- Grated cassava *NOTE: The secret is to use twice as much cassava than sweet potatoes or butternut squash. It’s what basically acts like flour and keeps the whole thing together!
- Grated sweet potatoes or butternut squash
- Salt & pepper, to taste
- Shrimp (and YES, is it too much to ask to keep the darned heads on?! I don’t care if you think they’re watching you)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Wash shrimp and add a dash of salt to them *NOTE: I always prefer sea salt over iodized. It just tastes better and is better for you!
- Grate the cassava, then the sweet potatoes or butternut squash
- Once done grating, mix both together really well and salt & pepper to taste
- Preheat your pan or wok; add a generous amount of cooking oil and make sure oil is very hot
- You can use a round saucer of some kind to shape the okoy mixture, if you care about keeping your okoy uniform and pretty much the same size
- Place the shrimps on top and fry those puppies up!
- If the mixture starts to come apart initially, just keep pushing the loose bits back to the fray
- Fry until a delicous golden brown on one side, then flip over
- Serve and enjoy! Best dipping companion: Vinegar, infused with garlic and/or chili peppers, if you like it hawt!
Vanessa Bondoc, with my lovely niece, Cali and my cousin Jae Alcance
Cooking Ng Ina Niyo! 
Yummy!
Great recipe and picture! May I include the photo from your cousin in an introductory Philippines cultural heritage book I’m writing? I’ll cite her as the source of course. And would you or she happen to have an equally good picture of halo halo?
Best Wishes,
DJ