Hi bagelfairy!
Your question has made me hungry again, even though I just had dinner.
I thought you were supposed to get hungry an hour *after* eating
Chinese food?
Finding the *exact* recipe that you have in mind could be difficult,
as no two Chinese restaurants prepare a given dish in exactly the same
way. Like many other styles of cooking, Chinese cooking varies widely
by both the region and the cook. Hot and sour soup, for example, is
made with a thin consistency broth, teensy slivers of vegetables and
meat, and enough spice and vinegar to clear the sinuses of the people
across the room from me at my favorite place (perfect!), but has the
consistency and overall flavor of plain brown gravy at another place I
occasionally go to.
That said, I think I've got your recipe.
SUM CHOI'S CRISPY SHRIMP
2 Bunches Choi Sum
1 lb Whole Shrimp
1 c Corn Starch
1 T Garlic Salt or Powder
1 T Onion Powder
Pinch of Black Pepper
10 Cloves of Garlic
1 stick of Butter or Margarine
SAUCE:
1 T Ko Chu Jung
1 T Oyster
1 T Shoyu
2 T Sugar
1 T Vinegar
Combine corn starch, garlic salt or powder, onion powder, and black
pepper. Pat shrimp dry and roll into powder mixture then refrigerate
for 3 to 4 hours. Deep fry shrimp till golden brown. Saute garlic in
butter. Set 1 T aside to combine with sauce. Stir-fry choi sum in
remaining garlic butter sauce. Compine 1 T of garlic butter with
"sauce" ingredients. Set shrimp on bed of stir-fried choi sum and
drizzle sauce mixture.
You can find this recipe here:
Sam Choy on KFVE-TV, Hawaii
http://www.suresave.com/SamRecipes/2000/SC_Recipe_Nov4.html
Just to make sure, I rang up Lu, the proprietor of my favorite local
Chinese restaurant - I've been a regular for years, and her son
happens to be my nephew's best friend, so she'll occasionally talk
shop with me. I asked if this was how she prepared "Crispy Shrimp in
Spicy Salt", and she said yes, it is, with a minor variation - she
also finely minces green chile peppers, and adds them to the pan of
butter just before the garlic is completely cooked. It's important to
make sure that you add the chiles very close to the end of the
garlic's cooking time, so you don't lose the pepper's zesty flavor.
That confirmed my suspicion. So here is the recipe you're looking
for.
If it turns out that this is *not* what you're after, please do ask
for clarification. I am the happy owner of two long shelves stuffed
with cookbooks (including the CIA cookbook) and recipe files, I will
gladly dig through them for you to find the perfect fit.
Can I come over for dinner? ;)
Happy cooking!
missy-ga <--well fed food fan
Search terms: [ "crispy shrimp" +recipe ] ...and a bit of cook's
instinct |
Clarification of Answer by
missy-ga
on
13 Jun 2002 21:48 PDT
Hi bagelfairy!
I'm sorry, I should have translated those for you right from the
start. I got so excited about the recipe that it didn't occur to me
that these aren't common terms for folks who don't usually cook Asian
dishes.
Choi sum, also spelled choy sum, is a chinese cabbage. You might know
it as bok choi. You can find a picture of it here:
Choy Sum
http://chinesefood.about.com/library/blphotochoysum.htm
Ko Chu Jung is a condiment, a Korean red pepper paste. You can make
your own (very time consuming, it takes a month!) or you can pop in to
your local Asian grocer for a jar. Some mainstram grocery stores also
carry it, ask your grocer for "red pepper paste". You can also ask
your favorite Chinese restaurant if they can recommend a brand or a
substitute (it isn't much different from Thai Chili Paste, you can
always use that).
Shoyu is just plain old soy sauce, with a pretty name. Best bet for
good flavor: Kikkoman.
Do keep in mind that though Sam's recipe calls for choi sum, you can
certainly use whatever vegetables suit your palate.
How are we now, bagelfairy? Closer? Or still missing something?
Don't hesitate to ask for more information if you think we're still
not quite there!
missy-ga
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