Post by Littljoe on Apr 1, 2006 20:24:54 GMT -5
This recipe is from an old authentic Chinese cookbook I got a long time ago (and it was old when I got it!). I always do shrimp this way for special occasions, and everyone loves it even if the shrimp do have legs! The shells keep the shrimp tender and also catch and hold the sauce next to the meat.
If you have a wok, now's the time to use it.
1 pound large shrimp
8 tbsp cooking oil
1 tbsp cooking sherry
1 sweet onion, cut into small sections
1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp vinegar
1 tsp sugar
Heat 6 tbsp oil and fry the shrimp, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the pan, and heat the remaining oil until it is smoking. Pour the prawns back in and fry them again, stirring constantly, for another 5 minutes--this makes the shells brown and crisp. You don't eat the shells, but the cooked shells contribute to the flavor. Then add the soy sauce, sherry, ginger, onion, sugar, vinegar, and a little water. Continue stirring for a minute or two and then serve.
The way you eat these is typically Asian, at least according to a Chinese friend of mine: you put a whole shrimp in your mouth, suck the sauce out of the shell, and *then* peel and eat the shrimp. They are utterly fabulous, and a lot of fun to eat once you get used to it.
Just in case you still think that's gross, there's another recipe in the book for "drunken shrimp" that even I won't do. You put a pound of live shrimp in a big bowl with some sherry, salt, and soy sauce. Put a heavy plate over the bowl so the shrimp can't jump out. Leave them for an hour until they are "drunk," and then add chopped ginger and vinegar, mix it up, and serve the shrimp still alive in the sauce. The note on the recipe says this is "a famous dish in Hanchow." Not for me, I'm afraid.
--LJ
If you have a wok, now's the time to use it.
1 pound large shrimp
8 tbsp cooking oil
1 tbsp cooking sherry
1 sweet onion, cut into small sections
1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp vinegar
1 tsp sugar
Heat 6 tbsp oil and fry the shrimp, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the pan, and heat the remaining oil until it is smoking. Pour the prawns back in and fry them again, stirring constantly, for another 5 minutes--this makes the shells brown and crisp. You don't eat the shells, but the cooked shells contribute to the flavor. Then add the soy sauce, sherry, ginger, onion, sugar, vinegar, and a little water. Continue stirring for a minute or two and then serve.
The way you eat these is typically Asian, at least according to a Chinese friend of mine: you put a whole shrimp in your mouth, suck the sauce out of the shell, and *then* peel and eat the shrimp. They are utterly fabulous, and a lot of fun to eat once you get used to it.
Just in case you still think that's gross, there's another recipe in the book for "drunken shrimp" that even I won't do. You put a pound of live shrimp in a big bowl with some sherry, salt, and soy sauce. Put a heavy plate over the bowl so the shrimp can't jump out. Leave them for an hour until they are "drunk," and then add chopped ginger and vinegar, mix it up, and serve the shrimp still alive in the sauce. The note on the recipe says this is "a famous dish in Hanchow." Not for me, I'm afraid.
--LJ
