This dish didn't quite work out the way I planned. The recipe (from Party Swizzle) sounded great. I followed the instructions, but had major issues with the oil.
If the oil isn't hot enough, your toasts are going to soak up WAY too much. If it's too hot, the bread will get too brown immediately before you can flip them over. It's a delicate balance to get the oil a perfect temp.
Also, only fry one or two at a time. If you put too many in the skillet at once, you can't get them turned quickly enough. Learn from my mistakes. : )
Next time I'll try these in the deep fryer. I think that would have made all the difference. The taste was perfect, just the execution needs a little work. At least for Lolly.
1/2 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 T. water chestnuts1 t. minced ginger root
1 t. sesame oil
1 t. cooking sherry
2 t. soy sauce
1 T. slightly beaten egg
1 t. cornstarch
1 scallion finely chopped
1/2 cup sesame seeds
10 slices white bread
24 oz. peanut oil for frying
Cut the crusts off the slices of bread and set out for a few hours to dry out.
Pulse shrimp, water chestnuts, ginger, sesame oil, sherry, soy sauce and egg to a coarse puree. Stir together with cornstarch, scallions and 1/4 tsp salt. Spread the mixture on the bread and cut each slice into quarters--half squares and half triangles. Pour the sesame seeds on a plate and take one of the quarters and press into the seeds, shrimp paste side down.
Repeat for half the squares and half of the triangles, and leave the rest plain. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until ready to fry.
Heat 1-inch depth of oil to very hot, but not smoking. A few bread crumbs dropped in should sizzle right away. Fry the quarters a few at a time by lowering them paste side down into the oil with a slotted spoon for about 1 minute.
Flip them over and fry a few more seconds. Drain on paper towels.
Best served immediately, but you may fry ahead of time and reheat 5 minutes in a 300° F oven. They also may be frozen then heated in 325° F oven for 15 minutes.
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