How to make shrimps crunchy? pictures (1 of 3)
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How do you make shrimp crunchy? More precisely, how do you make shrimp Chinese-restaurant-crunchy?
I’ve been obsessed with this subject matter for the longest time–a topic that took me a while to research. If you’ve tried dim sum or shrimp dishes in Chinese restaurants, you know exactly what I mean–shrimp so crunchy they give a mouth feel that they “bounce” in your mouth as you sink your teeth into the firm flesh. In Chinese, it’s called 爽脆 (shuangcui).
Great Chinese food is all about texture and mouth feel (口感) of everyday ingredients, the most basic skill that a good Chinese chef should acquire. My uncle in Hong Kong is a huge connoisseur and a fantastic cook; he taught me the secret technique which he learned from a Cantonese top chef in Hong Kong–water. Yes, cold running water to rinse shrimp (up to hours) until the flesh firms up and becomes translucent. I have later confirmed this technique with a few kitchen workers in Chinese restaurants, and yes, it’s true…(learn the secret technique of making shrimp crunchy after the jump)
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Shrimp and Chive Dumplings (韭菜虾饺) pictures (1 of 14)
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When it comes to cooking or eating, I am very spontaneous. It’s about what comes to mind at the very moment when I am hungry–a recipe from a cookbook, a mouthwatering picture online, or a sudden craving. These shrimp and chive dumplings were a result of browsing two sinfully delicious posts: Use Real Butter’s chive dumplings and Andrea Nguyen’s Asian Dumplings Cookbook teaser. Those succulent chive and shrimp dumplings had me at first sight.
I was going to make har gow or the ever-popular Cantonese shrimp dumplings but the thought of folding the delicate morsels discouraged me. I decided to make shrimp and chive dumplings (韭菜虾饺), but had no patience making the wheat starch skin from scratch. I wanted my shrimp dumplings and I wanted them pronto; I thought of a way to cheat, which I have seen at a few dim sum restaurants. The answer is wrapping the shrimp dumplings with regular dumpling/potsticker wrappers or wonton skin. I settled on wonton skin…(get shrimp and chive dumplings recipe after the jump)
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I used to dread egg drop soup (蛋花汤); I had countless bad, sticky, gooey egg drop soup made popular by American Chinese restaurants here in the US. When I was a poor and starving graduate student in the Midwest, I ate too much crappy Chinese buffets or lunch specials with endless supply of MSG-loaded egg [...]
Chicken Fried Rice
Guest Writer: Tastes Like Home
I have known the lovely Cynthia at Tastes Like Home for a while; she is one of the early supporters of Rasa Malaysia. Last year when we were on a Caribbean cruise, we met up with her in Barbados. A few months ago, I invited Cynthia to write a [...]
Americans take BBQ ribs very seriously. When it comes to BBQ ribs, attention to details spans from spice rub/seasonings, sauce, pork flavor, texture, smoke, appearance, scent, mouthfeel, cooking and grilling techniques to the overall balance of the ultimate product. Originated and perfected in the American South, BBQ ribs is at the very core of American [...]
Do you love black pepper? I do.
Think black pepper crab, black pepper beef (served on a sizzling hot plate!), and black pepper in the many concoctions that ultimately add depth and awesomeness to the dish. Don’t you just love black pepper?
I made black pepper chicken for dinner last night. It was a very spontaneous [...]
There is no secret that I love dumplings–boiled, pan-fried, or steamed. Recently, a coworker from Japan is in town and we were discussing about going for a dim sum/dumpling lunch. All the dumpling talks triggered a sharp craving in me that I had to make my own steamed dumplings.
Making dumplings is really not so hard [...]
I made this string beans (french beans) recipe a few months ago but haven’t gotten to posting it. Called 干煸四季豆, this is a popular Chinese recipe that is mostly served in Chinese restaurants here in the US.
I love the texture of the deep-fried string beans; the great flavors came from stir-frying the string beans (french [...]
