Conference turris::cooks

	Rep .1  julia


>>>  I tried to make some yesterday but the 
    prawns kept falling off the toast (after having mashed them).
    Is there a binding agent or does someone have an authentic recipe?


	What did you do??? I take 1/2 lb of raw shrimp and place them
	in a food processor with a metal blade and then chop them  
	roughly. Then add four green onions cut into 1" pieces, 1TBsp
	sesame oil, 1TBsp soy sauce, 2 mushrooms, 1TBsp cornstarch,
	and 1 egg. Then process until a fine paste. The mixture is 
	real sticky and I've never had a problem with the mixture
	coming off the bread when fried.


	-mike

    Mike
    
    Thanks for that - I'll try it.  I wondered whether you had to FRY
    it - I had been grilling it.  Also do you add the sesame seeds before
    or after frying?
    
    Cheers
    julia

    1/2 - 1 lb (250g-500g) or there abouts of shelled prawns (* see notes)
    1 or 2 egg white (this is the binding/sticking agent)
    1 tsp  corn flour/starch (another binding/sticking agent)
    1 tsp  dry sherry/rice wine (the recipe calls for about 2 Tbs, but I
                                 find this much OTT)
    salt/pepper to taste             
    1 tsp  soy (can't remember if this is optional)
    2 TBS  sesame seeds
    slices of white bread
    oil for frying (in a wok, I aim for about a depth of 1-1.5" about 25-30mm)
    
    Chop the prawns into small (2-6mm 1/8-1/4") pieces. Thoroughly mix the
    egg white, sherry, corn flour, salt/pepper, soy. Mix in the chopped
    prawn and throughly coat. Cut the slices of bread into pieces roughly
    2" (50mm) square.
    
    Using a spoon and your fingers, press some of the prawn mixture onto a
    slice of bread. You can press quite firmly and it should stick.
    Sprinkle or press some sesame seeds onto the prawn mixture. Repeat
    until mixture runs out. NB I tend to make one/fry one i.e. as I'm putting
    one together another one is frying.
    
    I fry them like this. Heat oil to about 180C. Place bread/prawns into
    oil, PRAWN side up. Fry until bread becomes golden brown - this takes
    about a minute or two. Then turn over and fry for about 30 seconds,
    just enough time for the egg white/corn flour mixture to set. Take out
    and place on kitchen towels to drain.
    
    NOTES: The first problem you'll have is with the prawns. Its nigh on
    impossible to get uncooked prawns. I've seen uncooked Tiger prawns in
    Sainsbury's, Tescos and the fish mongers in smelly alley, but they cost
    a fortune. So I buy the frozen precooked North Atlantic prawns.
    Sainsbury's often put them on sale, and then I buy about three bags.
    Check the bags carefully and choose the ones with the biggest prawns in
    them. Its very variable, and I normally find their 'standard' sized
    prawns can be as large as their 'large' sized prawns.
    
    The first time I made sesame prawn toast, I faithfully followed a
    chinese recipe and put the prawns (along with egg white, etc) in food  
    processor and (as in .1) made them into a paste. The result was
    revolting, soley because the prawns were pre-cooked. The situation was
    not helped by following the cooking instructions in the recipe; it
    presumed uncooked prawns, so you start off by cooking the toast with
    the prawns down in the oil, and cook 'em for about 2 minutes before
    turning them over to brown the bread. The result had the texture of
    leather. This is why I say put the bread/prawn with the bread down
    first, then the merest heating of the prawn topping to 'set' the egg   
    white/corn starch.
    
    The other modification to the chinese recipe was to reduce the size of
    the bread slices. It recommened coating half a slice of bread with the
    prawn mixture and frying that. You then cut up the fried bread/prawns
    into bite sized pieces. This proved a disaster for me, so I cut 'em
    small to begin with and have no problems.
    
    I've had two types of sesame prawn toast (in chinese restaurants) one
    with the prawn mixture as a paste and another with the prawn mixture
    chopped in pieces. Both tasted equally good. I guess its regional
    variations or what the restaurant could get.
    
    Angus 

    Most excellent .3 - I'll give it a try soon.
    
    Cheers
    julia

    Shrimp/prawns are readily available locally (Ontario) at a competitive
    price at the grocery store - Loblaws sells a number of different 
    variations for a pretty good price. I'd be surprised if this wasn't 
    the case in the US as well.
    
    Monica
    
    P.S. Angus, that sounds particularly great - now that I haven't had 
    the oppurtunity to do Dim Sum in a while, I miss this dish a lot.
    

	The other I forgot to add in .1 was to take a rolling pin
	and flatten the bread out first before putting the shrimp
	mixture on it. I found that if flatten it first it takes 
	less time to cook and absorbs less oil making the finished
	product less greasy tasting. 

	-mike