Shrimp and Cucumber Salad

Yet another addition to my Chinese cooking book. I know shrimp are an endangered item, but my son just loves this combo.


Shrimp and Cucumber Salad

1 large cucumber cut in half lengthwise& sliced very thinly.
½ lb. shrimp
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. vinegar
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 rib celery
Small bunch of Vermicelli

Sprinkle shrimp with salt. Remove the shell. In a med. Saucepan, bring 3 cups water to boil. Boil shrimp for 1 min. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop cooking process. Or use cooked shrimp. Slice cucumbers and place in bowl, sprinkle with salt and set aside for 10 min. Chop rib of celery. Bring larger saucepan filled ¾ full with water to boil. Boil vermicelli for 5 min. Drain, and rinse.

While Vermicelli is cooking. Squeeze water from cucumbers, drain away. Combine Shrimp, cucumbers, celery and drained and rinsed Vermicelli toss with dressing.

In separate bowl combine 1 tsp. salt, vinegar, sugar, lemon juice. This will be the dressing for the cucumbers, shrimp and vermicelli.
* I have successfully substituted chicken for the shrimp. Of course I cut it up into bite size pieces, and stir fried it.
Serves 4.

Basic Fried Rice

This is the original recipe for fried rice I have from the cooking class. Remember this was in the 70s so salt, fat and carbs were not in the forefront of our dietary awareness. Cook to desired doneness. I like my mushrooms thoroughly cooked and my shrimp not too chopped. I also add celery. I also use brown rice, or a mixture of rices. Alter as you like.

Basic Fried Rice

1 c. long grain rice ½ lb. barbecue pork, shredded.(I purchase this at our local Asian Grocery, otherwise watch for recipe on how to make your own.
2 eggs ½ lb. shrimp cooked
½ tsp. soy sauce ½ c. chopped onions *
½ tsp. salt 1 c. bean sprout
1 tbsp. oil 1 chopped green onions

Boil or steam rice as you like. Loosen up rice and let it cool. Beat eggs with a pinch of salt. Cook in fry pan as a thin omelette. When cool, chop up egg and set aside. Add 1 tsp. oil and 1 tsp. salt to a fry pan/wok and fry shrimp. Set aside. Stir fry onions* in a hot wok, for a short time add bean sprouts continue stirring for about 2 min. or until heated through, add cooked rice, shrimps, barbeque pork, . When all is heated thoroughly, add egg, soy sauce, salt if desired, green onions. Toss to mix and serve when heated through.

* The originally recipe calls for a Spanish onion, I have over the years mixed this up to a Vidallia, or a red onion, they change the taste ever so slightly. I fry the onions only enough to get the bitterness out before adding the remainder of the ingredients. You can also add mushrooms, and green peas (canned or frozen), canned peas can be drained and added just before serving, frozen peas should be added in the early stages after the onion. The mushrooms should be added before the onion as they will require a little more cooking time, stir fry these at a high temp., my preference is to have them thoroughly cooked so when the water is gone, continue recipe.

Won Ton Soup

Won Ton Soup

½ lb. won ton skins
4oz. minced pork
4 oz. minced shrimp
1 tsp. memi
2 tbsp. white wine
Pinch salt and pepper
3 ½ c. pork stock
1 egg

Add to soup
¼ lb. snow peas
1 doz. Sliced water chestnuts
2 leaves Buk Tuey (chopped)
2 green onions ( chopped)
½ tsp. memi

Mix the pork, shrimp, salt, pepper and white wine. Put ½ tsp. of the filling in the centre of each skin. Fold over and dampen one side with egg and pinch together. Cook the won ton very gently in boiling salted water for 15 minutes. Then drain and put into individual bowls.

Bring pork stock to a boil, add the snow peas, water chestnuts and buk tuey, green onions and memmi. Pour over the won tons and serve.


Notes
I don’t care for water chestnuts so I leave them out, and I use my own stock, not usually pork. I also like my snow peas cooked a little more, still crisp but cooked so I delay adding the buk tuey and green onions and memmi for about 7 minutes while I heat thoroughly the soup. Buk Tuey is a leafy herb available at Chinese grocery stores, or I have used parsley instead. Memmi is a milder soy sauce, which you can use instead if you can’t find memmi.