Deep-Fried Shrimp Toast – Time Life Cookbooks

1 teaspoon salt
½ pound fresh shrimp in their shells
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 slices homemade-type white bread
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons fresh pork fat
3 cups peanut oil or flavorless vegetable oil
4 peeled fresh water chestnuts or rinsed, drained canned water chestnuts
16 leaves of fresh Chinese parsley (cilantro), or substitute flat-leaf Italian parsley
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or pale dry sherry

Prepare Ahead:

1. Shell the shrimp. With a small, sharp knife, devein them by making a shallow incision down their hacks and lifting out the black or white intestinal vein with the point of the knife. With a cleaver or heavy, sharp knife, chop the shrimp until they are reduced to a fine pulp-like mass.

2. With a cleaver or sharp knife, trim the bread slices of their crusts and discard the crusts. Cut the bread into quarters or, diagonally, into triangles.

3. Chop the pork fat and water chestnuts together as fine as possible, and, in a small bowl, combine them with the shrimp. Add the wine, salt, lightly beaten egg and cornstarch, and, with a large spoon or your fingers, mix them together thoroughly until they form a paste.

4. With a knife or spatula, spread an equal amount of the shrimp mixture on the bread squares or triangles, mounding them slightly in the centers. For decoration, gently press a fresh parsley leaf into the center of each mound.

5. Have the above ingredients, the oil, and a large, shallow baking pan lined with a double thickness of paper towels within easy reach.

To Cook:

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Pour 3 cups of oil into a 12-inch wok or large deep-fryer and heat the oil until a haze forms above it or it registers 375 degrees on a deep-frying thermometer. Shrimp side down, drop in the bread squares about 6 at a time (the filling will not fall off). Fry for about 1 minute, then gently turn them over in the fat with a large slotted spoon. Fry for 1 minute longer until the bread and shrimp topping are golden brown. Then turn them over again and fry them for another minute. Drain each batch in the lined baking pan and keep them warm in the oven until all the shrimp toast is fried. Serve on a heated platter as an hors d’oeuvre.

Egg Roll Filling – Time Life Chinese Cookbooks

¼ pound ground pork
1 tablespoon soy sauce
¼ teaspoon sugar
¼ pound tiny shrimp
¼ cup chopped mushrooms

Brown meat and drain off fat. Combine these ingredients and cook thoroughly. Set aside while vegetables are prepared.

2 cups chopped celery
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound fresh bean sprouts
1 ½ teaspoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons chicken broth

Cook celery in 1 tablespoon oil, add salt, and bean sprouts. Stir in cornstarch-broth mixture. Combine vegetable and meat mixtures, mix and heat thoroughly. Let filling cool before assembling egg rolls.

Mandarin Pancakes – Time Life Cookbooks

Makes 2 dozen pancakes

3/4 cup boiling water
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 to 2 tablespoons sesame-seed oil

Sift flour into a mixing bowl, make a well in the center and pour into it the 3/4 cup of boiling water. With a wooden spoon, gradually mix flour and water together until a soft dough is formed; on a lightly floured surface, knead it gently for 10 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Cover with a damp kitchen towel and let it rest for 15 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a circle about ¼ inch thick. With a 2 ½ inch cookie cutter or a glass, cut as many circles of dough as you can. Knead scraps together, roll out again and cut more circles. Arrange circles side by side, brush half of them lightly with sesame-seed oil and, sandwich-wise, place the unoiled ones on top. With a rolling pin, flatten each pair into a 6-inch circle, rotating the sandwich an inch or so in a clock-wise direction as you roll so that the circle keeps its shape, and turning it once to roll both sides. Cover the pancakes with a dry towel.

Set a heavy 8-inch skillet over high heat for 30 seconds. Reduce heat to moderate and cook the pancakes, one at a time, in the ungreased pan, turning them over as they puff up and little bubbles appear on the surface. Regulate the heat so that the pancakes become specked with brown after cooking about 1 minute on each side. As each pancake is finished, gently separate the halves and stack them on a plate. Serve them at once or wrap them in foil and refrigerate for later use. Or they may be wrapped and frozen, if you like.

Soft-Fried Shredded Pork and Eggs – Time Life Cookbooks

½ cup dried tiger lily buds
½ cup dried cloud ear
½ pound boneless pork shoulder
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or pale dry sherry
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon sugar
4 tablespoons peanut oil or flavorless vegetable oil
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon salt
4 scallions, including the green tops, shredded
1 teaspoon sesame-seed oil

Mandarin pancakes

Prepare Ahead:

In a small bow, cover the tiger lily buds with 1 cup of warm water and let them soak for 30 minutes. Discard the water. Snap off and discard the hard ends of the buds, wash the buds in a col­ander under cold running water, drain, and cut each bud in half.

In another small bowl, cover the cloud ears with 1 cup of warm water and let them soak for 30 minutes. Discard the water. Wash the ears under cold running water, and then break them into small pieces.

Place the pork on a chopping board and, holding the meat firmly, cut it horizontally into paper-thin slices with a cleaver or sharp knife. Then cut the slices into shreds 1½ to 2 inches long and 1/8 inch wide. Combine the wine, soy sauce, cornstarch and sugar in a howl, add the pork ~ and mix well. Have the above ingredients, and the oil, lightly beaten eggs, salt and scallions within easy reach. Reheat the mandarin pancakes and keep them warm.

To Cook:

Set a 12-inch wok or 10-inch skillet over high heat for about 30 seconds. Pour in 2 tablespoons of oil, swirl it about in the pan and immediately reduce the heat to moderate. Pour in the beaten eggs. They will form a film on the bottom of the pan almost at once. Immediately push it to the back of the pan with a fork so that the still-liquid eggs on top can spread into the bottom of the pan to cook. As soon as the eggs are set and dry, but before they begin to brown, transfer them to a small bowl and break them up with a fork. Pour 2 more tablespoons of oil into the pan, swirl it about and heat it for 30 seconds. Add the shredded pork mixture and stir-fry for 5 to 6 minutes until the meat loses its pink color. Add the tiger lily buds and cloud ears, and stir-fry for 1 minute, then add the scallions and salt, mix well, and stir in the scrambled eggs. Stir and cook for 1 minute longer, add the sesame seed oil and serve at once in a deep platter, accompanied by the warm mandarin pancakes. Traditionally, each guest spreads a pancake flat on his plate and places.

Shrimp With Lobster Sauce – Time Life Cookbooks

1 pound small raw shrimp in their shells (about 26 to 30 to the pound)
1/4 cup peanut oil or flavorless vegetable oil
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or pale dry sherry
2 teaspoons fermented black beans chopped
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
¼ pound lean pork, freshly ground
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 scallion, including the green top, finely chopped
1 cup chicken stock, fresh or canned
2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 3 tablespoons cold chicken stock or cold water
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Prepare Ahead:

1. Shell the shrimp but leave the tail shell attached. With a small, sharp knife, devein the shrimp by making a shallow incision down their backs and lifting out the black or white intestinal veins with the point of the knife. Wash the shrimp under cold running water, pat them dry with paper towels and put them aside.

2. Have the shrimp, oil, wine, pork, garlic, black beans, salt, soy sauce, sugar, pepper, scallions, chicken stock, cornstarch mixture and beaten eggs within easy reach.

To Cook:

Set a 12-inch wok or 10-inch skillet over high heat for 30 seconds. Pour in 2 tablespoons of the oil, swirl it about in the pan and heat for another 30 seconds, turning down the heat to moderate if the oil begins to smoke. Drop in the shrimp and stir-fry for about 1 minute, or until the shrimp turn pink. Stir in the wine, and then remove the shrimp mixture to a plate. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan. Add the fermented black beans and garlic, and stir for a few seconds, making sure the garlic doesn’t burn. Add the pork and stir-fry for 2 or 3 minutes until the meat is no longer pink. Stir in the soy sauce, salt, sugar, pepper, scallions and reserved shrimp, and then pour in the chicken stock. Cover the pan and bring the stock to a boil. Give the cornstarch mixture a quick stir to recombine it and add it to the pan. When the sauce has thickened and become clear - about 30 seconds - pour in the beaten eggs in a slow stream, meanwhile, with a large spoon, lifting the contents of the pan gently from the sides so that the eggs merge with all the ingredients without any further cooking. Transfer the entire contents of the pan to a heated platter and serve at once. As a main course, this will serve 2 to 4.