Shrimp Day

Actually, it was more like Dim Sum day (southern China, the area which includes Canton [now Guangzhou], is the home of dim sum), but almost everything we cooked included shrimp. Yum.

There were various and sundry traumas in Asian Cooking today. Jim (having missed the class(es) where Chef Rhoda introduced the proper Asian knife techniques) used classic European cuts when preparing his vegetables, instead of finer, less regular, more angular cuts. Derrick mixed the paprika and sesame seeds into the shrimp toast mixture, instead of reserving them to sprinkle on top of the finished toasts. Worst of all, Alex used dark soy sauce in the wonton filling. As Chef explained, "wonton" translates as "swallowing a cloud," and the filling should be very light in color and texture. Alex told her that these clouds were thunderheads.We had perfect siu mai:Adam made this wonderful Eight-Treasure Rice in Lotus Leaf, shown in the steamer basket. The rice was rich with mushrooms and chinese sausage.
Beef Chow Fun is distinguished by the wide rice stick noodles.Twice in one week, I was bowled over by eggplant. This was stuffed with a wonderfully light shrimp filling, then coated in panko and deep-fried, and served with a spicy black bean sauce:The wrappers for these steamed shrimp dumplings are made with a combination of wheat starch, tapioca starch, and rice flour to produce the distinctive, almost-transparent appearance. After helping with the shrimp toast and chicken chow mein, I made some easy desserts. Chef Rhoda told us that part of the dim sum experience is the randomness with which dishes appear. There is no later, there is only now. Therefore, if the cart with your favorite dish rolls by, grab it and eat it -- even if it's dessert.

These are "bow-ties," twisted wonton wrappers with a sticky orange sauce. And these are "sweet crescents," filled with sugar, minced dried fruit, peanuts, and coconut. Sarah took a bite and said, "These taste just like trail mix bars!"