Chef Huys Banh Tap Spiced Pork On Shrimp Crackers Recipes

PORK AND SHRIMP WON TONS

Steps:

• Put pork and shrimp in a chilled mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper and mix briefly with chopsticks, wet hands or wooden spoons. Add rice wine, soy sauce, sugar, ginger, garlic, bean paste, serrano chiles and garlic chives. Mix well to incorporate. Pan-fry a small flat patty in a small amount of oil to check seasoning; taste and adjust. Transfer mixture to a small container, cover and chill at least 30 minutes, or longer if you have time, up to 24 hours.
• To prepare wontons, remove a few wonton skins from package and lay them on dry work surface. Put 1 teaspoon filling in the center of each square skin. Paint edges of square lightly with egg. Gently fold one side over the other, pinching edges together. You should a have a folded rectangle. Now pull the lower corners in toward each other and pinch together to make the traditional curved wonton shape. Place wontons 1 inch apart on a baking sheet or platter. Dust lightly with cornstarch and refrigerate, uncovered, until ready to cook.
• Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, put a small handful of spinach leaves and about 2 tablespoons cilantro in each person's deep wide soup bowl. When water is boiling, drop about 10 wontons into pot and cook for 2 minutes. Remove with wire bamboo spider (or a large fine-meshed sieve with a handle) and divide among bowls. Repeat with remaining wontons. Pour about 11/2 cups hot broth over each serving. Drizzle with red pepper oil if desired.

CHEF HUY'S BANH TAP (SPICED PORK ON SHRIMP CRACKERS)

Steps:

• Slice the pork as thinly as you can, cut each slice in half and place in a deep bowl.
• Peel the rough outside husks off the lemon grass and chop the tender inside very finely. Add to pork.
• Add sugar, nuoc mam, garlic and 2 tablespoons of oil to pork, mix well, cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
• When ready to serve, heat 2 cups of oil to the point that a bread cube browns quickly and rises to surface. Lower heat and drop in a prawn cracker. If the oil is hot enough (it should be just below the smoking point), the cracker will puff and swell and rise almost immediately to the surface. Remove and drain on absorbent paper. Proceed with rest of prawn crackers. The crackers must be removed as soon as they have fully expanded or they will curl up too tightly to spread the pork on them. This sounds complicated; in fact, it's a lot of fun.
• In a wok or frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil and saute scallions over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until brown. Remove, drain on absorbent paper, and set aside.
• Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan. Raise heat and saute pork over high heat until brown. Remove, leaving behind as much oil as possible.
• To serve, arrange shrimp crackers on platter. Top each cracker with a few slices of spicy pork and garnish each cracker with browned scallions and chopped peanuts.