Pictorial: Shrimp Paste Wrapped in Bean Curd Sheet

[hzrt8w]

Shrimp Paste Wrapped in Bean Curd Sheets (鮮蝦腐皮卷)

I bought some shrimp paste (ground shrimp) from a local Asian grocery store. One of the best ways to cook it is to wrap them in bean curd sheets and fry them or fry-then-steam them. You can make your own shrimp paste. Simply shell the shrimp, devine, and put them in a food processor. Grind for 1 minute or so.

You can find this dish as a dim sum item in dim-sum restaurants. The ones that are steamed typically have ground pork as fillings. If you like a vegetarian version, you may use reconstituted black mushrooms mixed with shredded bamboo shoots and bean sprouts as fillings.

There are different types (different grades) of bean curd sheets. The best ones are fresh (not dried) and are kept in the refrigerator/freezer section in the Asian grocery stores. In Cantonese, they are called seen jook. They are soft to the touch and very flexible. In my opinion, they taste the best. The second best ones are dried and sold in a plastic package. In Cantonese, they are called foo jook. In dried form, they are very brittle. They need to be soaked in water briefly before use.

Picture of the finished dish:

Serving Suggestion: 2 to 3

Preparations:

Main ingredients (from lower-right, clockwise):

- 1 lb of packed shrimp paste (or have about 1 1/2 lb of shrimp with shells, shell them and grind your own)

- 1 stalk of green onion

- 1 pack of dried bean curd sheets (or "tofo skin"). This pack was loosely translated as "beadcurd sticks"). Use 4 sheets. (Need to divide each sheet in half)

- (not shown) 1 chicken egg

The shrimp paste (ground shrimp) purchased from the store is unseasoned. If you grind your own shrimp, you may season it slightly with salt, ground white pepper and (optional) 1-2 clove of garlic - pressed. Add the seasoning and pressed garlic in the food processor when you grind up the shrimp.

The dried bean curd sheets very brittle. They need to be soaked in water briefly before use. Gently lay 4 sheets of bean curd sheets in a bin of warm water. Soak for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove and drain off excess water. Caution: Do not soak the dried bean curd sheets for too long, or else they will turn very soft and look opaque-white. The best to use if when they look semi-translucent.

Alternatively, you may wrap a couple of wet towels around the dried bean curd sheets to moisten them.

Use a small bowl. Break the egg and beat it. Use this as a "sealant" for the bead curd rolls.

Lay a soaked bean curd sheet on the board. Use a small knife to trim off along the edge on one side to divide one sheet into two (these sheets are usually sold folded up). Just make sure the size of the sheet to use is about 6 to 8 inches on each side.

Scoop about 3-4 tblsp of shrimp paste (ground shrimp) and lay it as flat as you can on top of the bean curd sheet. Use a small brush to brush on the beaten egg around the edges.

Fold it diagonally. First from the bottom, fold up. Then from the left, fold right.

Then from the right, fold left. Then roll up the rest. Brush on a little more beaten egg to seal the end.

Continue through the same process to make about 8 rolls.

(Not shown: trim and chop up the green onion.)

Cooking Instructions:

Use a pan, set stove to medium. Add 3 tblsp of cooking oil. Wait until oil is hot. Add all the bean curd rolls. Sear until golden brown, about 3 minutes or so on each side.

Turn the rolls over and sear the other side.

If you like to eat these rolls when they are crispy, stop here. (Perhaps adjust the cooking time just slightly longer.) Remove and serve. If you want the bean curd sheet soften up a bit, continue.

Add about 1/8 cup of chicken broth.

Cook with the lid on for another 5 minutes. This technique is very similar to making potstickers: steaming and frying combined.

After 5 minutes, the chicken broth is mostly evaporated. Transfer the rolls to the serving plate.

Use a pair of kitchen sears, cut up each bean curd roll into 3 to 4 pieces.

To make the sauce: continue to cook in the same pan. Add 2 tblsp of cooking oil. Add the white portion of the chopped green onion. Sautee for 20 seconds. Add 1/4 tsp of salt (or to taste). Dash in 1-2 tsp of ShaoHsing cooking wine. Stir well.

Add 1/4 cup of chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Add 2 tsp of oyster sauce, 1 tsp of sugar, and 1 tsp of dark soy sauce.

Mix well. To thicken the sauce, use corn starch slurry (suggest: 1 tsp corn starch in 2 tsp of water). Adjust to the right consistency. Scoop up the sauce and ladle on top of the bean curd rolls. Sprinkle the rest of the chopped green onions on top.

Serve immediately.

Picture of the finished dish.

(Note: The quantity of food made in this recipe is about twice the portion shown in this picture.)

[SuzySushi]

Looks delicious! Believe it or not, I've never used dried beancurd sheets although I order foods wrapped with them all the time for dim sum. This should give me the impetus to buy them!

[annoy_ken]

That looks great....have been looking forward to reading (and sometimes following) you Pictorals...Thanks and keep up the great work.

[Dejah]

Good job, Ah Leung.

I have the foo jook sheets, and use my mini chopper to make the shrimp paste, so that's my project during my break.

[hzrt8w]

I just had a dim-sum version of this shrimp tofu-skin roll. They mixed in ground shrimp with chopped cilantro and pan-fry the rolls. Tasted excellent!