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Ingredients:
- 1 lb medium shrimp, peeled, deveined, and coarsely chopped
- 1 egg white, lightly beaten
- 2 tbsp coarsely chopped green onion
- 1 tbsp finely chopped garlic
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- ½ tsp sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 4 peeled sugarcane stalks, each about 6 inches long (half of a 48-ounce can)
- Vietnamese Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Mam Cham)
Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine the shrimp with the egg white, green onion, garlic, oil, fish sauce, sugar, salt, and pepper. Stir to mix everything well.
Transfer to a food processor or blender and pulse briefly, 3 to 5 times, just enough to blend all ingredients together into a very rough paste, with little chunks of shrimp still visible. Return the shrimp mixture to the bowl. If you have time, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or so; this makes the mixture a bit easier to handle.
Set out the sugarcane stalks on a work surface, and have the shrimp mixture and a small bowl of water at hand. Cut each stalk of sugarcane in half crosswise, to make 8 short stalks. Then cut each short stalk lengthwise into quarters, to make a total of 32 stalks, about inches long.
Dip your hands in water, and put 1 tablespoon of the shrimp mixture in the palm of your left hand. Press a 3-inch sugarcane skewer into the shrimp mixture, and then mold the shrimp mixture to encircle the skewer. Press to seal the shrimp to the cane, leaving both ends free to use as handles. Set aside on a plate while you prepare the remaining skewers in the same fashion.
Preheat the oven to 400°F, or lightly oil a grill pan or skillet until very hot. Place the sugarcane shrimp on the lightly oiled surface of the grill rack and cook, turning often, until the shrimp are pink, nicely browned on the outside, cooked to the center, and firm to the touch, 2 to 4 minutes or in the oven for 5 to 7 minutes, or in the hot skillet or grill pan, turning often, until browned and cooked through.
Transfer the shrimp to a serving platter and serve hot or warm, with Everyday Dipping Sauce.
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