Come on baby, light my Firecracker Shrimp

Firecracker Shrimp, or as my friends call it "Crack Shrimp," is so yummy and addicting I feel a little badly about posting the recipe on my blog. On the other hand, how could I deprive this sassy appetizer from its day in the sun? In order to avoid overdosing on Firecracker Shrimp, I suggest enjoying in moderation, like maybe 3-4 per day, and maybe only at bars and maybe only if you can bum them off a friend.

This festive appetizer, which is great for a Fourth of July gathering or Chinese New Year Celebration, looks just like a Firecracker. In China, Firecrackers light up the sky on New Year's Day. Prepare a day ahead and save the frying step for just after your guests arrive.

Firecracker Shrimp

12 large shrimp, in the shell
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt, divided
4 sheets spring roll wrappers
24 carrot strips (3x 1/4inch)
1 egg, beaten

Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Sriracha sauce

3 cups vegetable oil for deep-frying

Removing the shells and leaving the tail intact, make a deep cut lengthwise down the back of each shrimp; wash out the sand vein. Place warm water in a bowl and add the salt; stir to dissolve. Place the shrimp in the salt water and swirl. Leave the shrimp in the salt water for 5 minutes, then rinse with cold water, drain, and pat dry on paper towels. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt.

Cut each spring roll wrapper into thirds, making 3 long narrow strips.

Place the carrot strips in a small bowl, sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt, and set aside.

Brush the egg at the top of the shrimp. Place 2 carrot strips in the slit of each shrimp. Brush each spring roll strip with egg and roll each shrimp up tightly in the spring roll strip, with the egg holding it together. The tail of the shrimp should be protruding from one end and the carrots from the other - to resemble a firecracker! Continue process until all the wrappers are folded with the shrimp and carrots.

To make the dipping sauce, in a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise and hot pepper sauce. Set aside.

In a wok, heat the vegetable oil to 350 degrees. Fry the shrimp rolls until golden brown, about 2 minutes, turning 2 to 3 times. Drain on paper towels. Serve with the dipping sauce.

Kung Pao Katie: With Six You Get Eggroll

Someone recently requested a recipe for Pork Egg Rolls and it brought back memories of watching the film "With Six You Get Egg Roll" starring Brian Keith and Doris Day when my sister and I were little. We grew up in Minnesota in the '70s and tried to assimilate into Midwestern culture. We had no clubs so we belonged to the Sons of Norway and the Jewish Community Center. We helped our mother in her catering business whenever we weren't in school. TV and movies were our escape. We longed to be like the Brady Bunch and wondered why we were so different: Why didn't our family go ice skating together? Why did we have to eat Chinese food every night. Why did we spend our afternoons and weekends peeling pea pods and folding dumplings? Why didn't we go to Hawaii on vacation? Why were our vacations spent driving to and from Iowa where our siblings went to college eating char siu bao in the back seat and sleeping in the car overnight? Why weren't we like the blonde, shiny girls in the cars zooming by that got to stop and have hush puppies and ice cream at Howard Johnsons off the interstate? We didn't realize until much later in life how lucky we really were to be served my mother's incredible Cantonese creations night after night and to find love in that kitchen...with every fold of an eggroll, laughter with every slice of scallion and delicious memories to last a lifetime.

This recipe for Pork Egg Rolls is my mother's recipe and is a huge hit with my family and friends. It's the classic Cantonese style of egg roll made with an egg roll wrapper, not spring roll. You may substitute the pork with chicken breast. Enjoy!

Pork Egg Rolls

8 to 10 dried black mushrooms
2 lbs. pork loin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 lbs. bean sprouts

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons five spice powder

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup shredded canned bamboo shoots
1/2 cup sliced green onions (with tops)

1 pound egg roll skins
1 egg, beaten

vegetable oil

Soak mushrooms in warm water until soft, about 30 minutes; drain. Rinse in warm water; drain. Remove and discard stems; shred caps. Shred pork loin. Mix pork, 1 teaspoon salt and the cornstarch. Rinse bean sprouts in cold water; drain.

Heat wok until 1 or 2 drops of water bubble and skitter when sprinkled in wok. Add 3 tablespoons vegetable oil; rotate wok to coat side. Add bean sprouts; stir-fry 2 minutes. Mix 2 teaspoons salt and the five spice powder; stir half of the mixture into bean sprouts. Remove bean sprouts from wok.

Add 3 tablespoons vegetable oil to wok; rotate to coat side. Add pork; stir-fry
until pork turns white. Add mushrooms and bamboo shotts; stir-fry 2 minutes. Stir in bean sprouts, remaining five spice powder mixture and the green onions; drain thoroughly and cool.

To wrap, lay the egg roll wrapper out with the short (4 1/2") side directly in front of you. This will be the dry side. The two long sides will be called sides 1 and 3, and the other short side directly across from you will be called side 2. Place approximately 1 tablespoon of filling in the middle of the wrapper, spreading it out but not getting too close to the edges. Using a pastry brush, spread a bit of the egg along edges 1, 2, and 3. Fold over the dry side, then take side 2 and fold it over, making sure the two sides overlap. Press down firmly on sides 1 and 3, making sure they are well sealed.

Heat vegetable oil (2 inches) in wok to 350 degrees. Fry 4 or 5 egg rolls at a time until golden brown, turning 2 or 3 times, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain on paper towel. Serve with sweet and sour and hot mustard sauce.

Makes 18 to 22 egg rolls

Warning: Very addicting!

Kung Pao Katie: Adventures at Ikea

After spending 3 hours in traffic, I finally made it to my Ikea demo in Costa Mesa last week. I arrived to a nice crowd of Ikea shoppers who were probably already salivating from the onions carmelizing in the pan (thanks to the fantastic prep crew) Chef Jamie Gwen (of syndicated radio and QVC fame) and Chef Greg Grohowsky (exec chef, OC Hyatt) were also on hand for the evening.

Since I've become a mom, the demo was a perfect way to share some simple recipes like roasted red pepper hummus, curry aioli (a fancy way to say garlicky mayo), pesto sauce and fresh tomato sauce. I covered some basics too like the difference between a spice (the root or bark of a plant) and an herb (the leafy part). Totally herbaceous, baby! We also talked about the varieties of tomatoes. Like Heirloom -- which are passed from generation to generation. There's actually an Heirloom Tomato called Charlie's Radiator Mortgage because this guy started selling tomatoes out of the back of his truck in the 1930s and was able to pay 6 years of his mortgage from it. What more juicy details? Go to www.heirloomtomatoes.net.

After the basics, I showed them how to put the "ease" in Chinese with a couple of my favorite Asian recipes. First I made a simple stir-fry of Chicken with Snow Peas and Shitake Mushrooms. Yum. The key to creating really tender chicken in a stir-fry is to marinate the chicken in a bit of cornstarch. I showed that it really is easy to make Chinese food, but you have to be organized and have everything ready to go. Also, don't worry if you don't have a wok -- a non-stick frying pan is just fine. Then onto the memorable entertaining segment where I made Firecracker Shrimp. This is an appetizer my friends go crazy for. We love to make it during Chinese New Year because firecrackers light up the sky during this holiday. We finished the demo with a fantastic Blue Marguerita cocktail. Just take a little tequila and mix it with blue curacao...simply sublime.