Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Wit...Pate' - A Killer Sandwich from Q.T. Vietnamese Sandwich

I fear I may run the risk of being kicked out of Philadelphia forever by writing this blog post, but the truth must be told. I think I found a better sandwich than a cheese steak. I know. The Pat and Gino's police are probably circling my block as I type, but I have fallen in love with a Vietnamese sandwich and I can't hide it any longer.

Some cheese steak places in Philly have adopted their own slang for ordering. "Wit" means with onions. "Wiz" means with cheese Whiz (an abomination though in my mind...don't get that crap anywhere near my sandwich). However at my new sandwich shop, Q.T. Vietnamese Sandwich, they ask if you would like your sandwich with or without pork pate' spread. I will take pork pate' spread over radioactive orange goo any day of the week!

A Vietnamese sandwich is unlike anything I've ever tasted. All sandwiches on the menu at Q.T. Vietnamese Sandwich are dressed the same way, with fresh sprigs of cilantro, pickled carrots, jalapeno peppers and cucumbers. Then you can choose whether or not you want the pate' spread (who wouldn't!!) and then you choose your filling. They offer fillings like lemongrass chicken, beef or tofu, Vietnamese grilled pork, bbq pork (not the type of bbq you would think) and their House Special which is filled with Vietnamese cold cuts. All are served on a delicious hoagie-type roll (super crispy and flaky on the outside and chewy on the inside). If this doesn't sound like heaven on a roll I don't know what does.

The last time the hubby and I went (by the way, I have to hand it to Nick, he discovered this place at lunch one day and if it weren't for him I would have NEVER found it) we had the House Special (Vietnamese cold cuts) and the lemongrass beef. Here is the House Special. The cold cuts are varied and one of them is reminiscent of head cheese (and some of the best headcheese I've ever encountered). The other types are more typical, but the flavor they bring to the sandwich is unreal. The fatty, flavorful meat mixed with the cilantro and pickled carrots makes the sandwich sing, and the cucumber adds the perfect crunch. No lettuce needed here folks.

This is the lemongrass beef. The hubby loves this one. The beef is chopped and mixed with a sweet and tangy lemongrass sauce. I'm honestly not sure if I can properly describe the flavor. Sweet...yes. Tangy...yes. Rich...yes. Ok, we'll just go with delicious and leave it at that. Oh, and did I mention that they're all under $5! Move over Subway, your $5 footlongs don't stand a chance. They also offer little appetizers like Vietnamese shrimprolls, fried fish balls, etc. We got the shrimprolls which are whole shrimp wrapped in a delicate springroll wrapper and stuffed with some fresh scallion, then quickly fried. They were simple, yummy and cheap! The rest of the menu lists some rice and rice noodle platters and last week they had a Pho special on the menu as well. Pho is another of my fav's. It's a Vietnamese noodle bowl.

I can't say enough good things about this tiny sandwich shop folks so you're just going to HAVE to go and see how good it is for yourself. It's in a small, unassuming space on N. 10th street between Market and Arch. The interior is painted a bright and sunny orange which seems to match perfectly with the super friendly and happy disposition of the staff. It's a block away from the Reading Terminal market so find a parking space and make an afternoon out of it. Grab a Vietnamese sandwich and then mosey over to the market to stock up on some of the best the city has to offer. That's what we did last weekend!

Q.T. Vietnamese Sandwich
48 N. 10th Street
267-639-4520

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Monday, January 25, 2010

Pork Belly & Pig Skin

On our way to breakfast yesterday morning my husband said, "I've got a lot of football watching to do today". Yesterday was the NFC and the AFC playoff games to determine who will go to the Superbowl, and, although my husband isn't THE biggest football fan in the world he does like him some pigskin. He also explains his desire to watch the game by saying, "I'll take advantage of any excuse to sit on the couch and stuff my face all afternoon". I think that more women would like the game if they adopted that outlook.

After breakfast we headed to the market in search of some good-game-watchin'-grub. I suggested the usual suspects...chicken wings (homemade of course), nachos (basically I would have made a spicy fondue and let him dip away, and perhaps even some potato skins (although he never seems to be in the mood for them). Instead he said, "How about some braised pork belly". I should have guessed. The hubby loves him some braised pork belly. I suppose it's because it mixes his two favorite things together...pork fat and pork meat. If a restaurant has braised pork belly on the menu, he's ordering it. If a bbq place offers a pulled pork platter, he's all over it. In fact, when we got married we cooked about 30 pounds of pulled pork for the reception **by the way...I'm not sure if I ever told y'all about our wedding but we had it in our back yard in Charles City, VA, and we cooked ALL of the food for it ourselves....see...our wedding picture was taken on our front porch**

So if you're looking for something to serve at your Super Bowl party this year...look no further. Once the pork belly is braised the possibilities are endless. Everyone at your party will squeal over my Braised Pork Belly.

















1 five pound slab of pork belly
2 large carrots chopped (large pieces)
1 onion chopped (large pieces)
2 stalks celery chopped (large pieces)
3 cups chicken stock
2 tbs orange jam
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp onion powder
4 whole cloves
Salt and Pepper

If you're planning on pulling the pork once it's done I suggest leaving the skin on. It keeps the fat from rendering off and makes the pulled pork very moist. If you want to serve the pork belly as a whole portion for dinner, take the skin off (just the skin...leave ALL of the fat) and score the fat, then salt and pepper. OR you could do half and half like I did. The pork on the left has been skinned, the pork on the right has not.

Set the oven to broil and broil the skin/fat side first until browned (about 10 mins), then flip and broil the bottom (flesh) side until browned. Remove from the broiler and add all of the veggies. Then flip the meat so it's skin/fat side up. Mix all of the other ingredients together (stock, jam, sugar, allspice, onion powder, cloves) and pour mixture into the baking dish. Lower the heat to 300 degrees, cover the dish tightly with tin foil and cook for 2 hours. After 2 hours pull the sides of the foil back to vent but still leave some of the foil on and bake for another 2 - 2 1/2 hours.

This pork will be so tender you won't believe it. If you're serving it as a main course piece of protein I suggest throwing some tiny potatoes in the cooking liquid during the last 20 mins of cooking for the starch portion of the meal, and for the veg portion, I highly suggest an apple/fennel slaw (recipe below). I also braised some green cabbage in some rendered pork fat for the hubby because he loves it.

If you're going to pull the pork for sandwiches I recommend using Sweet Baby Ray's bbq sauce, thinned with a touch of apple cider vinegar as the sauce. I can't tell you the hubbie's famous North Carolina Style BBQ sauce recipe (I'm not even sure I know it), but I can tell you that this mixture is pretty darn good. You can serve this with the apple fennel slaw too and be sure to have some extra soft rolls for the pork (we like potato rolls).

Apple Fennel Slaw:
1 green apple, cored and sliced into very thin matchsticks
1 bulb of fennel, cored and sliced into very thin matchsticks
1 tbs mayo
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp sugar
a dash of celery seed
a dash of onion powder
salt and pepper to taste

Mix the may, vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, celery seed and onion powder together and toss with the apple and fennel. Salt and pepper it to taste then let sit in the refrigerator at least 1 hour. You can play around with the amount of dressing (I almost always eyeball it) but this will at least get you started. Enjoy!
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Friday, January 22, 2010

Stop And Smell The Roses At Longwood Gardens

I've spent the past hour searching for something fun to do this weekend. The Picasso exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art doesn't debut until late next month, and the same goes for the Ancient Rome & America exhibit at the National Constitution Center. The car show isn't until next weekend and I feel as though we've seen exhausted all of the other fun Philadelphia weekend activities. We've seen the Body World's exhibit at the Franklin Institute (very cool by the way...if you haven't see it I highly recommend it before it's gone) and strolled though the Mutter Museum (if you like body parts floating in jars it's a can't miss...at least click on the link). And as far as the historic tours go, let me put it this way... the dog has to be walked twice a day and we live in the middle of Old City. If she could talk I'm sure that even she could give you a pretty good tour by now.

Do you feel like you've run into a boring winter rut? If so, I suggest that you stop and smell the roses (not to mention thousands of other types of flowers) at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA. Longwood Gardens is a place like no other. It's not just for old ladies, I promise. Even beer swigging tough guys can appreciate it. It encompasses 1,000 acres and has 20 indoor and 20 outdoor gardens as well as fountains, a bitchin' organ, historic houses and more beautiful flowers and plants than you've ever seen in your life. Oh yea...and it only costs $16 to get in. $16! That's a bargain if you ask me. And if you've got a valid student ID you can get in for the kid's price of a mere $6. They also schedule concerts, fireworks displays and much more throught the year. Right now they've replaced the holiday exhibit with their Orchid Extravaganza. Do me a favor. Look out your window right now at the cold, dead grass and trees and tell me you wouldn't love strolling through a beautiful and WARM conservatory complex, looking at lovely orchids and smelling the sweet smell of something other than cold air. Yah. That's what I thought. Longwood gardens could be the answer to "what are we doing this weekend?" all year round. I freakin' love it there and I'm certainly going to return in April when they roll out the Art and Passion of Fragrance exhibit. My nose will thank me.

The hubby, my family and I just got back from a trip there a few weeks back. We were fortunate enough to get a behind the scenes look at everything, courtesy of a great friend that works there (thanks a bunch Mark!!). Many of these pictures are courtesy of my Dad (thanks Dad!)(some are snagged off the website...but I'm sure they won't mind). **Longwood Gardens Slide Show will be posted soon on the left banner**

And while you're out there in beautiful Kennett Square do me a favor. Head over to a place called Talula's Table. I have been hearing about this place for YEARS and have yet to visit. It's supposed to be one of the best farm-to-table restaurants on the whole east coast. It's been in Food and Wine, Bon Appetit, etc. for years. I suppose I haven't eaten there yet because reservations are notoriously hard to come by AND dinner has a set price of about $125/person. But I'd still be interested in checking it out since the menu looks AMAZING. If you don't feel like spending an arm and a leg for dinner then just head on into their specialty shop where you can buy gourmet items, and send me a note letting me know what you thought. I'm sure I'll get out there eventually, but if you get there first I'd love to hear your take on it.
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Wednesday, January 20, 2010

When Life Gives You Limoncello - A New Drink Of The Month & Must Have Gadget Of The Month

When life gives you Limoncello, go ahead and ask life if it wouldn't mind throwing in a bottle of vodka, so you can make the drink of the month...a Limoncello martini.

When it comes to stocking my bar, as much as I love trying new spirits, I tend to be a minimalist. Personally, most days I'm content with just the two basic booze groups: white and brown. I need only add a few olives on a toothpick to a glass of chilled gin to call it a mixed drink and as far as the brown booze group goes, if you get an ice cube anywhere near my glass I'll kick your ass. I like my brown liquor neat. But when I'm entertaining guests I like to have something to offer them that falls outside of the two basic booze groups... I like to do it, however, without breaking the bank. That's where something like Limoncello comes in. Offering your guests a "drink of the night" (or something that doesn't sound quite so cheesy) can make all the difference in the world AND you don't have to break the bank buying a half dozen types of liquor to make it happen.

Limoncello is a sweet Italian lemon liqueur. A bottle of it runs about $16 and a bottle of my bar staple vodka, Svedka, runs $9.99 for a fifth...nice right!? Those are the only two ingredients you need to make this martini. Just mix three parts vodka with one part Limoncello, shake over ice and serve. A trained monkey could make this drink which makes it the perfect cocktail for me.

Ok, ok. It's not the most exciting sounding drink is it? I agree. But it is delicious. In fact, Nick and I served this martini to friends of ours over the holidays and they loved it so much that they ran out and bought a bottle of Limoncello when they got home and served the same drink to US when we went to THEIR house for dinner a few weeks later. The proof is in the pudding folks...so go ahead and try it. But if you're still not excited about the drink might I offer a way to really jazz it up???? Those same friends that loved the Limoncello martini gave me a bar tending book for Christmas and inside was a recipe for something called "lemon dust". When you rim your martini glass with this yummy and oh so easy to make concoction, the Limoncello martini will be sure to impress.

Lemon Dust:
3 Lemons
2 tbs. superfine sugar

Preheat your oven to as low as it will go (probably about 150 degrees). Zest the lemons and place the zest on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake for about an hour until all the moisture has been removed from the zest (don't color the zest...if it starts to brown remove immediately). Then transfer the zest and sugar to a coffee grinder or small food processor and blitz until it looks like dust. If you don't have a food processor you might be able to get away with just milling it down to dust between your fingers. The zest will be so dry and brittle when it's finished baking that it will pretty much just fall apart on it's own.

You may be saying...but how do I zest my lemons...well...you're going to have to go out and buy yourself something nice...go ahead and treat yourself to my newest "can't live without it" kitchen gadget...the Microplane!!!

I know, I know. Microplanes have been around forever. Why am I so excited about them now? Well, I'm notoriously clumsy in the kitchen (and have the burns and scars to prove it) so friends and family are often reluctant to buy me anything razor sharp as a gift...BUT...this year I received not one but TWO Microplanes and I've been zesting everything under the sun (except my little pinkies thank you very much). This is my Gadget Of The Month and if I keep microplaning like I've been it might just be my gadget of the year. I use it for garlic, ginger, citrus rinds...you name it!
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Monday, January 18, 2010

The Fridge Game

Have you ever heard of this website called Reddit? It's hard to describe it, but in a nutshell it's a huge bulletin board where people post links to funny, interesting or offbeat sites, or ask each other for advice, or post pictures of, well, anything at all...and much, much more. Each submission is then upvoted or downvoted by the readers depending on how much they like it and that's the order that the site lists the posts. That explanation was just pathetic, I know, but it's nearly impossible to describe reddit...and it's also nearly impossible to pull yourself away from the computer once you've started browsing reddit. It's addictive in the best way possible. You should check it out...www.reddit.com...but after you finish reading my blog of course ;)

So what does this have to do with "The Fridge Game" you ask? Well, a few months ago I found a link on reddit to a website where people from all over the world posted pictures of the inside of their refrigerators. It doesn't sound all that exciting, but to me it was heaven! I mean, do you know how much you can learn about someone by looking inside of their fridge?!? Ok, you can't learn as much as looking inside of their medicine cabinet, but that could get real ugly real fast, so we'll stick with the fridge. It was an awesome sight to be seen. One guy posted a picture of his freezer and it was stocked FULL of nothing but venison. He lived in Montana and liked to hunt. Another woman posted a picture of her fridge and all it had inside was a box of baking soda and some salad dressing. She lived in Chicago and was a med-student. There were also pictures from refrigerators around the world. A family of 4 who lived in Greece had a teeny tiny little dorm fridge and just kept some dairy products in it. They explained that shopping daily for their food wasn't just about getting fresh ingredients, but it was a way of life. I must have stared at those photos for hours, just trying to figure out what type of lives these people lived and how food fit into those lives. So today while I was at my home away from home...the Reading Terminal Market...I became inspired to post a picture of my fridge...as it is...no stocking it full of exotic delights to make it seem more worldly. So here it is for your viewing pleasure. Maybe you'll see something you'd like to try. Or perhaps you can recommend something you think we would like based on what you see. What do you think it says about Nick and I?

Here's a better look at the inside. On the top shelf we've got a package of fresh jalapenos next to a package of tortillas...they're amigos so I let them hang out together. There's also a package of eggs (free range 'cause they're yummy) and some leftover Chinese (Szechuan!). In the cheese drawer I've got some bacon (from the Amish stand in the market...I buy A LOT of bacon and use it for just about everything from my re-fried beans to my southern style swiss chard...I have a feeling I'll be on Lipitor in the near future), some run of the mill cheddar, Neufchatel (like cream cheese but less calories and it's french so it sounds cool) and a block of raw milk blue cheese that I bought at an outdoor farmer's market this weekend. Raw milk cheese can sometimes be dangerous because it hasn't been pasteurized but I bet it's stinkier than my wildest dreams so I'm willing to take that risk!

On the middle shelf I've got some shitake mushrooms, some watercress that I washed and wrapped in a paper towel to keep it fresh (good tip for all greens), some arugula (I'm an arugula junkie...I use it instead of lettuce now), some radishes (try radishes with ricotta cheese and a touch of salt and pepper...SO good), some sunchokes (I just started using these and I'm hooked...they're hard to describe so be on the lookout for an upcoming post where I tell you how to use them) and some fresh parsley and cilantro (I keep herbs in pint glasses in the fridge with a little bit of water in the bottom...they stay fresh for a LONG time this way...and they're not bad to look at either...sort of like little flower bouquets).

On the bottom shelf I've got beer and hard apple cider (of course), a box of white "maintenance" wine (of course) some crab meat on ice (important to keep crab meat very cold), and two packages of butcher paper wrapped meat...one is lamb shoulder chops and the other is a few NY Strip steaks (dry aged and delicious! if you haven't tried dry aged beef yet you don't know what you're missing).

As for the fruit and veggie drawer I've got a little of everything (I love me some veggies). I've got brussel sprouts and broccoli (both are good cold weather crops so they're cheap AND delicious this time of year), some beets, some mushrooms and some green beans that are NOT in season but me-likey-green beans so I bought them. The fruit drawer is pretty pathetic but I always keep lemons and limes (for bar tending purposes mostly) and a few apples, because stinky cheese and a slice of crisp apple are like a match made in heaven. If it weren't for cheese I would probably never eat fruit. Oh, and there is a package of OH SO out of season blackberries but they're going on top of my delicious homemade panna cotta later tonight, so they were worth it.

As for the fridge door...I like to think of it as eclectic. The Thai chili sauce hangs out next to the worcheshire sauce and the peperoncinos cuddle up next to the sesame oil. All four of them serve wonderful culinary purposes in their own way. The miso is hiding back there next to the sour cream and the butter (lots of butter) has it's own room (spoiled rotten that butter is). Oh, I just spotted the bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's bbq sauce. It's most likely the best bbq sauce on the market today (I'm sure you may disagree but there is no changing my mind). I've also got heavy cream (of which I use too much but boy does it make a good soup even better and a good sauce sing). On the lower shelf I keep my bar tending staples...tonic water, seltzer water, diet coke and lemoncello (recipe for a lemoncello martini coming soon!). On the far left side there is a bottle of Lambic beer (BIG bottle). Next time you're at the liquor store look for it. The most popular type is Frambois (pronounced FramBwa) and it's a raspberry flavored bubbly beverage...nothing at all like beer but technically it is one. This stuff is almost TOO good and I promise that come tomorrow that bottle will no longer be there.

So that's about a week's worth of food for us...plus or minus a pasta dinner, a night out on the town or a pizza and a movie night. What's inside YOUR fridge and what does it say about you? I'd love to know! So email me (link to my email on the top right side of the blog) a picture of yours and I'll post all of the pictures I received in a few weeks. And tell me a little about your favorite things inside. It will be fun...so please play along!
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Sunday, January 17, 2010

Feel The Burn - Szechuan Food That's Truly Hot-Hot-Hot

I like to think that if my husband and I were to play one of those, "how well do you know your partner" games that we would kick some ass. It's not that we're really lovey dovey or anything. It's just that we think alike, we're pretty adventurous and just about every adventure we embark on, we embark on together. Put those things together and over 5 or 6 years you really do start to finish each others sentences (perhaps after 50 years we'll be telepathically linked...scary thought). Case in point, last night at dinner. We live 8 blocks from Chinatown in Philadelphia, so our neighborhood isn't exactly hurting for a Chinese restaurant. I mean, how lazy do you have to be to not walk 8 blocks? Well, sometimes, you'd be surprised at just how lazy you CAN be. So I was extremely delighted when a new Chinese restaurant opened just two blocks away (1 1/2 if you cut through the alley!). The hubby told me that it was supposed to be the "real deal" Szechuan style Chinese, and it was BYOB, so with a six pack in hand we moseyed over, looking forward to some scorching cuisine. As we sat down at the table we began wondering just how hot it was going to be, and so, in unison we said, "it can't be as hot as those wings in Vermont". This is the finishing each other's sentences part. We both agree, and probably always will, that THE hottest thing we've ever put in our mouths was a honey-habanero wing at this little pub on Church Street in Burlington Vermont. These wings were horrible. We like to think that we can handle some heat. Not that we have anything to prove...we just like it hot. But these wings were like putting 100 habaneros in a sauna in the middle of the Sahara dessert, taking the oil and juice that drained from them, mixing it with a pin-head sized drop of honey and spreading them on perfectly good wings. They were just wrong. After that experience we've realized that "hot" food really isn't all that hot in comparison, and we've also realized that you can easily ruin a perfectly good bite of food by drowning it with spice. Fortunately, that was not the case at Han Dynasty last night.

There is a bit of a buzz in Philly at the moment over the Han Dynasty restaurant. The buzz is that the cuisine is very authentic AND very hot. There is a heat-o-meter on the menu that goes from 1 (least hot) to 10 (burn your face off). I ordered a 7 and the hubby ordered...drumroll...the 10 (I mean come on...he kind of had to try it).

The hubby's 10 was called "Dry Pot Style". Basically you chose a meat or seafood and they prepared it with hot peppers, more hot peppers, seasoning galore, fresh vegetables and served it in a mini-wok over a mini-jet engine. Good presentation and excellent taste. It was unlike anything I've ever tasted before. The mixture of peppers and spices almost gave it a floral taste, and, although it really was "burn your face off" hot, you could still taste all of the ingredients, including the delicate fish he chose. How did they do it? I haven't the slightest idea. But it was delicious.

My 7 was called "Hot Sauce Style". The menu stated that the sauce was "very authentic" and that's all I needed to hear. The menu was filled with starters that were soaked in pepper oil and the owner brought us a small dish of pepper oil covered cucumber as a little starter, so I figured mine would be right along the same lines and I was right. It was delicious and completely different from my husband's. Mine was pork and cabbage in a much more savory and juicy sauce that coated your tongue and married well with the fatty pork. For a 7 it was PLENTY hot and left my mouth almost as numb as the hubbie's, but was enjoyable as can be.

So what better way to warm yourself up smack dab in the middle of winter than to eat something that will make you sweat?! **And sweat you will**. So go ahead and keep with that new year's resolution to try something new and find yourself an authentic Szechuan restaurant. Even if you don't think you like spicy, give it a try. It's not your typical jalapeno heat and even if it's not your cup of tea at least you'll have tried something new.

Han Dynasty
108 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia PA 19106
215-922-1888

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Friday, January 8, 2010

New Year - Resolve To Try Something New

Hi there everyone! Happy New Year! I know I haven't posted in a while, but I'm sure you all know how the hustle and bustle of the holiday season can, to say the least, distract you. If you're not going to holiday parties or indulging in those 3,000 calorie Christmas dinners (I read that the average Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner is around 3,000 calories per heaping plate...yikes!), then you're taking a bus or train or hopping an airplane to visit your family. The holidays remind us that even though time flies (and it sure does), some things still remain constant...the food. Whether you're indulging in the feast of seven fishes on Christmas Eve or taking that second heaping helping of candied brandied yams (our family holiday meal staple), you're following tradition and eating the same thing you have for years. Of course there's some comfort in all of that, but, when the calender reads January 1st and the holidays are officially over, it's time for a change...it's time for a little variety...and it's time to try some new things. So this year make a new year's resolution that you'll actually enjoy. Resolve to try new things. And the easiest way to start trying new things is by opening your mind to some new types of food. Need a little help getting started? How about I give you a recipe for one of my favorite dim sum dishes...shrimp balls with Sriracha mayo. They're, in essence, a fried shrimp meatball. They're one of the more tame dim sum dishes (don't worry...I won't make you eat chicken feet anytime soon...that will come later), and they're absolutely delicious.

Shrimp Balls:
-about 10 medium shrimp, peeled and de-veined (frozen is fine for this...just thaw first)
-1 egg yolk
-1 cup panko bread crumbs
-1 tbs. finely chopped fresh parsley
-1/2 tsp. onion powder
-1/2 tsp. salt
-pinch of black pepper
-enough canola oil to deep fry in

Sriracha Mayo: (Sriracha is a SPICY Thai chili sauce that you can find just about everywhere)...just mix these two ingredients together...
-1/4 cup mayo
-1 tsp. Sriracha hot sauce (or more if you like it hot...I do)

This recipe is a snap. Just take the peeled, thawed shrimp and throw them in a food processor with the egg yolk, parsley, onion powder, salt and pepper...and pulse until the mixture turns paste-like. It should be very thick, but, if it gets SUPER gummy, just add a tbs. or so of water and continue to pulse. Take the mixture, a large tbs. at a time, and roll (like you would a meatball) into balls. Then roll the balls in the panko bread crumbs until completely coated. Place these on a plate and chill in the refrigerator while you heat the oil. I use a little fry-daddy (being a southern boy, my husband has had a mini-fryer since he was in his teens) but you could certainly just use a high sided skillet or pot, filled with enough oil to submerge the shrimp balls, and heated to 350 degrees. Gently lower the shrimp balls into the oil and fry until golden brown, (about 3-5 mins...plus or minus depending on the actual size of your ball). Serve with the Sriracha mayo and enjoy trying something new!
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