Recipe: Fried Shrimp/Prawn Balls with Wonton Skin (炸虾球)

(Click on the image above to view the complete photoset of 5 pictures) I am clearing out my fridge, again. For the readers who have been with me since the early days of this blog, you should know what I mean when I say "clearing out my fridge." For new readers of Rasa Malaysia, please click here and here to find out the answer. (This is a quiz; you will have to answer the question by leaving me a comment!) *wink* This time around, I am happy that I do not have that much random stuff sitting in my fridge for months. I found some leftover wonton skin I used for my chicken siu mai, frozen shrimp, some lemongrass (leftover from my Tom Yum Goong), shallots, and frozen chicken breasts. That's a very good list. I can make some very mouthwatering dishes out of these items... Today, I am presenting the first dish using the leftover wonton skin and shrimp--fried shrimp balls. Don't you think these shrimp balls look oh-so-adorable with their fringy outfit? This dish is inspired by my favorite restaurant in San Francisco--Ton Kiang, a Chinese restaurant that I absolutely love and strongly recommend. (I heard Robin Williams is a regular there!) Ton Kiang serves the best fried shrimp balls in the world, which unfortunately, something I don't get very often in the Chinese restaurants in Southern California. Making these fried shrimp balls was a fun exercise. First, you blend the frozen shrimp and the seasonings to form the shrimp paste. Then you cut up the wonton skin into little tiny fringy strips. Wet your hands with some water, make the shrimp paste into balls, roll them over the bed of wonton strips, and off they go into the deep fryer or wok for deep-frying. Voila, you have these eye-candy shrimp balls waiting eagerly to be devoured. Fried shrimp ball is a great finger food for parties. For me, I can chow down dozens of these shrimp balls anytime of the day! They are just wonderful. Recipe: Fried Shrimp/Prawn Balls with Wonton Skin (炸虾球) Ingredients: 1 pound raw shrimp (shelled and deveined) 1 teaspoon salt (or fish sauce) 1 teaspoon sugar 1 tablespoon corn starch 1 egg white, lightly beaten 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil 1 tablespoon oil (or some pork fat) A few dashes of white pepper powder Wonton skins Method: Defrost, shell, and devein the shrimp. Set aside. In a mini food processor, beat the egg white until frothy and then add in the raw shrimp and the seasonings. Blend until the ingredients form the shrimp paste. Cut the wonton skins into tiny strips and lay them on a flat surface. Wet your hands and form the shrimp paste into balls (slightly smaller than a ping pong ball) and roll the shrimp balls onto the bed of wonton skins. Make sure that the wonton skins coat the shrimp balls evenly. Deep fry the shrimp balls in a deep fryer or wok until they turn golden brown. Dish out and serve hot with some Thai sweet chili sauce or your favorite chili sauce.