The recipe scheduled for this week at Whisk Wednesdays is from Class 29, Menu 6: Spiced Shrimp Balls, and can be found on page 246 in Le Cordon Bleu Complete Cook Home Collection should you wish to try this tasty recipe.
This recipe could not be easier: toss the raw shrimp into the food processor, give it a whirl to a coarse chop, add some fresh chopped garlic and ginger, salt, pepper, a little sugar, cornstarch, cilantro, and soft-peak egg white. After forming them into little balls, they get rolled in sesame seeds, and parked in the refrigerator to firm up for 20 minutes before being deep fried for 4-5 minutes.
I don't fry food, like ever. We aren't big on fried food and my excuse for never frying is that it gives them food they can score on the streets and appreciate there without it smelling up my kitchen. But, I did do this in the spirit of being a good Whisk Wednesday member (albeit late). My sesame seeds, for the most part, fell off, so there are fewer of those, but the balls all held together in the fry basket without falling apart, so I was happy.
Alex thinks all shrimp should be accompanied by a red cocktail sauce, it made his spicy shrimp balls even spicier. Everyone enjoyed them, including me. I could make these again occasionally and the guys would rejoice without a doubt.
Next week is Grenadins de Veau au Coulis de Celeri-Rave (Veal with Celery Root Cream Sauce), found on pages 330-331.
If you would like to see how the other Whisk Wednesday members fared in this class, click here, and then on the Whisk Wednesdays connect to individual bloggers, and as always, Shari has the ingredients posted on her site at the click.