Thai Night!

About a month ago, Rick brought over a Thai cookbook called Greatest Ever Thai, and I've been wanting to do something out of it ever since.  Rick came over earlier this evening, and we were talking about what to make for dinner. He was flipping through the latest Cooking Light and Food + Wine, but nothing seemed appealing.  I mentioned doing something out that cookbook as an appetizer and then making Pad Thai.  Apparently, I had never made Pad Thai for us before, and I was looking forward to it. I will post that recipe tomorrow.

The appetizer that we picked out was for shrimp wrapped in won ton skins.  It sounded similar to one of my favorite appetizers Basil, a Thai restaurant in downtown Charleston.  Basil is another one of those must-go-to places here.  The food is excellent, and the prices aren't too bad for a downtown restaurant.  We decided tonight that it has been too long since we went, but luckily, we had tonight's dinner to hit the spot.  I've never worked with won ton skins before, and while my shrimp rolls didn't look as good as the ones in the cookbook, they turned out great! Rick was on frying duty, and he opted not to deep fry them but he flipped them after about a minute or so.  I made some other changes from the original recipe (omitted red curry paste and subbed garlic-chili sauce for 1 small fresh red Thai chili). 

Here's what we did.

Jumbo Shrimp Rolls with Sweet Soy Sauce

Ingredients
Dip
2 tablespoons of Garlic-Chili Sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
4 tablespoons of low-sodium soy sauce


Shrimp Rolls
2 tablespoons of cilantro leaves
2 cloves of garlic, minced
16 won ton skins
1 egg white, lightly beaten
16 jumbo shrimp, shelled with tails left intact
Corn oil for frying


Directions
To make the dip, mix the ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.

For the shrimp rolls, brush the won ton skins with egg white and place a few cilantro leaves and a little bit of garlic in the center of the won ton skin. Place shrimp on top.  Fold the won ton skin over the shrimp and leave the tail exposed.  Roll the shrimp in the won ton.  Repeat with the remaining shrimp.

Heat oil for frying in a large, heavy bottom pan to 350-375F.  Fry the shrimp in small batched until golden brown (around 1-2 minutes).  Drain on paper towels and serve with the dip.

Enjoy!