Square Bits

Daily Bite Size Lessons Learned

  • Delicious Shrimp Rice Rolls Recipe

    Another common Dim Sum dish. The rice rolls are soft like lasagna sheets and filled with juicy shrimp. Add a bit of soy sauce on top to complete this mouth watering dish.

    Serving size

    Makes 6-8 rice rolls.

    Ingredients

    2 medium sized bowls.

    A plate for serving.

    1 cup of rice flour.

    4 tablespoons of tapioca starch.

    4 tablespoons of potato starch.

    Several pinches of salt.

    3 cups of water.

    2 tablespoon of frying oil such as avocado, canola, or sunflower oil.

    A brush or paper towel.

    24 whole shrimp.

    Scallions for garnish.

    A dozen ice cubes from the freezer.

    A steamer or frying pan.

    A non-stick oven pan that can fit inside the steamer or frying pan.

    A large flat container that can hold the non-stick oven pan.

    Something to separate the oven pan from the steamer / fryer such as a steaming rack or chopsticks.

    Tap water to fill the bottom of the steamer / fryer and the large flat container.

    A silicon scraper or spatula.

    An oven mitt or thick kitchen cloth.

    Instructions

    1. Add the rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, salt, and 1 and 1/2 cups of water to a medium sized bowl.
    2. Stir the mixture.
    3. Let sit for 30 minutes.
    4. De-shell and de-vein the shrimp.
    5. Place the shrimp in a medium sized bowl.
    6. Add a pinch of salt to the shrimp and stir.
    7. Use a brush or paper towel to coat the bottom of the oven pan with some of the oil.
    8. Pour water into the steamer / fryer about a third inch high.
    9. Put the cover over the steamer / fryer and put on medium heat.
    10. Wait till the water is boiling in the steamer / fryer, then place the steaming rack or chopsticks on the bottom.
    11. Stir the flour and starch mixture to keep the contents from separating when pouring.
    12. Place the oven pan in the steamer / fryer.
    13. Pour enough of the flour and starch mixture into the oven pan to cover the bottom, then pour twice that amount. The rice roll needs to be thick enough to easily scrape off.
    14. Add three whole shrimp to the left side of the oven pan, evenly spaced.
    15. Cover the steamer / fryer.
    16. Wait 7 – 10 minutes before removing the cover.
    17. Pour some water into the large flat container about an inch deep.
    18. Add the ice cubes to the large flat container.
    19. Remove the steamer / fryer with an oven mitt or kitchen cloth as the contents are hot and place inside the large flat container so it rests on the water and ice cubes.
    20. After about 30 seconds, use the scraper or spatula to carefully scrape off the rice roll starting on the right side of the oven pan with the right side elevated compared to the left side. While scraping, the contents should curl around due to gravity in a similar shape to a rolled up sleeping bag.
    21. Transfer the rice roll to a serving plate.
    22. Clean the pan and re-coat with oil for the next rice roll.
    23. Keep the serving plate hot by putting it in the oven at a low temperature.
    24. Repeat the steaming steps until there is no mixture left.
    25. Add soy sauce and scallions on top or leave on the side.
    26. Serve hot!

  • Easy Air Fryer Walnut Shrimp: A Tasty Side Dish

    This is a favorite Chinese-American dish that you will just want to keep in your mouth all day like a piece of hard candy.

    It is an ideal side dish to go along with any main course. The recipe is simple, and preparation and cooking time is kept to about 30 minutes. The serving size in this version is for 2 people.

    1. Put about 20 frozen shrimp in a bowl and cover with room temperature water. Add a teaspoon of salt.
    2. Let the bowl sit for about 20 minutes. We come back to the shrimp later.
    3. Take 1/2 a cup of walnuts and put them in an air fryer or oven at 300 degrees for three minutes. Feel free to toast them longer for more crispiness.
    4. Once done, place the walnuts in a medium sized bowl to let cool.
    5. Boil a tablespoon of water and let sit after.
    6. Crack two eggs into a medium sized bowl.
    7. Separate and place the egg yolks in another bowl. We only need the egg whites for this dish. Feel free to save the egg yolks for a desert recipe!
    8. Add 1/2 cup of glutinous rice flour to the bowl of eggs whites.
    9. Stir the mixture until blended. This is the coating. If it is too dry, then add some hot water. The mixture should have a thick consistency like barbecue sauce.
    10. Check on the shrimp to see if it is soft.
    11. De-shell and de-vein the shrimp. Discard the shells and entrails.
    12. Place the shrimp in the coating bowl and stir until coated.
    13. Heat up the air fryer or oven to 300 degrees F.
    14. Place the shrimp in the air fryer or oven and let cook for ten minutes or until golden brown.
    15. Take the shrimp out and place on a dish to let cool.
    16. Put 1/3 cup of mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons of honey, the boiled water, and 1 tablespoon of full milk in a medium sized bowl.
    17. Add the walnuts to the bowl.
    18. Stir until blended. This is the sauce.
    19. Lather each shrimp with the sauce.
    20. Serve with broccoli or other vegetable.

  • How to Make Har Gow: A Step-by-Step Guide

    Har Gow is a popular Dim-Sum dumpling dish. Shrimp is usually used for the filling. Bamboo shoots add some crunch, and sesame oil adds flavoring. Two types of flours are used for the dough: wheat starch and tapioca starch. The flour is combined with hot water and a dab of sesame oil. The dough is separated into pieces, and each piece is flattened using a roller or cleaver. The dumplings are assembled, placed on a dish lined with plastic wrap, and cooked in a steamer. Once cooked, the dumplings can be served with hot sauce or mustard.

    Note that serving amounts and cooking time can vary for each cook. Adjust the recipe to your needs. Also thoroughly cook food by adjusting cooking time.

    Prepare at least 568 g / 20 oz of shrimp for the filling.

    Peel and de-vein the shrimp. Cut off the tail.

    Cut the shrimp into small square pieces, and place in a bowl.

    Open a 142 g / 5 oz can of bamboo shoots and cut into pieces about a third the size of the shrimp pieces. Place the bamboo shoots in the bowl with the shrimp.

    Add a 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil and a pinch of salt and pepper to the bowl.

    Mix the contents in the bowl with a spoon or chopsticks.

    Cover the bowl and place in the fridge until ready to use. It is recommended to use the filling within a couple of hours. The filling can also be frozen for longer storage.

    Take out a steaming basket, metal pan, or ceramic dish.

    Take some plastic wrap and line the inside of the basket, pan, or dish.

    The dough consists of equal parts of wheat starch and tapioca starch. Using a measuring cup, measure 1/2 a cup of wheat starch.

    Measure 1/2 a cup of tapioca starch and pour into the same bowl with the wheat starch.

    Sprinkle some salt and mix the contents of the bowl.

    For a more plump and soft skin, a dab of sesame oil, butter, or bacon fat can be added.

    Butter or bacon fat is usually preferred.

    Boil at least 1/2 a cup of water.

    Slowly pour a small amount of the hot water (less than a tablespoon at a time) into the bowl with the starch mix.

    Try kneading the starch mixture with your hands.

    Repeat adding a small amount of hot water and kneading the dough until you have one ball of dough that sticks together and no flakiness. The ready dough does not have cracks (too dry), or stick to the hands (too wet). If it is too dry, then add some more hot water.

    If it is too wet, then add more equal parts of wheat starch and tapioca starch.

    Once the right dough consistency is reached, roll it into a snake shape about 1/2 inch in diameter.

    Cut the snake shaped dough into 1-inch length pieces.

    Use a roller or cleaver to flatten out the dough. A tortilla presser also works.

    The dough pieces should be at least 6 inches in diameter after rolled out.

    Take the filling out of the fridge.

    Hold a dough piece with open palm and place about 1/4 diameter filling into the center of the dough piece.

    Wrap the dough piece by folding and pleating with the other hand.

    Place the finished product in the basket, pan, or dish.

    Repeat the process for the other pieces of dough until the basket, pan, or dish is filled with some space between the dumplings to prevent the dumplings from sticking together.

    Fill the steamer with at least 1 and 1/2 inches of water.

    Cover the steamer and keep heat on until the water comes to a boil on the stove.

    Place the basket, pan, or dish on a rack / stand within the steamer.

    Cover the steamer again and wait for at least 10 minutes before turning off the heat.

    Wait at least 5 minutes with the cover off before serving.

    Enjoy!