Recipe: Stuffed shrimp in a silk wrapper

Note: This is the second recipe from Surapee Parich, mother of former Times Test Kitchen intern May Parich. The dish makes a wonderful dinner party appetizer or pass-around hors d’oeuvre.

DIPPING SAUCE

3 tablespoons Thai chile paste

1/3 cup vinegar

3/4 cup water

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon plus 3/4 teaspoon salt

FILLING

1/2 pound ground pork

1 (4 1/2-ounce) can lump crab meat

2 tablespoons thin soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/3 cup chopped cilantro

1/2 cup chopped water chestnuts

1 tablespoon sesame oil

2 tablespoons water

1 cucumber, peeled

48 large shrimp

24 spring roll wrappers

1 egg, lightly beaten

Oil for deep frying

DIPPING SAUCE

Combine chile paste, vinegar, water, sugar and salt in medium saucepan. Boil until slightly thick, about 10 minutes. Let cool and set aside. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

FILLING

Combine pork, crab meat, soy sauce, pepper, garlic powder, cilantro, water chestnuts, sesame oil and water. Slice cucumber into 1/4-inch-thick rounds.Peel shrimp to tail. Butterfly along back, removing vein. Stuff cut portion of each shrimp with 1 teaspoon filling, mounding filling over shrimp.

Cut wrappers diagonally to make triangles. Cover with damp towel to prevent drying.

Place 1 shrimp on 1 wrapper triangle about 1/4 of way from corner with tail hanging over longest edge. Carefully wrap corner over shrimp and roll shrimp in wrapper about 3 times. Fold top corner over shrimp and continue rolling and tucking to achieve snug fit around shrimp with shrimp tail hanging out. Brush beaten egg where edges come together to seal wrapper.

Fill medium-sized heavy saucepan halfway with oil and heat on medium-high until 400 degrees. Fry shrimp until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

Serve with Dipping Sauce and cucumber slices.

48 shrimp rolls. Each shrimp roll with 1 teaspoon sauce:79 calories; 229 mg sodium; 18 mg cholesterol; 2 grams fat; 12 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 0.05 gram fiber.