Shrimp on Sugarcane Sticks (Chao Tom)

Both of my parents were born in Saigon, Vietnam.  Our ancestors were originally from Guangzhou, China.  Like many Chinese families, they migrated away from China once the war broke out.  After living in Vietnam, my parents migrated to the United States in 1979 for a better future.  From this history, lots of the foods I eat have both Chinese and Vietnamese influences.  

My mother loves grocery shopping, especially at little Latin markets.  She loves how they have vegetables and fruits similar to an Asian market like fresh guavas, bean sprouts, tamarind pods, and  sugar cane.  Whenever there's fresh stalks of sugar cane, my mom buys at least five.  Some to cook with and some to chew to get the delicious sweet nectar.  One of the favorites in our family is Chao Tom, or shrimp paste on sugarcane sticks.  The savory shrimp blends nicely with the sweet, toasty sugarcane.  

Recipe adapted from www.vietworldkitchen.com

Ingredients:
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
Salt
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons light brown sugar
Generous 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground preferred
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 cloves garlic, minced and crushed into a paste
2 tablespoons minced shallot
1 tablespoon canola oil
Half stalk of sugarcane cut into three inch pieces

1. Rinse shrimp under cold water and drain well. Blot dry with paper towel.

2. Coarsely chop the shrimp.

3. Add a rain of salt, the cornstarch, sugar, pepper, fish sauce, egg, garlic, and shallot to the shrimp. Transfer to a food processor and process just until a coarse paste forms. Transfer to a bowl, stir in the 1 TB of canola oil, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside for 15 to 30 minutes. This allows the shrimp paste to stiffen.

4. Meanwhile,  if you haven't done so already, cut your sugarcane into sticks.  Be careful and use a sturdy knife because the stalks are quite tough to chop through.  You should probably lay newspaper on the kitchen floor and shop there for a sturdy surface.  Use a sharp knife. You need only about 12 sugarcane sticks depending on how much shrimp you put on each stick. Blot cut sugarcane sticks dry with paper towel and set aside.

5. Line a steamer tray or bamboo steamer with parchment paper and oil the parchment. Ready a pot of water for steaming.


6. Assembly: Put about 2 tablespoons of paste in the palm of your hand, spreading it out into circle about 2 1/2 inches wide and a good 1/4 inch thick. Center a sugarcane stick on the paste, then close your hand to make the paste adhere to the stick and surround it. Smooth out the surface. Set on the prepared steamer tray. Repeat to make 11 more. Its easier if your hands are wet since the paste will be sticky.

7. Steam the shrimp sticks over boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes, until opaque, slightly puffed, and just cooked through. Then you can either grill the steamed sticks or pan fry them to get a nice golden color and a bit of caramelization going.  I prefer to pan fry since its simpler.  Voila!  Delicious.  You can eat the shrimp sticks as appetizers.  You can also eat this with rice noodles and fresh herbs and lettuce.  Another option is wrapping the shrimp and vegetables in rice paper (banh zhang).  Enjoy!