Shrimp with Snow Peas

2/3 lb. tiger prawns

--- Marinade for shrimp ---

1 1/2 tsp. sherry
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. grated ginger
1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. water

--- Seasoning ---

1 Tb. chicken broth
3 Tb. water
1/2 tsp. cornstarch
3 Tb. oyster sauce (very important)
1 Tb. hoisin sauce

--- also needed ---

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 lb. snow peas

Shell and devein prawns. Rinse and pat dry with a paper towel. Combinemarinade in medium bowl. Add prawns and mix well. Let stand 30 mins.Heat wok over medium heat, add oil, and stir fry garlic for 15 secs. Addprawns and stir fry until pink. Remove from wok, and place on plate.Add salt and snow peas to oil in wok. Stir fry 30 secs. Add seasoningsauce and stir slightly until think and bubbly. Add cooked prawns. Stirto coat everything with sauce. Serve hot with cooked rice.

Foo Yung

6 eggs, beaten well
1 cup shredded cooked meat (roast pork, shrimp, almost any!)
2 cups fresh bean sprouts (or 1 can)
2 scallions, chopped, including the green ends
1 medium onion, shredded1 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon MSG (optional)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 cup chicken stock or water
Vegetable oil for frying

Make gravy if desired (recipe follows). Preheat oven to 200F. Line a platter with several thicknesses of paper towel. Mix all ingredients except the vegetable oil together in a mixing bowl. Heat a frying pan hot and dry. Put in vegetable oil to a depth of about 1/2 inch. Keep oil at this level by adding more, as some is absorbed in cooking. Bring oil temperature to medium. Stir up the omelet mixture each time before you take a scoopful of it out, in order to have the proper ratio of liquid and solid ingredients in each. With a ladle or soup scoop, take a scoop of the egg mixture and gently put into the frying pan. When the first omelet has stiffened, gently move it over to make room for the next. The number of omelets you can make at once depends on the size of your frying pan. When one side of the omelet has turned golden brown, turn over gently with pancake turner to fry the other side. When done, transfer from frying pan onto paper-lined platter. Keep warm in oven until all the omelets can be served together. Serve with or without gravy.

--- Gravy ---

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon MSG (optional)

1/8 teaspoon ground pepper

Pinch of salt

Mix all the ingredients together in a saucepan. Bring to a boil slowly with frequent stirring. When gravy has thickened, turn heat to very low to keep it warm until ready to use.

Egg Rolls

1 lb. chinese cabbage (Napa)
2 stalks celery
1/2 lb. cooked shrimp
1/2 lb. cooked pork or chicken livers
10 water chestnuts
1/3 cup bamboo shoots
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugarLiberal dash pepper
1/2 tsp. light soy sauce
1/4 tsp. sesame oil1 beaten egg
10 egg roll skins
3 cups oil

PREPARATION: Boil cabbage and celery until very tender. Drain and squeezeout excess water. Shred very fine and set aside todrain further. Parboil shrimp and fry or bake pork. Mince both. Shredwater chestnuts and bamboo shoots. Mix all ingredients but egg together.Beat egg. Wrap filling in egg roll skins and seal with egg.

COOKING: Heat oil in wok or deep fat fryer to 375 degrees and drop in eggrolls. When skin turns light golden brown, remove from oil and drain. (Atthis point restaurants refrigerate them and finish the cooking process asneeded.) When cool, drop again into hot oil and fry until golden brown. Makes 10.

The two-stage deep frying method is actually a professional Chinese chefs'secret. It assures that the inside will be moist and not overcooked (asanything overcooked becomes dry) and the outside will be crisp.

Hot and Sour Soup

2 1/2 quarts chicken stock
1 block (16 oz.) of tofu, cut into
1 1/2 inch long strips
5 shitake mushrooms, cut into thin slices
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 tsp. white pepper
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 1/2 cups bamboo shoot strips
2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 4 tablespoons water
3 eggs. beaten
1/2 tsp. sesame oil

Combine first seven ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. Drizzle the cornstarch mixture into the soup, stirring to thicken. Then drizzle beaten eggs into soup, stirring. Top with sesame oil.

Fried Rice

2 eggs
1 teaspoon MSG (optional)
1/8 teaspoon groung white pepper
1/4 cup soy sauce4 cups cooked rice
4 scallions, chopped, including green ends
2 cups diced cooked pork, ham, chicken, shrimp, or any meat
1 slice ginger, minced1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup sliced mushrooms (optional)
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Put first four ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir slightly; the eggs should not be well beaten. Heat wok or pan hot and dry. Add the oil. Brown the garlic and ginger slightly, then add the rice. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring to break up lumps and coat with oil. Add the rest of the ingredients except the egg mixture. Fry and stir constantly until thoroughly mixed. Add the egg mixture while stirring the rice so it will cover as much of the ingredients in the pan as possible. Cook about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Serve while hot.

Barbecued Spareribs

2 banks of spareribs, uncut, about
2 pounds each
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup sweet bean sauce (hoi sin deung) or hoi sin sauce
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sherry

Trim off excess fat from the thick edges of spareribs. Place ribs in a shallow pan or platter. Mix remaining ingredients for a marinade and spread over both sides of the spareribs. Let stand for at least two hours. Place one oven rack at the top of the oven and one at the bottom. Preheat to 375F. Hook each bank of spareribs with 3 or 4 S-hooks across its width, on the thick edges, and suspend under top rack. Place a large pan with 1/2" water on bottom rack. This pan will catch the drippings and keep the meat from drying out. Cook spareribs for about 45 minutes.

Hunan Beef

2 cups broccoli florets
2 tablespoons cooking oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
4 small dried red chilies
1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 teaspoons water

--- Marinade ---
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
3/4 pound flank steak, thinly sliced across the grain

--- Sauce ---
3 tablespoons Chinese black vinegar or balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil

1. Combine marinade ingredients in a bowl. Add beef and stir to coat. Let stand for 10 minutes.

2. Combine sauce ingredients in a bowl.

3. Place broccoli in a large pot with 1 inch of boiling water. Boil until tender-crisp, 2 to 3 minutes; drain.

4. Place a wok over high heat until hot. Add oil, swirling to coat sides. Add garlic and chilies and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Add beef and stir-fry until no longer pink, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.

5. Add broccoli and sauce to wok; bring to a boil. Add cornstarch solution and cook, stirring, until sauce boils and thickens.

General Tsao's Chicken

--- Sauce ---
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water
1+1/2 tsp minced garlic
1+1/2 tsp minced ginger root
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup cooking wine
1+1/2 cup hot chicken broth
1 tsp monosodium glutamate (optional)
--- Meat ---
3 lbs deboned dark chicken meat, cut into large chunks
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tsp white pepper
1 egg
1 cup cornstarchVegetable oil for deep-frying
2 cups sliced green onions16 small dried hot peppers

Mix 1/2 cup cornstarch with water. Add garlic, ginger, sugar, 1/2 cup soy sauce, vinegar, wine, chicken broth and MSG (if desired). Stir until sugar dissolves. Refrigerate until needed. In separate bowl, mix chicken, 1/4 cup soy sauce and white pepper. Stir in egg. Add 1 cup cornstarch and mix until chicken pieces are coated evenly. Add cup of vegetable oil to help separate chicken pieces. Divide chicken into small quantities and deep-fry at 350 degrees until crispy. Drain on paper towels. Place a small amount of oil in wok and heat until wok is hot. Add onions and peppers and stir-fry briefly. Stir sauce and add to wok. Place chicken in sauce and cook until sauce thickens.

Moo Goo Gai Pan

4 chicken breast halves, skinned, boned and sliced
salt and pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups water
1 tb cornstarch
5 tb corn oil
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced
4 lb. bok choy or Chinese white cabbage, chopped
2 tb sugar
4 tb soy sauce
6 scallions, chopped

1. In a bowl, toss chicken with the salt and pepper, garlic and cornstarch mixture. Set aside.

2. Heat 3 tablespoons of corn oil in a wok and stir in mushrooms, bok choy/cabbage and sugar for 2 minutes. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from wok.

3. Heat remaining corn oil in wok. Stir-fry chicken for 2 minutes over high heat. Add soy sauce and mix well. Cover and cook for about 6 minutes, or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked.

4. Mix in the cooked vegetables and scallions. Stir fry together for about 1 minute. Serve hot with rice.

Shrimp Toast

12 fresh uncooked large shrimp
1 egg
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt Pinch pepper
3 slices sandwich bread
1 hard-cooked egg yolk
1 slice cooked ham (about 1 ounce)
1 green onion 2 cups vegetable oil

1. Remove shells from shrimp, leaving tails intact. Remove back veins from shrimp. Cut down back of shrimp with sharp knife. Gently press shrimp with fingers to flatten.

2. Beat 1 egg, cornstarch, salt and pepper in a small bowl until blended. Add shrimp to egg mixture and toss until shrimp are completely coated.

3. Remove crusts from bread. Cut each slice into quarter. Place one shrimp, cut side down, on each bread piece. Gently press shrimp to adhere to bread. Brush or rub small amount of egg mixture over each shrimp.

4. Cut egg yolk and ham into 1/2 inch pieces. Finely chop onion. Place one piece each of egg yolk and ham and a scant 1/4 teaspoon chopped onion on each shrimp.

5. Heat oil in wok over medium-high heat until it reaches 375F. Fry 3 or 4 shrimp-bread pieces at a time in the hot oil until golden, 1 to 2 minutes on each side. Drain on absorbent paper.