Let's talk about clam cakes and shrimp cakes

Wen clam cake was originally a home-cooked dish like the people on the east coast of the East China Sea, but in the past, because it was too popular, it could not even be served at the feast. At that time, the production of clams was large, and they could not be exported, so the local residents were tired of eating fried clams, clam soup and the like, so they changed their ways to eat clams. Thus came the clam cake.

Wen clam we locals call it the earliest called the grasshopper, the clam cake it was first called "the grasshopper", that is, the grasshopper is washed and chopped, mixed with flour, add some spices, put it in a pot with a fire to form a round lump, and use chopsticks to eat it in small pieces. Because it is delicious and full, the method is simple and cheap, and it is very popular with people. Later, it became more and more delicate, and it evolved into a small and exquisite claw cake. Nowadays, the value of the claw has soared a hundredfold, the insect car claw cake has become a strange commodity, and the hall is on the elegant hall, on the feast table of the star-rated hotel, and the practice has also been improved.

The production of claw cakes is actually not complicated, the key is to grasp the essentials. Now take 5 kg of fresh claws as raw materials as an example: the claws are split and shelled and washed (washing the claws is also exquisite, and the claws should be stirred clockwise in the water, and cannot be stopped or reversed in the middle). Use a knife to form a paste, drain the water and put it in a basin or large bowl, beat one egg in it, add a small amount of loofah and water chestnut (one or two) minced, and then add green onion, ginger, salt, monosodium glutamate and a small amount of flour to mix into a paste, requiring no thickness or thinness. The key is that the meat of the claws should be drained, and no water should be put in, and no wine should be put in. Otherwise, the moisture will be more, and it is necessary to increase the amount of mixed flour, and if there is more flour, the clam cake will not be tender. The claw cake is not fried in oil, but instead used in a pan. Add a small amount of vegetable oil to heat over medium heat, spoon the paste in a small spoon and put it in a pot, and slightly flatten it into a money shape with a spoon. It is also very important to see the heat, requiring both sides of the fire to be yellow but not scorched, and to take it out in time when ripe, so that a plate of tender, golden, fragrant money clam cake will appear in front of you seductively. When eating the clam cake, it is no longer dipped in seasoning, otherwise it will dilute the umami taste, and it is best to line the plate with a little fried leeks to make the taste better.

Shrimp cake

The shrimp cake recipe is many different from the clam cake. The raw material of the shrimp cake must be red shrimp, and other shrimp are too old to make meat. Take the fresh red shrimp washed and shelled, chopped into shrimp paste, according to the shrimp meat one pound calculation, need to put fat meat 3 two, while chopping into the plate, beat two eggs, put a small amount of water, flour 2.5-3 two. Do not put the flour in place at a time, and slowly add enough. The seasonings are also green onion, minced ginger, salt, and monosodium glutamate. Note that the salt should be less and not more, more is not fresh, less can be corrected when braised shrimp cake. There are three points to do when making shrimp cakes: one is to put fat meat, and less is not OK (no fat meat, you can also use raw pig fat, and now some people use salad oil instead, the effect is also good; the second is to occupy the shrimp when you occupy the fine, occupy the blade several times, if necessary, use a knife to batch horizontally, no grains, now some people use the meat shaker to process, but at least shake five times; the third is to have a work, that is, mixing to be in place, while squeezing the situation and adding water in an appropriate amount. The better it is, the better the shrimp cake is. It can be fried in oil or in a pan, but when fried, it is not shaped into a cake, but is made into a round ball, called "shrimp round". The method of oil and fire is the same as that of huogang clam cake. When the paste is put into the pot, it is allowed to expand under heat and turn golden brown. After cooking, it shrinks in the cold and has a walnut-shaped surface. When shrimp cake is eaten, it is generally re-boiled with sweet and sour, lined with some leeks, water chestnut slices, fungus, carrots, etc., the color and flavor are complete, fresh and smooth. Some people also eat it directly when the fire is cooked, taking the original taste.

The original text is excerpted from: Listen to Rudong