Mandarin Pancakes

• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup boiling water
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil

1. Place flour in a bowl. Add boiling water, stirring with chopsticks or a fork until dough is evenly moistened. On a lightly floured board, knead dough until smooth and satiny, about 5 minutes. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.

2. On a lightly floured board, roll dough into a cylinder; cut into 16 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, then flatten slightly into a pancake. Brush top of each pancake with a light coating of sesame oil.

3. Place 1 pancake on top of a second pancake, oiled sides together. With a rolling pin, roll to make a circle 6 inches in diameter. Stack and roll remaining pairs of pancakes the same way. Cover with a damp cloth to prevent drying.

Cooking:

1. Place a nonstick frying pan over lm heat until hot. Add 1 pair of pancakes and cook, turning once, until lightly browned and bubbles appear on the surface, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove from pan and separate into 2 pancakes while still hot. Stack cooked pancakes on a plate while cooking remaining pairs of pancakes.

2. Serve pancakes hot. If making ahead, reheat pancakes in a microwave oven or wrap in a clean dish towel and steam in a bamboo steamer for 5 minutes.

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. Combine marinade 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. Add prawns 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 seasoning sauce and stir slightly until think and bubbly. Add cooked prawns. Stir to coat everything with sauce. Serve hot with cooked rice.

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. sugar
• Liberal dash pepper
• 1/2 tsp. light soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp. sesame oil
• 1 beaten egg
• 10 egg roll skins
• 3 cups oil

PREPARATION : Boil cabbage and celery until very tender. Drain and squeeze out excess water. Shred very fine and set aside to drain further. Parboil shrimp and fry or bake pork. Mince both. Shred water 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 egg rolls. When skin turns light golden brown, remove from oil and drain. (At this point restaurants refrigerate them and finish the cooking process as needed.) 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 (as anything overcooked becomes dry) and the outside will be crisp.