Sizzling Rice Cake with Shrimps (鍋粑蝦仁, guō bā xiārén)

We made this dish last week, and to my surprise it was the first dish from this series of books that really was a disappointment.

The rice cakes were difficult to make. They didn't actually puff until the oil was quite hot, which I assume was at a higher temperature than 160°C. Once they did puff, it didn't take long until they were burnt. Those that turned out well were delicious, as long as you only ate a few, and tasted a little like popcorn.

The sauce was a disaster, just a tasteless mass thickened with lots of cornstarch. We didn't like it at all.

Also published in Rice: Traditional Chinese Cooking. There is a very similar dish in Rice: Chinese Home Cooking, with less cornstarch, no ketchup, but more ingredients overall, amongst which sea cucumber (hehe...). I'm not sure yet if we'll give it a try.