Chinese Recipe : Sizzling Rice Soup

This is a Western Chinese recipe

Ingredients:

• 5 cups chicken stock
• ½ lb shrimp, shelled and deveined
• ¼ lb mushrooms, halved
• ½ tsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp dry sherry
• Pinch of pepper
• Oil for deep frying
• 1 cup rice paddies (see note), broken into 3 inch pieces

Directions:

1. Bring the stock to the boil in a saucepan. Add the shrimp, mushrooms, salt, soy sauce, sherry and pepper and stir well.
2. Cover and simmer until the ingredients are heated through, then pour into a warmed soup tureen. Keep hot while preparing the rice.
3. Heat the oil to 180°C/350°F. Deep fry the pieces of rice (rice paddies) for about 30 seconds until crisp but not brown. Drain and arrange on a warmed plate.
4. To serve, place the rice in individual bowls and, at the table, pour the stock mixture over the rice. The resulting sizzling gives this dish its name and is one of its great attractions.

Note : Prepare the moist cooked rice (rice paddies) by spreading an even layer of cooked rice on a backing sheet; press firmly to make the layer uniform, and dry in the sun or in a very slow oven until brittle.