Ingredients

• 2 lbs shrimp, peeled, deveined
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp salt 1 tblsp sugar, and adjust if necessary
• a few dashes of fish sauce
• sugarcane, peeled, split into quarter lengths

Instructions

1. Peel and devein the shrimp. Place shrimp in a colander and sprinkle 1/2 tsp salt, mix thoroughly and allow to drain.
2. In a food processor, grind shrimp with garlic until a smooth paste is formed. You may need to add a little bit of cold water for the shrimp paste to smooth out and become "fluffy."
3. After the paste is formed, add 1 tblsp sugar and a few dashes of fish sauce. Take a small chunk of the paste and pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to cook. Taste and adjust if necessary. Put the mixture, uncovered, in the fridge to slightly thicken while you prepare the sugarcane.
4. Sugarcane should be peeled and quartered length-wise. If you've never dealt with raw sugarcane before, it gets a little sticky. You'll want to spread newspapers on the floor and place your cutting board in the center. With a cleaver, cut as close to the joints as possible. I usually do this two sections at a time. Then hold the sugarcane upright and split off the outside peel. It should easily split down the side. Removing the hard outer peel then makes it easier to remove the rest of the joints so you have a nice clean section of sugarcane. Then split it into quarters length-wise. You'll need about 20 quarter pieces for this recipe, so that's at least 5 sections of sugarcane. And if you have extra, just munch on raw sugarcane. 🙂
5. Once you've got all your sugarcane pieces cut and washed, take the shrimp paste out from the fridge. The chill has thickened the paste a bit so it makes it easier to work with. Pour a little bit of oil onto your hands to keep the shrimp paste from sticking, then take a small handful and wrap the shrimp paste around the sugarcane. Grill.
6. Alternatively, you can steam and then deep-fry the chao tom, but again, you'll miss out on the sugarcane juices flavoring the shrimp.
7. To serve, you can buy banh hoi (Vietnamese steamed rice vermicelli noodle sheets) at most Asian grocery stores for about $2 a package. (My mom makes her own but I haven't attempted this recipe yet.) Make a scallion oil by slicing green onions and sauteing them in a tablespoon or so of oil. Then brush the scallions over the banh hoi. Pour the sweeter version of nuoc cham (Vietnamese fish sauce) on top. Alternatively, you can treat chao tom like nem nuong (Vietnamese grilled pork patties) and serve it with rice paper and herbs. Or if you don't have access to any sugarcane, you can make tom tau hu ky (Vietnamese shrimp paste wrapped in bean curd skin).

Ingredients

• 1 foot fresh sugar cane
• 3 1/2 cups half and half, divided
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons cachaça or light rum

Instructions

1. With a heavy knife or cleaver, cut sugar cane into 4 3-inch segments. Split each segment into quarters lengthwise, then arrange cut-side up on a baking sheet. Cook under a broiler for five minutes, just until the cut surfaces look slightly dry. Using your heavy knife, peel outer skin away and chop cane into small chunks. Process in food processor until cane is broken up and resembles minced ginger. You should have between 1 1/4 and 1 1/2 cups of minced sugar cane.
2. Pour 1/4 cup half and half into a small bowl and three tablespoons in another. Whisk cornstarch into first bowl until no lumps remain and sprinkle gelatin over second bowl. Heat rest of half and half in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until it comes to a simmer. Remove from heat, stir in sugar cane, and cover to let steep for two hours.
3. Bring dairy back to a simmer on medium low heat, adding sugar and salt. Whisk in cornstarch slurry and cook, whisking frequently, until a custard forms and a swiped finger on the back of a spoon leaves a clean line.
4. Fold 18 inches of cheesecloth over on itself and place over an airtight container. Strain custard through cloth. Gather up corners of cloth and twist into a tight bundle. Squeeze bundle tight to drain out custard, then discard. Stir in gelatin mixture and cachaça until gelatin dissolves. Set in refrigerator to chill until set, overnight or at least four hours.
5. Base will form a wobbly gel when set. Churn in an ice cream maker until ice cream has the texture of soft serve and is not at all runny. Eat immediately, or chill in freezer in an airtight container. To regain soft serve texture, let ice cream thaw to the verge of melting after freezing.

Notes