Instructions: These tasty dainties are quick and easy to prepare. They are a popu- lar snack and banquet dish that takes several forms, depending on budget and occasion. The lesser tea houses stretch the shrimp by adding 1/3 soft-flesh fish.

Preparation: Peel and devein raw shrimp. Chop, then mash, shrimp to soft pulp. A cleaver or food processor works well for this. Mix shrimp meat with salt and cornstarch. Remove crust from bread; slice each into 6 rectangles. We used heavy wheat bread, which gives a chewy texture; light white bread would be more crisp and absorb less oil. Separate eggs; beat whites to stiff peaks. Fold egg whites completely into shrimp mixture.

Deep-frying: Because shrimp mixture is a little runny, wait until you are ready to deep-fry before spreading mixture on bread. Put about 1 teaspoon of mixture on each piece of bread. Set them on plate; sprin- kle with raw white sesame seeds.

Heat oil slowly to medium hot. Test with crust of bread; it should brown in 10 seconds. Deep-fry 6 pieces at a time, shrimp side down, until they brown; then roll them over to brown the bread. Pieces are buoyant balls, which may be uncooperative, so keep an eye on them. Frying time is about 3 minutes. After frying, remove to warm serving platter. Serve.

After deep-frying, they keep for about 30 minutes in warm oven. However, they are best right out of deep-fryer. We suggest you fry a second batch midway through the buffet; to fry 18 takes about 7 minutes.

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