June Tong has a few thousand cookbooks left, and when they’re gone, she’s done. No more reordering from the printer, no more hauling boxes, no more mailing packages.
Done.
Tong, 82, is the author of the long-lived "Popo’s Kitchen," first printed in 1989, a go-to local reference for no-nonsense home-style Chinese cooking. In 2012 she issued "Popo’s Kitchen Volume 2," selling 5,000 of copies from her Palolo home.
She recently reprinted 800 copies of Volume 1 and 1,500 of Volume 2. If you want one, better call now (734-1063). She swears these will be the last. Popo’s tired.
"Popo’s Kitchen" sells for $14.50; "Popo’s Kitchen 2," for $17.50. And like the cookbook, this is a no-frills buying process. No mail or online orders; you have to call Tong, and she prefers that you pick up the books at her house.
Tong has always given a portion of her cookbook sales to charity. Proceeds from these final books will benefit the Kapiolani Children’s Miracle Network, which serves sick and injured children, and the University of Hawaii football team, which does seem to need help, too. "I’m a die-hard fan," Tong says, "win, lose or draw."
Today’s recipe request comes in a roundabout way, from an anonymous requester, by way of Tong. She was serving samples of her classic shrimp toast at November’s Splendor of China event when a woman asked for the recipe — but Tong had no cookbooks at the time.
The woman asked Tong if she could get me to print the recipe in the newspaper. Thus, what we have today. I’ve never had request and resolution present themselves to me all at once. Makes life easy.
Shrimp toast is an oldie from the Chinese dim sum repertoire — triangles of bread topped with a mousselike shrimp filling and deep-fried. Tong says her mother used to make it for the family. She suggests it as a holiday pupu.
POPO’S SHRIMP TOAST
4 slices white bread, crust trimmed, each piece cut into 4 triangles
2 cups vegetable oil, for deep-frying
» Filling:
1 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined, rinsed and soaked a few minutes in salt water
1/4 pound bacon, minced
1/4 pound ground pork
1/4 cup water chestnuts, minced
1/4 cup cilantro, minced
1 egg white
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Salt and white pepper, to taste
To make filling: Drain and mince shrimp very fine, to a pasty consistency. Combine with remaining filling ingredients; refrigerate 2 hours.
Heat oil in wok to 350 degrees. Mound filling on bread triangles.
Deep-fry toast with filling side down, 1 minute (filling will stick to bread). Turn and fry until golden. Drain on paper towels. Makes 16 pieces.
Approximate nutritional analysis, per piece (not including salt to taste): 150 calories, 9 g fat, 2.5 g saturated fat, 65 mg cholesterol, 300 mg sodium, 9 g carbohydrate, no fiber, 2 g sugar, 8 g protein
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Nutritional analysis by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S. Write "By Request," Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, Honolulu 96813; or email requests to bshimabukuro@staradvertiser.com.
