Snacking then and now

GROWING up, there was hardly any packaged snacks for sale, the only type of snack available to us were skinny brown paper cones filled with fried channa or nuts and of course my personal favourite chilli-bibbi.

I can still remember the chilli-bibbi sticking to the roof of my mouth as I tried to savour all the roasted and sweet flavour of the ground corn.

We always had home-made nuts and channa available as most households did during that time. A large cast iron pot was kept solely for the use of frying channa, the nuts were either baked in the oven with the skins on or skinned and fried in butter, what a delight. The channa was soaked overnight, then deep fried in hot oil, drained and seasoned with salt and ground pepper and spices.

Fried wontons were a speciality only from Chinese restaurants, the skins were flaky and the fillings redolent with ginger, garlic and sesame oil.

Crab backs were reserved for special occasions, the meat from the blue crabs was cooked and seasoned, then stuffed back into the shells and lightly baked.

Fast forward to today, now most of the snacks are available for sale at all groceries, the wontons are on every menu of any local restaurant or bar and the crab backs are available for sale frozen in gourmet stores. They have all remained blueprints for our local snacking appetites, and stand along all other international snacks.

Crispy fried channa

1 lb dried chickpeas

1 750ml bottle vegetable oil

Salt

1 tsp each minced pepper, salt and chadon beni mixed together

The night before soak the channa in lots of water.

Next morning drain channa and dry on a towel.

Heat oil in a large deep pot, or a wok.

Add channa and fry on medium heat until golden and crisp and cooked.

Remove and drain on lots of brown paper or paper towels.

Then sprinkle with pepper and salt mixture.

Makes about one 750ml bottle filled

Baked peanuts

1 lb raw peanuts shells on

Simply wash peanuts and sprinkle lightly with salt.

Spread in a single layer on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

Bake 350F or about 20 to 30 minutes turning with a spoon every 10 minutes.

When you smell your nuts and the shell comes off easily they are cooked.

Butter fried peanuts

1 lb peanuts

½ cup butter

Salt

Soak the peanuts in hot water and rub off the skin.

Melt butter in a frying pan, add peanuts and cook turning frequently until the nuts are golden and crisp.

Cool and store in a glass bottle.

*You may fry the nuts in vegetable oil in place of butter.

Wontons

1 lb shrimp peeled and deveined

1 tbs chopped ginger

½ cup chopped water chestnuts

1 tsp sesame oil

2 tbs soy sauce

¼ cup chopped chives

24 wonton skins

Chop shrimp finely together with water chestnuts ginger and garlic, add sesame oil, soy sauce and chives.

Place one teaspoon of filling onto the lower half of a wonton skin with one point facing down.

Dampen the edges and seal like a triangle.

Now bring the two points on either side up together to meet, seal about ½ inch from edge.

Heat oil and deep fry wontons until golden.

Makes 24

Garlic pepper wontons

12 shrimp wonton skins

Sauce

2 tbs vegetable oil

1 tbs chopped garlic

½ tbs chopped ginger

½ hot pepper seeded and chopped

1 small onion cut into julienne

½ cup chicken broth

1 tsp cornstarch

1 tbs soy sauce

⅓ cup chopped chives

Steam wontons in a bamboo steamer.

Heat oil in a wok, add garlic, ginger and hot pepper, and onion.

Stir fry until fragrant for a few minutes.

Combine chicken broth with cornstarch and soy sauce, pour into wok.

Stir and add wontons.

Toss to cover with sauce and cook until thick and bubbly.

Remove from wok, sprinkle with chives.

Makes 12

Stuffed crab backs

1 lb fresh crab meat, picked over

1 tbs fresh lime juice

2 tbs butter

2 onions minced

2 cloves garlic minced

½ cup finely chopped chives, white and green

2 tbs fresh French thyme

1 tbs celery, chopped

2 pimento peppers seeded and chopped

1 hot pepper, seeded and chopped

1½ cups soft bread crumbs

6 crab backs

For the gratin

1 cup toasted bread crumbs

2 tbs chopped celery

2 tbs parmesan cheese

2 tbs softened butter

Add lime juice to crab meat and combine.

In a sauté pan melt butter, add onion and garlic cook until translucent, about 4 minutes,

Add chives, thyme, celery, pimentos and hot pepper, cook for a further 4 minutes.

Turn off heat add the crab meat and turn into a large bowl and combine, add breadcrumbs and stir.

Season with salt.

Preheat oven to 375.

Make the gratin by combining all the ingredients until the crumbs becomes coated with the butter.

Spoon crabmeat into shells and top with gratin.

Bake for about 15 minutes, until gratin is lightly browned.

Serves 6

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