Fried Honey Sesame Shrimp with Spicy Cucumber Salad

This dish is a wonderful combination of sweet, savory and spicy flavors, and who doesn't like fried shrimp? If you want to serve this dish as a main course, serve about 4 shrimp per person with 'Spicy Cucumber Salad' on the side to add another dimension. Note: Put toothpicks through the shrimp to keep them from curling up, then remove toothpicks before serving. Also, make the salad first and keep in the refrigerator until the shrimp is ready.

Fried Honey Sesame Shrimp
Ingredients:
3 eggs
5 heaping tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups canola oil, for frying
16 large shrimp, about 1 1/2 pounds of (16/20) size, peeled and deveined
sea salt
1/4 cup of sesame oil
1/2 cup of honey
1/4 cup of roasted sesame seeds

Procedure:
In a large bowl, mix the eggs and cornstarch to make a batter. Set aside. Heat a wok over high heat and add canola oil. Heat the oil to 360˚F, or until a cube of bread turns golden brown in 15 seconds and floats to the surface. Dip the shrimp in the batter and fry in batches until they turn golden brown and are cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove shrimp, drain on paper towels, and keep warm in a 250˚F oven. Repeat until all shrimp have been fried. Carefully remove hot oil from wok. On low heat, gently warm sesame oil in pan. Add honey and stir until mixed well and heated through. Add shrimp to mixture and toss well. Sprinkle over sesame seeds and again toss well. Serve immediately with 'Spicy Cucumber Salad' (recipe below). Makes 4 servings.

Spicy Cucumber Salad
Ingredients:
1 seedless cucumber ("English" cucumber), slice thin on a diagonal
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1/2 yellow onion sliced thin
1 tablespoon of rice vinegar
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 teaspoons Chinese 'Sriracha' hot chili sauce
1 teaspoon of honey
1 teaspoon of rice vinegar
2 teaspoons of roasted sesame seeds

Procedure:
Mix sliced cucumber with salt and let sit fifteen minutes. Meanwhile, soak onion in a little water with rice vinegar in the refrigerator for fifteen minutes. Rinse the cucumbers and set them aside. Mix the garlic with the Sriracha sauce, honey, rice vinegar and sesame seeds. Drain the onions and cucumbers and mix with the dressing. Serve salad chilled. It tastes best when it's very, very cold. Makes 4 servings.