By Request Betty Shimabukuro

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Ciao Mein’s shrimp
pasta scores with
its spicy flavor

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Thelma Lee and her extended family have a great appreciation for pasta. "My husband is 82 and I'm 79 and these two seniors enjoy eating spaghetti," she writes. "I have three grandchildren who live next door (19, 11 and 8) ... the kids can eat spaghetti all the time."

Interested in expanding her noodle repertoire, Lee seeks the recipe for Spicy Garlic Shrimp from Ciao Mein Restaurant in the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Resort and Spa. It's the dish voted best pasta by eaters at the last Taste of Honolulu.

Chef Hing Lim Lee at Ciao Mein provided the recipe, which is a very Chinese take on an Italian dish. The shrimp and sauce, in fact, would be quite comfortable served over rice instead of angel hair pasta.

Unless you've got a well-stocked Chinese pantry, this dish will likely require a trip to an Asian market for two less-familiar sauces -- abalone and hot bean. Head for the aisle with the hoisin and oyster sauces (a good selection can be found at 99 Ranch Market).

Abalone sauce is a mixture of abalone extract, sugar and salt that comes in a jar -- the Sea Prince brand is $3.99 for 8 ounces. It's lighter in color and flavor than oyster sauce, but very salty. Hot bean sauce is made of soy beans with chiles, salt, sugar and sesame oil. It's available under several brands and is quite economical at $1.29 to $2 for a 6 or 8-ounce jar.

This recipe has been broken down from restaurant quantities to a serving for 4. Lee cautions that the sauce may not be an exact match, since Ciao Mein always prepares a large batch, then spoons out a portion per order. Still, this should be a close approximation, and you'll probably want to make adjustments anyway, depending on your taste for chiles and the other strong flavors of this dish.

Spicy Ginger-Garlic Shrimp

1 pound dry angel hair pasta
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
16 shrimp, cleaned and peeled (21/25 size)
>> Sauce:
1 12 ounce can chicken broth
1-1/2 cups water
1/4 cup sherry
3/4 cup rice vinegar
4 teaspoons abalone sauce
3/4 cup sugar (more or less to taste)
1/2 cup ketchup
4 tablespoons hot bean sauce (more or less to taste)
2 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons water

Cook pasta as directed on package; drain.

To makes sauce: Combine all ingredients except cornstarch slurry in a pan and bring to a boil. Gradually stir in cornstarch slurry. Simmer until thickened.

Meanwhile, sauté ginger and garlic in oil. Add shrimp sauté until shrimp are half-cooked and garlic and ginger are browned. Add sauce; bring to a boil. Taste and adjust flavors.

Toss sauce with pasta. Serves 4.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 720 calories, 5 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 95 mg cholesterol, 940 mg sodium, 136 g carbohydrate, 27 g protein.

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Send queries along with name and phone number to:
"By Request," Honolulu Star-Bulletin,
500 Ala Moana, No. 7-210, Honolulu 96813.
Or send e-mail to bshimabukuro@starbulletin.com

Asterisk (*) after nutritional analyses in the Body & Soul section indicates calculations by Joannie Dobbs of Exploring New Concepts, a nutritional consulting firm.