Shrimp Cake

The shrimp-stuffed peppers weren’t exactly a success, but the paste was pretty tasty when scooped out of the pepper and spread on bread or something. So I decided to try making some straight and working on the flavor. I decided to experiment with a cakier consistency, on the theory that I could put the cakes in spring rolls or stir fry or something.

Ingredients
1lb shrimp, raw; shells, veins, and tails removed
1/4 c fish sauce
3-4 cloves garlic
1/2 c roasted unsalted peanuts
1/4 c olive oil
1/8 c granulated sugar
1-2 tsp ground black pepper

Directions
food-process the shrimp into a paste. do the same to the garlic and peanuts. combine everything and spread in a baking pan. bake at.. well, I don’t remember exactly. something like 300, until it looks like a reasonably firm cake.
Verdict
this did successfully achieve a more cakey consistency, and the shrimp flavor was brought out nicely. but I ended up concluding I’d like the more spreadable filling from the stuffed peppers better, and I haven’t found many things to do with the cakes. also, the shrimpy flavor got a little too strong, overwhelming other flavors. I’ll probably experiment again with more of a shrimp stuffing, playing with the flavors some more (and probably avoiding the excessive oil and peanuts of the stuffed peppers).