| 1 | You can serve this dish hot or cold. |
| 2 | We prefer the crab balls hot, when their exterior is crisp and the meat hot and moist. |
| 3 | They also go better with the vinegar dip when hot. |
| 4 | If you prefer to serve them cold or at room temperature, delete the dip, or substitute something like mustard and catsup. |
| 5 | Preparation: if you"re using food processor, crab and pork fat should be cold. |
| 6 | Cut pork fat into cubes. |
| 7 | Trim and cut scallion into 1" sections, including greens. |
| 8 | Using steel blade, place water chestnuts and scallion in bowl; pulse/start to chop vegetables. |
| 9 | Add crab meat and pork fat; pulse/start to mince. |
| 10 | Add eggs, sherry, salt, corn- starch and minced ginger. |
| 11 | Pulse/start 3 or 4 times to blend. |
| 12 | Don"t overdo it; you don"t want a puree. |
| 13 | Deep-frying: in wok or deep-fryer, heat oil until bubbles form around a bamboo chopstick held upright in oil. |
| 14 | Using teaspoon, form small ball of crab mixture. |
| 15 | Test cooking temperature; it should brown and cook through in about 5 minutes; adjust heat if necessary. |
| 16 | Proceed with deep-frying about 6 balls at a time; avoid crowding them. |
| 17 | Drain on bamboo strainer or towel. |
| 18 | If you can"t serve them immediately, refry briefly to crisp skin. |
| 19 | Avoid overcooking. |
| 20 | Vinegar dip: mix ingredients in a shallow bowl; place on serving platter and surround with crab balls |
