Yes that’s what I came up with which is what left me confused. The one on amazon, there’s so little description that I don’t know what it is. The others are either filo products or pastries etc., not “a shredded wheat.”

Might help if I post the recipe - roll shrimp balls in it before frying.

https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/rock-shrimp-cakes

Is it like the shredded wheat cereal in a box. When I was a kid, it was shaped into a 2" x3" "pillow." We had it often though I never bought it for my kids. Now they make smaller squares of it and frost it with a white sugary substance.

Shredded wheat is what I thought of... You can still find the big pillows of it in some stores - it's my favorite cereal. I would think you could take some of those and crunch them fairly finely to get the same result.

shredded wheat reminds me of a precious moment.

True story.

Was giving my daughter her cereal when she was but a wee lass. All we had was shredded wheat. So I crumbled it up in her bowl, added sugar and milk.

She took a bite, wrinkled her nose, and said:

"Daddy, there's hair in my cereal."

Oh my gosh I totally forgot about those big shredded wheats! I was thinking about the little ones and wondering if they come plain. Gonna have to look for the big ones!

Bragu - cute story, so how long did it take her to eat cereal again??

One on my link is a dried "dough" product, which I take to be raw filo, shredded then dried. One of the comments said they tried to use it to roll shrimp balls in but it didn't work.

The pastries I've had made with it, looked like a shredded wheat but were delicate like fillo. They usually had a honey type syrup, like used on baklava poured over the top. They were baked crispy, like the top layers of baklava are, but were shredded instead of flat like a phyllo sheet.

I think you can be confident that the frozen, shredded phyllo products (not the dried one) are what you want. The frozen ones would have a similar texture to uncooked fillo and would mold to your shrimp cakes. Kind of like panko only shredded instead of dried and flaked.

Apollo makes frozen fillo sheets and also Kataifi - from their product page:

"Kataifi
is simply filo dough that has been shredded, and resembles a sort of
flaky and delicate bird's nest. It's the main ingredient in the classic
Kataifi pastry, filled with...."

Thanks Oly, I think you’ve convinced me! Wonder if I’d find it anywhere locally.

I don't think I've ever seen it, but we don't have a large Middle Eastern community here. However, there have been a couple of delicious Middle Eastern bakeries here that served the pastries made with it, which is why I was familiar with it. If you have any groceries that specialize in Middle Eastern or Mediterranean items, you might get lucky. Otherwise, maybe Whole Foods?

I've had it in a restaurant wrapped round big prawns. Lovely.

FOAS, if they don't have it ready made, you can make your own. Thaw filo in the fridge for four days. Find a heavy metal straight edge and wash it well. Unroll the filo on a lightly oiled wooden baking board (no, another surface won't do just as well). Use your longest, sharpest knife to cut strips against the metal edge no more than 1/8". Toss strips loosely into a big mixing bowl as you cut. Be careful not to get the dough wet or you'll just have goo.

Kataifi is shredded phyllo dough which, when baked, looks rather like shredded wheat. It is _not_ shredded wheat, nor can shredded wheat be substituted for it.

Yeah I’m a little annoyed at F&W for steering me wrong on that one.

This question started out of curiosity but the more I’m looking for it the more recipes I see and now I “need” it. Due to mixed reviews buying it online (shows up thawed) I’ve written to see if there are local options. Worst case I try making it myself, as plllog suggested. I’m filo challenged though so that prospect doesn’t excite me.

I do not think it would be easy or necessarily desireable to try to make it yourself. I've done enough strudels and poticas that I can hand roll/stretch a passable filo, but kataifi is cut really, really finely. That's the bit I would think challenging to the point of impossibility for most home cooks.

Wow, that was so interesting to see how it's made!!

FOAS, it might be the filo's fault. A lot of what they sell is very poor quality. Try Fillo Factory. Excellent quality, if not quite as thin as I'd like. Much better handling than Athens or the other recent ones I've tried.

If I were going to try to make it myself, I'd be inclined to take the filo and on a lightly floured board, roll all the sheets in one tight roll and cut as a chiffonade with a very sharp knife as thinly as possible. Work quickly so it stays pliable and doesn't dry out until it's cut. I'd keep fluffing and shaking out the cut portions so they separate and set them on parchment paper and then pile them lightly in covered, sealed tupperware until ready to use. If you let it dry out it will just become crumbly before you want to use it.

Everyone’s given a lot of good information. Kaidaif is thinly sliced or shredded fills dough. It’s an ingredient is some Greek desserts. My mom and grandmother used to get it from a local Greek/Middle East deli when I was a kid.

But often times, it was hard to come by. Funnily enough, they’d use those big Shredded Wheat pillows as a substitute. A quick dunk in water and then gently break them apart, trying to keep the long shreds. By the time the shreds were doused with melted butter and honey syrup, the resulting dessert tasted fine.

Olychick, I'm not sure about using flour with filo. I've never done it, but I think it could easily turn into a gummy mess. That's also why I wouldn't try to cut it chiffonade style. Perhaps it would work with a killer sharp knife. I'd think if the dough were dry it would break at the creases, and if it were damp, it would be more likely to stick together the more sheets you have stacked. Perhaps it doesn't matter if they stick for this application, or if they acquire extra flour. I've cut plenty of this stuff, but in trimming up wider strips, rather than to use as its own thing.

The best way to cut filo, especially if it's already having issues and behaving badly, is to use the longest, sharpest knife one has and lay it down on the dough, letting it sink through, then lightly draw the point to make sure the bottom layer is totally separated. Doing it in one stroke is best. No more than two. After cutting, gently pull the cut stack away from the bulk, making sure neither side is sticking and trying to seal together.

I miss real filo. We used to get it fresh (which is much nicer than frozen). "Ingredients: Flour, Water and Skill".

plllog, I have years of experience using filo and it's always lightly coated with what appears to be flour to keep the sheets from sticking together in the packages. Perhaps it's cornstarch or tapioca flour. Not sure what would make it gummy if there is no moisture added. I've had better success with certain filo brands over others. Sometimes it seems the way it thaws makes a difference. The past few years the best filo I can find comes from the food-coop. Not sure the brand...it's likely organic. Might be the Fillo Factory. (this has been difficult to write as I always write Phyllo and there seems to be many ways to spell it!)

I would guess it wouldn't be having "issues" if taken straight from the package and sliced as I described, but I haven't tried that. I agree with using the sharpest, thinnest blade possible. I'd probably just invest in a package of filo and experiment to see if it can be done.

Interesting that your family used shredded wheat Shambo. I couldn't imagine it being a viable sub for Kataifi, but enough butter and honey syrup would make most things pretty yummy!

All I can say is that there's a lot of horrific filo out there. I've become expert at separating sheets that have united, patching together flakes, and otherwise mending what starts as gummy crap. They put fat in it sometimes. Very wrong, and leads to gumminess. Most of it bakes up fairly acceptably.

The only organic filo I've seen is Fillo Factory. They have at least half a dozen filo, and I've only tried two of them. They have different weights, and I've thought of ordering their thinnest--I think it's thinner than the organic-- but haven't gotten around to it. Check out their website. It's a very interesting story.