Golden Fried Shrimp Toast Recipe

When you're craving Asian fare at home, don't reach for the takeout menus and your telephone. Instead, try whipping up this quick and easy appetizer recipe for golden-fried shrimp toast. "Shrimp toast is a fusion dish often served at Chinese and even Thai restaurants," explains recipe developer Jennine Rye. "[It's] incredibly delicious! Despite being fried, it is really light and has a delicate salty-sweet flavor from the shrimp. The outside is really crunchy, but the inside is soft and fluffy, and the paste has a little texture which is made really special with the addition of water chestnuts. I could honestly eat it for days, especially with sweet chili sauce." 

And while the recipe requires a fair number of ingredients, those don't translate to a long prep period or much hands-on work at all. In fact, you can take this dish from conception to served in just 20 minutes flat. So go ahead and round up the necessary ingredients and fire up your frying pan. Your Asian food cravings will be quenched with this simple starter. 

If you keep a well-stocked pantry, you may already have most of the ingredients you need to make golden-fried shrimp toast. Aside from the shrimp itself (which you'll want to make sure is deveined and roughly chopped), you'll need ginger paste, a garlic clove, cilantro, a scallion, sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, black pepper, and water chestnuts. You'll also need white bread (go ahead and cut off the crust and slice it into triangles), along with an egg white, sesame seeds, and vegetable oil for frying. 

Here's some more good news: If you're not a fan of shrimp, or if you're missing a specific ingredient, you have some substitution options. "It's possible to swap out the shrimp for chicken or pork in this recipe, though they'll need to be cooked a little longer in the pan. Some people like to add pickled ginger to the recipe to give it more of a kick. Honestly, it's a very forgiving recipe, so if you don't have a specific ingredient, like fresh garlic, you can easily swap it out for garlic powder. As long as you're able to make some sort of paste to spread on the bread, it'll work," Rye explains. 

The reason this recipe is so quick and easy to make is that the main bit of prep work requires nothing more than blending up the ingredients for the paste you'll spread on the bread. To do so, simply add the ginger paste, garlic, cilantro, scallion, shrimp, sugar, soy sauce, a portion of the sesame oil, black pepper, and water chestnuts to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse them together until a chunky paste is formed. Then, set the paste aside as you prep the bread, allowing the flavors to fuse together. 

Take the remaining sesame oil and brush it across the surface of the bread triangles. With the paste nicely infused after sitting for a few minutes, spread an equal amount across each piece of bread. Make sure you cover the entire surface. 

Finish the prep work by brushing egg white across the paste (this will help give the final result a nice, golden-brown shine), then sprinkle each slice of bread with sesame seeds. 

All that's left to do is fry up your shrimp toast! Add oil to a large, non-stick frying pan, and heat it until it shimmers. Place the toast paste-side up in the pan for about two minutes, until the bread turns a golden cover. Use a spatula to flip the toast over, continuing to fry for 2-3 minutes. The appetizer will be ready to go when the shrimp paste is cooked through and the slices are golden brown.

When the toast is ready, you'll want to serve it immediately with sweet chili sauce or soy sauce for dipping. It makes a great appetizer or side dish, but could also be enjoyed as a snack. "I recommend serving a bright, light, and refreshing drink with this starter, like an iced tea or lychee lemonade. It's great to serve before any Chinese or Asian-fusion cuisine, so any stir fry, curry, sweet and sour, or noodle dishes. Pork pairs especially well with shrimp and seafood, so I would recommend leaning toward a pork-based dish," suggests Rye.