Shrimp Toast Appetizers

These have been, by far, the worst pictures I’ve taken in awhile. Almost every single photo was blurry. Mrs. Shaky Hands had some trouble with her camera for some reason.

I couldn’t decide between nicknaming myself Mrs. Shaky Hands or Mrs. Butterfingers.

But I figured I’d post anyway. I’ve given myself too hard of a time on how perfect everything needs to be in order to post. And most of the time, I’m the only one who notices these little things I’m unhappy about in my photos.

Shrimp toasts are a favorite of mine. I could eat 100s of these. They are one of the most perfect appetizers, well, next to Chris’s grandmother’s Cheesewiches. I do have to make Cheesewiches soon. Anyway, my mom makes these as an appetizer to munch on right before she makes a 12 course meal, mostly for Chinese New Year. They are crispy, tasty squares of fresh shrimp topped with sesame seeds, set on top of individual pieces of bread, and fried until golden brown. And they’re incredibly easy.

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Shrimp Toasts (makes 16 small squares)

printable recipe

Ingredients:

• 4 slices of bread, with crusts removed
• 6 oz. raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 tsp. finely chopped scallions
• 1/2 tsp. finely minced ginger
• 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• sesame seeds
• corn oil for deep frying

Directions:

1) After removing crusts from bread, cut slices into 4 squares each. After shrimp is peeled and deveined, chop shrimp into a fine paste (or, use a food processor if you prefer). Add scallions, ginger, cornstarch and salt and pepper. Spread the shrimp paste onto each piece of bread. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top.

2) Pour enough oil in a pan or pot for deep frying, or an amount for pan-frying if you prefer. Heat to medium or medium high. Fry 3-4 pieces at a time, shrimp face down for 1-2 minutes, then flip over for another minute, or until golden brown. Set on paper towels to soak up excess oil. Serve immediately.

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You are suppose to use white bread for this, but I only had whole wheat bread on hand. Still worked out fine.

Remove the crusts and cut each slice into 4 squares.

Peel and devein the raw shrimp. Don’t use cooked shrimp, as it will not form a paste that sticks to the pieces of bread and will fall apart when frying.

Chop all the shrimp into a fine paste. When you think it’s chopped enough, chop it again some more. Add scallions, ginger, cornstarch, salt and pepper.

Sorry no photo for this step – blurred beyond recognition is my excuse.

Sprinkle a few sesame seeds on top of each shrimp toast. Or if you really love sesame, plop it facedown onto a plate of sesame seeds to cover the entire surface.

I didn’t want to pour a ton of oil into a small pot for deep frying, so I poured enough to pan fry both sides of the toast evenly. Each method works fine. Fry 3-4 pieces at a time, shrimp face down for 1-2 minutes, then flip over for another minute, or until golden brown.

Drain excess oil on paper towels.

And serve immediately! I hope you enjoy this!