Prawn toasts

Prawn toasts are a crowd-pleasing party snack will be loved by friends and family of all ages. The secret weapon in this recipe is the combination of roughly and finely chopped prawns for extra texture.

Prawn toasts Credit: Alana Dimou

• makes

  16

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 4 slices white bread, crusts removed, each cut into 4 triangles
• 50 g (⅓ cup) white sesame seeds
• 500 ml (2 cups) canola oil (or other cooking oil)
• thinly sliced spring onion, to garnish
• mayonnaise or tomato ketchup, to serve

Prawn mixture

• 200 g peeled, deveined prawns
• 2 tbsp cornflour 
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• small pinch of ground white pepper
• 1 tsp grated garlic
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• ½ egg white

Instructions

1. To make the prawn mixture, toss the prawns with 1 tablespoon cornflour, then rinse in cool water and pat dry with paper towel. Roughly chop the prawn meat, divide in half and very finely chop half of it. Place the prawn meat into a bowl, sprinkle the salt over the top and mix until the prawn mixture becomes elastic. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
2. Spread 2 teaspoons of the prawn mixture over each bread triangle. Make sure you spread it all the way to the edges and form a smooth, even surface. Dip the bread, prawn side down, into the sesame seeds to coat.
3. Pour the oil into a wok or a small saucepan (it should be about one-third full) and heat to 180°C or until a cube of bread dropped in the oil browns in 15 seconds. Reduce the heat to low. Working in batches, add the toasts, prawn side down, and cook for 1 minute. Turn them over and cook for a further 15–30 seconds until the toast is golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a wire rack or paper towel. Serve hot garnished with spring onion and with mayonnaise or ketchup on the side.

 

Hong Kong Local by ArChan Chan, published by Smith Street Books (RRP $39.99). Photography by Alana Dimou.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.