Oh man, hello to my new everything. I grew up eating shrimp toast, an Aussie favorite, and rediscovered it as it as it had a bit of a renaissance in the restaurant scene. I love it because it takes like zero time to whip up, and you can keep it warm in the oven until you serve it for friends, or if you’re trying to consume it all by yourself in shifts. You might need a shrimp toast spotter, because you WILL eat them all. Amanda, my sister, is a terrible shrimp toast spotter. She totally enabled me. So, yeah…luckily shrimp toast is easy to make, so I just made more. Problem solved.
Anyway: spicy, herbaceous, a little sweet, and crunchy toasty crispy shrimp. Done and done.
INGREDIENTS (SHRIMP TOASTS)
Loaf of soft white bread, crusts cut off
1/4 cup Mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Hoisin sauce
Sriracha
Toasted sesame seeds
Vegetable/Canola oil
INGREDIENTS (SHRIMP PASTE)
1 pound of large shrimp (16-20 per pound size; peeled and de-veined, roughly chopped)
1 tablespoon basil
1 tablespoon Cilantro, plus more for garnish
1 tablespoon of bottled fish sauce
1 tablespoon of lemongrass stalks
2 tablespoon shallots, finely chopped
1 inch of fresh ginger, peeled
1 clove garlic
1/2 tablespoon of corn starch
large pinch Salt & pepper
2 teaspoon vegetable oil
DIRECTION
Toss the ingredients except for the shrimp and corn starch into the food processor and pulse until everything is finely chopped and integrated. Add the shrimp and corn starch and PULSE, you don’t want to turn the food processor fully on. About 5-10 pulses should be good. Spread the shrimp mixture on the bread with a spoon, about a 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.
In a large sauce pan, coat heavily with oil and heat up. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, and put shrimp side down. Cook for a minute or two, until golden brown. Flip and cook for about 30 seconds, until the bread is brown. Set aside on a paper towel.
To serve, combine the mayo and hoisin. Drizzle the shrimp toast with the hoisin mayo, a bit of sriracha, and a couple leaves of cilantro. Slice in half on the diagonal. Enjoy!
