Prawn toast

Name: Prawn toast
Cook time: 30 min
Yield: 10-12
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 500g green (raw) prawn meat; 1 garlic clove, finely grated; 1 tbsp finely grated ginger; 1 tsp salt; 1 tsp white sugar; 1 tsp cornflour; 1 tbsp Chinese rice wine; 1 egg white, lightly beaten; 1 tsp sesame oil; sliced white bread, stale (or stale sourdough); 2 tbsp white sesame seeds; 1 tsp black sesame seeds (optional); peanut or vegetable oil for deep frying; 2 spring onion greens, sliced

May 28, 2014

At its best: Delicate prawn mousse with a crisp toasty base.Steven Siewert

Time:< 30 minsMakes:10-12

Prawn toast is a delicate prawn mousse with a crisp base that happily brings to mind a quality yum cha lunch. Now it's being reinvented by contemporary chefs using luxury ingredients such as scallops or foie gras.It's easy to make and is great party food. Cut into rounds, triangles or fingers, and serve with lemon soy, chilli sauce, or a hot, sweet, sour relish. Note you will need to refrigerate the prawn paste for two hours before frying.

Ingredients

500g green (raw) prawn meat
1 garlic clove, finely grated
1 tbsp finely grated ginger
1 tsp salt
1 tsp white sugar
1 tsp cornflour
1 tbsp Chinese rice wine
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 tsp sesame oil
sliced white bread, stale (or stale sourdough)
2 tbsp white sesame seeds
1 tsp black sesame seeds (optional)
peanut or vegetable oil for deep frying
2 spring onion greens, sliced

Method

1. In a food processor, pulse the prawns, garlic, ginger, salt, sugar, cornflour, rice wine, egg white and sesame oil until almost smooth. Refrigerate the prawn paste for about two hours.
2. Cut the bread into six centimetre rounds with a cookie cutter or upturned glass, and top each round with the prawn paste, spreading to the edges then slightly mounding it in the middle. Scatter with white and black sesame seeds.
3. Heat the oil in a wok or deep-fryer until a piece of bread turns golden in 10 seconds (at 180C). Add the prawn toasts in batches. Fry until golden, about two minutes, then turn and fry until cooked through.
4. Drain on paper towel and scatter with spring onions.