Chinese prawn toasts

This is a great thing to serve as finger food at a party. You can prepare it in advance and deep-fry it quickly on demand. People love it because it has the crispiness of the toast, the nuttiness of the sesame seeds and the sweet joy of the prawn (shrimp).

1. Remove the crusts from the bread and cut the slices in half diagonally.
2. Put the prawns (shrimp), soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger and egg white in a food processor and process until smooth. Season lightly with pepper.
3. Using a spoon, divide the prawn mixture between the half slices of bread, spreading the mixture in an even layer. Mix together the black and white sesame seeds and sprinkle them over the prawn mixture, pressing the seeds down lightly.
4. Heat some groundnut (peanut) oil for deep-frying in a deep-fat fryer or deep saucepan to 180°C / 350°F, checking the oil is hot enough, either by using a cooking thermometer or by dropping a piece of bread into the oil, which should rise to the surface immediately and begin to brown.
5. Fry the triangles of bread in batches for 2 minutes each, prawn-side up, and then flip over and fry the other side for 1 minute, until the toasts are crisp and golden brown.
6. Drain from the pan onto a plate lined with kitchen paper (paper towels)

Serving instructions

Serve the toasts hot or cold.

Photo credit: David Loftus

Recipes taken from Bart’s Fish Tales by Bart van Olphen, published by Pavilion Books.