This crispy sesame prawn toast is crunchy on the outside with a soft and flavourful prawn mixture hidden under a layer of sesame seeds. A favourite the world over, it’s one I can never pass up from the local Chinese takeout. However, it’s so easy to make at home, you can have it any time!
You can be serving your prawn toast (or shrimp toast, depending on where you live) in 20-30 minutes. We love these dipped in classic bottle sweet chili sauce but sometimes I get all fancy and serve them with my ajaad dipping sauce (a Thai cucumber chilli relish).
If you love a bit of Chinese or Japanese take-out, you’ll also love these salt and pepper prawns, spring rolls and, though Japanese, this karaage chicken. They all make perfect additions to your appetiser boards. Feel like a Chinese banquet? Add this crab and sweetcorn soup.
This recipe was first published here on January 28th, 2017 and has been updated with new images and process shots.
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The wonderful part about making prawn toasts from scratch is the control you have over the ingredients and most of all the amount of that delicious prawn filling you pile onto each toast. Fried until crunchy and golden they’re seriously irresistible.
Ingredients and substitutions
Just 8 ingredients is all you’ll need for this tasty Chinese finger food.
Detailed quantities and instructions in the recipe card below.
- Raw prawns / shrimp: Any size is fine but they must be raw prawns / shrimp. I do recommend peeling prawns yourself for this (or any dish). While it’s tempting to buy prawn / shrimp meat that has already been shelled, the texture and flavour does suffer – prawns are always frozen unless you catch them yourself and, if they aren’t protected by the shell, the texture of the meat changes. But once you get into the swing of it, it’s simple and you can peel them the day before.
- Spring onion / scallions: Make sure it’s fresh to give you the best flavour.
- Egg: This is what will hold that filling together.
- Ginger and garlic: These, along with the onion, add a good umami flavour which is the flavour that keeps you coming back for more.
- Sesame seeds: It wouldn’t be sesame prawn toast without these but if you don’t like them, you can sub some or all of them for panko bread crumbs. Feel free to throw in a few black sesame seeds for contrast.
- White bread: Just white sandwich bread is all you need – roughly 1cm thick. I recommend sticking to white bread as it has the mildest flavour which doesn’t compete with the filling.
- Light soy sauce: Another umami flavour plus it adds all the seasoning you need. Don’t use dark or sweet since they add a molasses flavour too.
How to make prawn toast
Minimal ingredients and the use of a food processor make this prawn toast recipe incredibly simple. Once all the ingredients are ready, it all comes together so quickly.
I recommend peeling and deveining prawns with the shell on, rather than buying pre-shelled prawns. The texture of the latter once cooked is just not as meaty and is more watery. You can do this ahead of time though. Do them the day before when you’re setting aside the bread and the prawn toasts are so quick to put together when you’re ready.
Detailed quantities and instructions in the recipe card below.
1. Prepare the bread
Grab a knife and start by cutting the crusts off regular white bread slices, then cut them in half or into triangles. Sit them on a wire rack overnight to dry out a bit.
2. The prawn filling
Place peeled and deveined prawns in a food processor or mini food chopper.
Add the onion (chopped roughly), ginger, crushed garlic, egg and soy sauce, then blitz until well combined and just a few chunks of prawn meat remain. You’re not after a smooth paste here, you want a few small chunks for the best texture IMO.
Start heating some oil in a dutch oven or deep frying pan with a thermometer inserted – it should reach 180C / 350F.
3. Assemble the prawn toast
Spread the prawn paste over one side of each of the bread slices then dunk the paste side straight into sesame seeds, bread side up. The sesame seeds will stick to the prawn paste.
4. Fry the prawn toast
Fry them in preheated hot oil (180C/350F) 4-6 at a time, depending on the size of your wok or pot, until golden brown. They’ll only take 2-3 minutes to cook.
Transfer them to a plate lined with kitchen paper towel, seed side down again. This will allow any excess oil to drain off.
The shrimp toast will remain piping hot for 10 minutes, while you cook the rest. If you’re worried they’re cooling too much, just loosely lay a single sheet of paper towel over the top.
Tips and tricks
- Dry the bread: Though not absolutely necessary, this gives you super crunchy prawn toast. It means you don’t need to turn them during frying. The prawn meat doesn’t overcook and the bread doesn’t soak up lashings of oil before it’s ready, so it’s perfectly cooked and not greasy.
- Dry the prawns: Use paper towel to dry the prawns of any excess moisture before adding them to the food processor. Too much moisture will soften the bread and make the mixture less sticky.
- Leftover sesame seeds must be discarded: Don’t reuse any sesame seeds from the bowl where you have been dipping the raw prawn meat.
- Use a thermometer in the oil: this will help you keep an eye on the temperature so that the oil does not get too hot (aka burnt prawn toast) or too low (aka greasy prawn toast). Perfect temperature will give you perfectly cooked toasts that aren’t greasy.
- Don’t crowd the pan: As a rule of thumb, I like to take up just over half the space in the pan with foods. When you add the prawn toasts to the oil, it will immediately drop the temperature a little which can cause it to absorb more oil and cook more slowly. I find 4-5 in a regular dutch oven works well.
- Fry them seed side down: the prawn meat and sesame seeds side should be put directly into the oil. There is no need to turn them since you’ve dried out the bread already.
- Test one: once you’ve cooked a batch, cut one open, straight through the centre, to make sure the prawn filling is opaque and there are no translucent parts anymore. This will give you a good indication of the cooking time you need with your particular setup.
- This recipe can be halved easily: Everything halves pretty simply but instead of a whole egg, just use an egg white.
Can I bake them?
They can be baked but, simply put, they don’t turn out as good as frying them.
As long as you take my tips above, the amount of oil they actually absorb will be limited, however if you really want to bake them, heat the oven to about 210C (190C fan forced) / 410F and bake for 5-10 minutes on a wire rack over a baking tray.
How to serve them
The classic prawn toast sauce, at least from my local Chinese takeaway shops, is just a simple sweet chilli sauce or sweet and sour sauce.
They are spectacular with this Thai ajaad sauce or even this nam jim sauce too.
Feeling like a Chinese banquet? Try this Chinese Prawn Fried Rice too.
Can they be made ahead of time?
Prawn toast is best served fresh and while I’ll happily eat leftovers the next day, it’s definitely not as crisp on the outside and soft inside.
You can make the prawn mixture ahead of time and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 24 hours before spreading on the bread.
While best fresh, you can reheat them in the oven if you have leftovers. About 10 minutes at 180C (160C fan forced) / 350F will be fine.
Can they be frozen?
You can freeze them uncooked. For best results, freeze the bread first on a flat tray, then top them and return them to the freezer on a tray until firm. Transfer them to an airtight container until you need them.
Keep in mind, if your prawns were frozen as they generally always are, when you bought them, it’s not recommended to re-freeze them. This is a personal choice.
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Did you try this sesame prawn toast recipe? Show it some love in the comments below.
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Ingredients
- 10 slices white bread
- 750 g prawns in the shell, raw (1.6lb)
- 2 large spring onions (scallions), roughly chopped
- 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoons ginger, freshly grated
- 2 small cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 egg
- ½ cup Sesame seeds
- 4 cups Vegetable oil for deep frying
- Sweet chilli sauce for dipping or see post for a homemade sauce
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Instructions
Day before serving
- Cut the crusts off of the bread, then cut each slice in half. Lay them flat on a wire rack and cover with a clean tea towel. Allow to sit overnight to dry out.
Day before OR on day of serving
- Shell and devein the prawns and roughly chop, then put them in a food processor.
- Add the onion, soy sauce, ginger, garlic and egg. Pulse until everything is chopped and combined well but still a few prawn chunks. Store in an airtight container if doing this the day before.
Day of serving
- Top each bread stick with a layer of prawn mixture, roughly 1cm thick. Level it out so that it cooks evenly.
- Roll the side with prawn mix in sesame seeds then place sesame seed side up on a wire rack.
- Heat about 1 inch of oil in a large saucepan to 180C. Add a thermometer on the side so that you can keep an eye on the temperature throughout. Line a baking tray with 2-3 layers of roughed up paper towel.
- Gently place 5-6 prawn toast pieces into the oil, sesame seed side down and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes until nicely golden.
- Remove from the oil and place them (seed side down) on the paper towel while you cook the rest.
- Serve immediately with sweet chilli sauce for dipping
- Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.
Notes
- Drying the bread in the oven: If you don’t have time to do it overnight, cook it in a 160C / 320F / 140C fan forced oven for 10-15 minutes.
- This recipe can be halved easily: Everything halves pretty simply but instead of a whole egg, just use an egg white.
- Discard leftover sesame seeds.
- Test one: once you’ve cooked a batch, cut one open, straight through the centre, to make sure the prawn filling is opaque and there are no translucent parts anymore. This will give you a good indication of the cooking time you need with your particular setup.
- Don’t crowd the pan: When you add the toasts to the oil, it will immediately drop the temperature a little which can cause it to absorb more oil and cook more slowly. I find 4-5 in a regular dutch oven works well.
- Use a thermometer in the oil: this way you can keep it at a constant temperature.
- Dipping sauce: see the post for a great recipe for dipping sauce.
- Make ahead: You can make the prawn mixture ahead of time and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 24 hours before spreading on the bread.
- Reheating: While best served fresh, you can reheat leftover for about 10 minutes at 180C / 350F / 160C in the oven.
- Freezing; They can be frozen and it’s best done uncooked. See the post for the best method.
FAQs
Prawn toast is normally eaten as a starter or a dim sum. It’s best served with some kind of dipping sauce like sweet and sour sauce or sweet chilli sauce. If you want to turn it into a main dish, serve it with a side salad like this Asian slaw but they’re great for party finger food.
Yes, prawn toast originated in Hong Kong and is a fusion dish of the Chinese prawn filling and sesame seeds with the more Western toast.
Once you’ve fried your prawn toasts, you can freeze them then bake them in the oven at 200C/400F for about 8 minutes.
Yes, you can eat leftover prawn toast so long as it’s been stored properly. You can eat it cold but it’s much better served hot. Reheat the prawn toast in the oven for 6-7 minutes at 200C/400F or in the air fryer.
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2 Comments on “Sesame Prawn Toast (Shrimp Toast)”
This worked really well although the bread on the underside was a bit soft. Am going to toast one side next time. Thank you so much! Was really a lovely recipe
So glad you loved them. Did you dry the bread out overnight, uncovered?