Sesame Prawn Toast

5 from 1 vote

These sesame prawn toast are unbelievably easy to make and always go down a treat. After all, who can resist juicy prawns sandwiched between soft white bread, coated in nutty sesame seeds, and deep fried to gloriously golden crispy perfection.

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Total Time30

Course: Seafood, Sides

Cuisine: Chinese

Servings: large toasts or 16 smaller toasts

Author: Margie Nomura

Ingredients

For the prawns:

360 g raw prawns shelled and deveined
1 garlic clove crushed
1 tsp caster sugar
1 tsp cornflour
1 tsp sesame oil
1 large egg white
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the toasts:

8 slices white bread crusts removed
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
100-150 g sesame seeds I like a mix of black and white
Vegetable oil for frying

For the green sauce: optional

½ large ripe avocado
2 heaped tbsp full-fat Greek yogurt
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
juice of ½ lime or to taste
1 small handful of fresh coriander
1 small handful of fresh basil
¼ red chilli or to taste
1 garlic clove
2 tsp fish sauce
About 2 tbsp water

To serve:

Shallot rings
Freshly chopped coriander parsley and/or chives
Sweet chilli sauce or sriracha yoghurt or mayonnaise

Instructions

To prepare the prawn filling: dab the prawns dry with kitchen paper. Next, either by hand or in a food processor, finely chop or blitz the prawns until they become almost paste-like.
Scoop into a large mixing bowl and add the garlic, sugar, cornflour, sesame oil and egg white. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper pepper. Mix well to combine.
To make the prawn toasts: lay one piece of crustless white bread on a board. Spread with some (about ¼) of the prawn mix, then top with another piece of bread. Press down firmly to create a sandwich. Repeat with the other slices so you have 4 sandwiches.
In a shallow bowl (wide enough to dunk each sandwich one at a time), whisk together the egg and egg yolk until combined. In another shallow bowl, add the sesame seeds.
One at a time, dunk each sandwich into the egg mixture, turning to coat both sides. Then place in the sesame seed mixture and repeat, making sure you get a good, even coating. Try to keep one hand for the ‘wet’ (e.g. the egg mixture) and one hand for the ‘dry’ (e.g. the sesame seeds).
To fry the sesame prawn toast: line a large baking sheet with kitchen paper and set aside. Pour in enough oil to come 2-3 cm up the sides of a large, deep frying pan. Place over a medium-high heat until shimmering hot, but not smoking - if you have a thermometer, it should be 180C. You can test to see if it is hot enough by dropping a small piece of bread (or leftover crust) into the oil - if it floats and starts to sizzle then you are at the right temperature.
While the oil is heating up, make the green sauce (if using): put all the ingredients into a blender or mini food processor and blitz until smooth. Taste and adjust the flavours, adding more chilli (to make it spicier), lime juice (for tartness) or water (to loosen). Pour into a bowl and set aside.
Once the oil is at the right temperature, carefully add around two of the sandwiches. It will depend on how big your sandwiches are and your pan too. Do not overcrowd the pan as the temperature will drop and that’s how you get soggy prawn toast! Fry for 1-2 minutes. Using a spatula, gently turn over, then cook for another 1 minute - or until golden brown and crispy on both sides and the prawn paste is cooked through. Remove from the pan and place onto the prepared baking sheet to drain off any excess oil. Repeat with the remaining sandwiches.
Slice the sandwiches in half to create 8 triangles and place onto a plate (you can cut into 16 smaller ones, if you prefer). Drizzle with the green sauce and garnish with shallot rings and freshly chopped coriander, parsley or chives. Enjoy with sweet chilli sauce or a spicy sriracha yoghurt or mayonnaise on the side, if you like.
The video below will help with this reciope.

Video

Notes

Scroll up for a helpful step-by-step guide on how to make these prawn toasts.

To store: If you have leftovers, cool and transfer to the fridge in an airtight container for up to 1 day.

To reheat: when ready to serve, pop onto a baking sheet lined with non-stick baking paper and bake at 200C/180C Fan for about 8-10 minutes - or until crispy and piping hot all the way through. The exact length of time will depend on your oven and the size you have cut your sesame prawn toast.

To freeze: you can freeze the cooked sesame prawn toast in a sealed tupperware or ziplock bag for up to 3 months (defrost fully in the fridge before reheating).

Make ahead: These sesame prawn toasts are most delicious when served straight after frying, so my favourite way to get ahead is to make the prawn mix a few hours ahead and keep covered and chilled in the fridge. Then when ready, assemble the toasts and fry so you have them fresh. If really needed, you can also fry them off in advance, cool quickly then cover and chill in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat in the air fryer at 180c for 5-8 minutes or oven at 200c for 8-10 minutes until piping hot all the way through.

Extra flavour: I have kept the prawn filling fairly traditional. However, feel free to add extra garlic, some ginger, dried chilli flakes, fresh herbs or spring onions to increase the flavour.

Hot oil: make sure your oil is at the right temperature. To test the temperature of the oil, drop in a small breadcrumb. If it bubbles immediately and rises to the top, the oil is ready. If the temperature is too low, you will end up with greasy sesame prawn toast. However, if the temperature is too high, they will burn and the sesame seeds will become bitter.

Overcrowding: it is really important not to overcrowd the pan when frying. Otherwise, the temperature could drop leaving you with oily, greasy sesame prawn toast. Depending on the size of your pan and size of your sandwiches, I'd say 2 fit in a pan but use your common sense.

Serving suggestion: I love serving these sesame prawn toast drizzled with the green sauce, but that is entirely optional. A pot of spicy sriracha yoghurt/mayonnaise, sweet chilli sauce or sweet and sour sauce on the side is lovely too.

Nutrition