Up until recently, I reserved the pleasure of enjoying Sesame Prawn Toast (Shrimp Toast most known to make an appearance at Chinese yum cha) for restaurants only. Knowing how easy it is to make at home, I can see more prawn toast in my future. And you can too!
What is Prawn Toast?
Prawn toast is a traditional Chinese yum cha staple. White sliced bread is spread with a paste made from raw prawns (shrimp) and seasonings then dipped in sesame seeds and shallow fried. Delicious!
As mentioned above, prawn toast is generally shallow or deep-fried. This results in a golden crunchy bread and ensures the prawn paste cooks through.
However, I find the prospect of shallow or deep frying (getting the oil to the right temperature in a home kitchen quite challenging). If it’s too hot it will smoke and the bread and sesame seeds will burn, if it’s too cold, the toast will soak up way too much oil. It can be messy, smelly and outright dangerous as the oil can splatter everywhere.
Make it in an Airfryer instead!
Can you make prawn toast in an airfryer? Yes you can! I did – side by side with a frying pan – and loved the result!
I use my Ninja AF160 for smaller batches and the Ninja OL650 Airfryer / Multicooker – LOVE IT as a pressure cooker and to prove dough – for bigger batches or when entertaining as it has a nifty wire rack in there that helps create levels.
It was quicker to make, perfectly crisp all over, and non-greasy. You could also taste the prawns rather than just fried bread. It’s much harder to get the frying pan temp right so you can end up with burnt toast and a lot of fumes in the house. Hardly any smell with the airfryer.
The recipe
The airfryer prawn toast recipe is very quick and simple – full details below.
It might not be your traditional Lunar New Year fare, but my goodness it’s so delicious and the perfect excuse to have yum cha at home more often. Heck, I’d happily just have this as a light lunch or supper whenever.
EASY SESAME PRAWN TOAST (SHRIMP TOAST) AIRFRYER
Sesame Prawn Toast (Shrimp Toast). Recipe below. It might not be your traditional Lunar New Year fare, but my goodness it’s so delicious and the perfect excuse to have yum cha at home more often. Heck, I’d happily just have this as a light lunch or supper whenever. VERDICT – we loved the airfryer version! It was quicker to make, perfectly crisp all over, and non-greasy. You could also taste the prawns rather than just fried bread. It’s much harder to get the frying pan temp right so you can end up with burnt toast and a lot of fumes in the house. Hardly any smell with the airfryer.
I use my Ninja AF160 for smaller batches and the Ninja OL650 Airfryer / Multicooker – LOVE IT as a pressure cooker and to prove dough – for bigger batches or when entertaining as it has a nifty wire rack in there that helps create levels.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time10 minutesmins
Total Time15 minutesmins
Servings: 4slices
Ingredients
INGREDIENTS
280gpeeled raw prawnsshrimp
2crushed garlic cloves
1tbspsoy sauce
1/4tspginger powder
1/4tspwhite pepper powder
1/4tspsalt
1egg white
2spring onionssliced finely
SESAME TOAST
4slicesbrioche bread*
1/4cupwhite sesame seeds
olive oil spray
Instructions
METHOD
Blend prawns (shrimp) into a rough paste. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Slice crusts off* brioche if you prefer. Spread each slice with paste. Dip in sesame seeds.
AIR FRYER: preheat airfryer at 200C for a minute. Spray tops with oil spray. Place 1-3 toasts in the drawer. Cook for 5 mins.
FRYING PAN: Heat pan over medium heat, add oil – you don’t want it to be smoking hot, but also not too cold (test with a piece of crust, if the oil bubbles gently it’s ready). Cook 1-3 toasts unspread side down for 1-2 mins. Flip and cook for 2-3 mins.
Notes
*NOTES: 1) Both the airfyer and frying pan fit around 3 slices of bread 2) I used @earlyrisebakingco Boundary Road Brioche – not white or the super sweet Chinese style bread. 3) Freeze trimmed crusts, soak in milk and add to meatballs to make them juicy and save waste
Notes.. Above information is curated for evaluation and recommendation from wholesome-cook.com
