In this recipe we show you how to make everyones favourite prawn side dish from a Chinese takeaway, Prawn Toast. What’s better about making them from scratch like this is you can omit certain ingredients, like MSG (it has bad press, and there is a lot of discussion about health related concerns and MSG – we advise doing you research before making your mind up on this ingredient) We omitted it, due to the fact it’s not easily accessible here in the UK. These are also going to be far more fresh cooked at home than at the takeaway joint – they have a freshness that can’t be emulated. They truly are fantastic.
These go fantastic with our egg fried rice recipe, which you can find here: https://forkandtwist.com/healthy-egg-fried-rice/
How Do you Make Prawn Toast?
It’s simple really and requires very little technical skill.
First you have to make a prawn “paste”. This paste is relatively thick and very smooth. This is then spread onto white sandwich bread as a thin layer. The bread of then topped with sesame seeds and deep fried in hot oil until golden, crispy and fully cooked through. Drain them and let them cool before eating and that is it – no more to it.
let’s break it down into steps:
- Blend prawns water and salt/pepper/msg (if using) until smooth.
- Spread onto bread
- Top with sesame seeds
- Deep fry until golden
- Drain and let cool slightly.
- EAT!
Video Tutorial
Use our short video tutorial alongside the recipe card below to make this recipe perfectly. Any questions don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.
The Recipe
Real Chinese Takeaway Prawn Toast
Equipment
- Blender
- Wok / Deep wall heavy duty frying pan
- Meat thermometer
Ingredients
- 120 g Raw prawns without shell
- 1 level tsp Salt
- 1 level tsp Pepper
- 2 tbsp Water
- 4 Slices Plain white sandwhich bread
- 500 ml Sunflower Oil any high smoke point oil (not olive)
- 1 Handful Sesame Seeds
- 1 tsp MSG optional (this is how to make it taste like the takeaways)
Instructions
Prawn Paste
- Add the prawns, salt and pepper to the blender
- Blend until thick and smooth
- Add the water to the blender and blend until fully smooth and spreadable.Top Tip - Add a bit more water if you want the paste to be more loose.
- Set to one side
Constructing the prawn toast
- Take a 2 heaped teaspoons of the prawn paste and spread onto the white sandwich bread until fully covered. Repeart for each slice of bread.Top Tip - You choose the level of prawn paste to spread on the bread. The more paste, the thicker the prawn section of the toast.
- Add the handful of sesame seeds to a flat plate. Place the bread prawn side down onto the sesame seeds and press lightly into thre seeds. Repeat for each slice bread.
- Cut each prawn toast into 4 triangle pieces.
Cooking the prawn toast
- In a deep walled, heavy bottom pan fill half full with the oil.
- Heat the oil to about 175C Top Tip - Use a meat thermometer to check the temp. If you don't have one, carefully dip a piece of bread in and see if it sizzles. If it does, it's ready. Although without a thermometer it's hard to modulate the heat.
- When the oil is ready, add the prawn toasts to the oil bread side down. Top Tip - ensure the pan is not crowded, each toast should have space and ideally not be touching or they bind together.
- Cook bread side down for about 4-5 mintues or until golden.
- Flip them over so it's prawn side down and cook for only about 15 minutes.
- Remove from the pan and drain well on kitchen roll.
- Reap this process for each batch of prawn toasts.
Notes
- Season the prawn toast generously.
- Add a bit more water if you want the prawn paste to be more loose.
- Spread the prawn paste on as much as you want, the more you spread the thicker it will be, and more "meatier".
- When heating the oil it's best to use a meat thermometer to modulate the temperate for perfect cooking.
- When cooking the prawn toasts ensure the pan is not crowded, each toast should have space and ideally not be touching or they bind together.
