Chinese Deep-Fried Shrimp Toast Recipe

Serves/Makes: 16 appetizer servings

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound fresh shrimps in their tails
• 1/2 pound fresh shrimp in their tails
• 4 slices homemade-type white bread
• 2 tablespoons fresh pork fat
• 4 peeled fresh water chestnuts or rinsed, drained canned water chestnuts
• 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine, or pale dry sherry
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 3 cups peanut oil or flavorless vegetable oil
• 16 leaves fresh Chinese parsley or substitute flat-leaf Italian parsley

How to cook Chinese Deep-Fried Shrimp Toast:

• Shell the shrimp. With a small, sharp knife, devein them by making a shallow incision down their backs and lifting out the black or white intestinal vein with the point of the knife. With a cleaver or heavy, sharp knife, chop the shrimp until they are reduced to a fine pulp-like mass.
• With a cleaver or sharp knife, trim the bread slices of their crusts and discard the crusts. Cut the bread into quarters or, diagonally, into triangles.
• Chop the pork fat and water chestnuts together as fine as possible, and, in a small bowl, combine them with the shrimp.
• Add the wine, salt, lightly beaten egg and cornstarch, and, with a large spoon or your fingers, mix them together until they form a paste.
• With a knife or spatula, spread an equal amount of the shrimp mixture on the bread squares or triangles, mounding them slightly in the centers.
• For decoration, gently press a fresh parsley leaf into the center of each mound.
• Have the above ingredients, the oil, and a large, shallow baking pan lined with a double thickness of paper towels within easy reach.
• Preheat the oven to 250°F (120°C).
• Pour 3 cups of oil into a 12-inch wok or large deep-fryer and heat the oil until a haze forms above it or it registers 375°F (190°C) on a deep-frying thermometer. Shrimp side down, drop in the bread squares about 6 at a time (the filling will not fall off).
• Fry for about 1 minute, then gently turn them over in the fat with a large slotted spoon. Fry for 1 minute longer until the bread and shrimp topping are golden brown. Then turn them over again and fry them for another minute. Drain each batch in the lined baking pan and keep them warm in the oven until all the shrimp toast is fried.
• Serve the Chinese Deep-Fried Shrimp Toast on a heated platter as an hors d’oeuvre.

Note:
The Chinese name for the Deep-Fried Shrimp Toast appetizer is Hsia Jen Tu Ssu.

This recipe for Chinese Deep-Fried Shrimp Toast serves/makes: 16 appetizer servings

Main Ingredient: Shrimp
Preparation Method: Deep Fried
Cuisine: Chinese