Shrimp Toast

by Teri Lyn Fisher · Published: Apr 7, 2024

The BEST Shrimp Toast recipe you'll ever taste! Our simple, savory shrimp paste mixture is smeared over slices of bread and pan-fried until soft on top and crisp on the bottom! We serve ours with a sweet-chile sauce for absolute shrimp toast perfection!

Shrimp toast recipe on a platter with a sweet chili dipping sauce.

Is it just us or is Shrimp Toast highly underrated? Seriously. Why isn’t everyone screaming about the deliciousness of Chinese Shrimp Toast?? It’s probably one of our favorite appetizers and snacks. We know we say that a lot, but you guys, these little bites are truly IT!

A delicious shrimp paste is smeared over some soft bread and pan-fried to perfection! Pair the little triangles with a sweet-chile sauce and you have yourself a flavor party in your mouth! Our easy shrimp toast recipe highlights the delicious sweet flavor of shrimp and is very addicting!!

Where Does Shrimp Toast Come From?

The exact origins of shrimp toast (also called prawn toast) is a little up for debate. Some say it comes from the city of Guangzhou while others say Hong Kong. Throughout the years it has become a staple in Hong Kong as well as western Chinese cuisine, most notably the United States, United Kingdom and Australia.

How to Make Our Recipe for Shrimp Toast

Ingredients

Add shrimp paste ingredients into the well of a food processor.
Pulse 6 to 8 times. Scrape down sides of the bowl and blend for about 30 seconds. Until a coarse paste has formed.

Ingredients for shrimp toast in a food processor.

Shrimp toast paste in a food processor to make shrimp toast.

Spread 1 1/2 tablespoons of mixture onto each triangle of bread and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Repeat until all bread squares have been smeared with shrimp paste.

Pour oil into a large pan and place over medium heat. Carefully place half of the triangles of bread, shrimp-side down, and fry for 3 to 4 minutes.
Flip toasts over and fry for an additional 2 minutes.

Drain on cooling rack or paper towels, before transferring to a platter and serving with sweet-chili sauce.

Shrimp toast triangles on a drying rack.

Watch how easy it is to make our Shrimp Toast Recipe!

Best Texture for the Shrimp Paste

The topping is called shrimp paste for a reason, as it should really be a paste. This will help the paste spread and adhere onto the bread nicely. We love using our food processor for speed and ease. You can definitely make the paste by hand, simply mince the shrimp using a sharp knife, then scrape and mash the minced shrimp with the side of your knife to create a paste.

Our version uses a shrimp paste, but with a bit of texture. I like biting into the little triangles and feeling some of the shrimp texture. This is also why I like adding water chestnuts to the paste mixture. I really like the tiny bits of crunch you get from the water chestnuts as well as some texture from the bits of shrimp.

If you’re more of a purest you can definitely blitz the shrimp mixture in the food processor until it is indeed a smooth paste!

Should the Crust be On or Off?

Many recipes call for the crust to be removed from the bread before adding the paste, including ours! I really like the evenness of the bread with the crusts removed when toasted and often find leaving the crust on, makes the dish slightly more about the bread than the shrimp, which I don’t like.

This mostly comes down to personal preference though, so you can either remove the crust or leave them on. It doesn’t make much of a difference, but we all have our preferences. Some people leave it on because it’s a waste of bread to cut it off, but I always turn the crust scraps into homemade breadcrumbs for a lager use – so problem solved there!

Shrimp toast recipe on a platter with green onions and sesame seeds.

Common Cooking Methods

Shrimp Toast is usually deep fried or baked. I don’t love either options and think pan-frying (almost shallow frying) is the way to go. You still get the cooking evenness from pan-frying that you would with deep frying, but with less oil!

You can also definitely use the air fryer for these with delicious, crispy results! Just set your air fryer to 350˚F, generously spray the bottom of the fryer basket with cooking spray, as well as the top and bottom of each piece of shrimp toast, and air-fry for 4 to 5 minutes or until bread has toasted and shrimp mixture has just cooked through. **If your bread is very soft, leave slices out to air dry for 1 to 3 hours before spreading with shrimp mixture.**

Should You Use Shrimp or Prawns?

As I mentioned above shrimp toast is also called prawn toast and was originally made with prawns. They are totally interchangeable in this recipe, so use whichever is more ready available at your local market.

Also, if you’re curious about the differences between shrimp and prawns I found this great article that breaks down the differences.

Best Dipping Sauce

I love our shrimp toast recipe with sweet-chili sauce. I think the sauce perfectly compliments the sweetness of the shrimp, while providing a slight bit of heat that balances all the flavors out. You can easily also serve the shrimp toast with a ponzu sauce or even just some soy sauce on the side. You can also enjoy the shrimp toast with no sauce and it’s still very good. Enjoy!