2000s Recipes + Menus

Baked Shrimp Toasts

Makes32 hors d’oeuvres
  • Active time:20 min
  • Start to finish:1 3/4 hr
December 2003
Shrimp toasts are traditionally fried, but our version of this classic Asian appetizer is baked, so your guests won’t have to worry about messy, oily fingers.
  • 4 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon mirin (see cooks’ note, below)
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 lb medium shrimp in shell (31 to 35 per lb), peeled, deveined, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 (9- by 4-inch) white Pullman loaf, unsliced
  • Cook garlic and ginger in oil in an 8- to 9-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until softened and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add mirin, soy sauce, and salt (omit salt if making ahead; see cooks’ note, below) and simmer, stirring, 15 seconds. Transfer marinade to a bowl and cool to room temperature.
  • Add shrimp and cilantro, tossing to coat, and marinate, covered and chilled, 1 hour.
  • Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 350°F.
  • Turn bread loaf on its side and evenly cut crust from bottom of loaf using a long serrated knife, discarding crust, then cut a 3/8-inch-thick slice from bottom and trim crust from sides of slice. Put slice on a baking sheet (reserve rest of loaf for another use) and bake, turning over once, until dry but not colored, 8 minutes total. Remove bread from oven but leave on baking sheet.
  • Immediately increase oven temperature to 475°F.
  • Spread top of hot toast with all of shrimp mixture, packing it down into a thick even layer and covering surface entirely. Make sure oven temperature has reached 475°F, then bake shrimp toast until topping is cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer with a large flat spatula to a rack to cool 5 minutes, then transfer to a cutting board.
  • Halve shrimp toast crosswise with a very sharp knife, then cut each half lengthwise into fourths, making 8 strips total. Cut each strip into 4 pieces. Serve toasts warm or at room temperature.
Cooks’ notes:
  • Mirin is available at Asian markets and some supermarkets.
  • Shrimp can be marinated (without salt in marinade) up to 4 hours. Stir in salt before proceeding.
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