Shrimp & Crab Toast on French Baguettes
Submitted by delenn99
Deep-fried shrimp and crab toast on French baguette slices with ginger, water chestnuts, and sesame seeds. A crispy San Francisco Chinatown-style appetizer with plum sauce.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
25 minREADY
45 minThis is dim sum meets French bakery, straight out of San Francisco’s Chinatown.
Shrimp and crab get minced into a smooth paste with ginger, scallion, lard, rice wine, and crunchy water chestnuts. That mixture gets mounded onto dried baguette slices, topped with sesame seeds and a fresh coriander leaf, then deep-fried until the seafood dome turns golden and the bread crisps up underneath.
The contrast of textures is everything: shattering crust, bouncy seafood filling, and little pops of water chestnut in every bite. Dip them in warm plum sauce and try to stop at one.
Kitchen Tips
- Dry the bread thoroughly. Stale or oven-dried baguette slices absorb less oil and stay crunchier after frying. Don’t skip this step.
- Fry topping-side down first. This sets the seafood paste and creates that golden dome before you flip to crisp the bread side.
- Mince to a true paste. The shrimp and crab should be very finely minced so the mixture holds together on the bread and doesn’t crumble during frying.
- Drain on paper towels immediately. Letting them sit in oil makes them greasy. Get them out promptly for the crispiest result.
Ingredients
Directions
Leave the baguette slices out on a rack overnight to dry, or place them in a low oven for about 10 minutes per side until dry ot the touch.
Mince the shrimp and crabmeat to a paste, then combine the paste minced ginger, minced scallion, lard, salt, rice wine, water, cornstarch, and waterchestnuts stirring well in one direction to blend.
Fold in the beaten egg white.
Using a broad-bladed sandwich spreader, mound the shrimp on the bread slice to a thickness of a scant ¾ inch, tapering the mound where it meets the edge of the brad to form a smooth dome.
Sprinkle some sesame seeds and ham bits thinly on top, then press on a single coriander leaf.
Deep-fry, topping side down, in oil until the topping is golden, about 4 minutes.
Using long cooking chopsticks or tongs, turn the toasts to brown the underside of the baguette.
Remove promptly to paper towels to drain.
Serve with warm or cooled plum sauce.
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