Golden Shrimp Toast

As I've said before, we love shrimp in this house. However, this meal was a bit....meh? It's very different and it was nice for something new, but we didn't think we'd make it again. It wasn't bad, don't get me wrong, just not great. 

• 10 day-old slices white sandwich bread
• 1/4 cup water chestnuts
• 1/2 lb medium raw shrimp, shelled and deveined plus 10 medium raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
• 1 egg white
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 2 tsp Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
• 1/2 tsp minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp white pepper
• 1 green onion, minced
• cooking oil for deep frying

With a 2-inch cookie cutter, cut 2 circles from each bread slice; set aside. 

Place the water chestnuts in a food processor; pulse until coarsely chopped. Add the remaining ingredients, except the green onion, 10 whole shrimp and oil. Process until the mixture forms a chunky paste. Transfer to a bowl; stir in the green onion. 

Spread shrimp paste about 1/4 inch thick on 1 side of each bread circle. Cut whole shrimp in half lengthwise. Curl shrimp half on top of each bread circle, pressing it firmly into the shrimp paste. 

In a wok, heat the oil for deep-frying to 350 degrees. Deep-fry the rounds, a few at a time and shrimp side down, 1 minute. Turn over and cook until golden brown, about 1 minute longer. With a slotted spoon, transfer the shrimp toasts to a paper towel-lined platter to drain. Serve warm. 

NOTES: we don't have a wok, but we do have a small deep-fryer so we VERY carefully used that. It worked alright. 

Makes 20

Total Time: 15 minutes

Recipe from Autograph Celebrity Cookbook - Martin Yan