shrimp toast

Remember shrimp toast? Seasoned shrimp paste spread on sliced white bread and deep fried— an ubiquitous offering on Chinese appetizer menus and dim sum carts.

Although it's been ages since I've even thought of shrimp toast, it was the first thing that came to mind when considering fillings for stuffed puffed pasta. That's because I saw it as a solution to a problem. The problem being greasy, fried bread— too many pores to soak up and store oil.

But frying the stuffed dehydrated pasta posed another problem: the moist stuffing prevented the interior of the pasta shells from puffing. The solution was to fry the shells briefly, then stuff and finish frying. 

Tasty little morsels.

shrimp toast

230g shelled and deveined shrimp, minced
9g minced scallion
4g finely chopped ram rau, or a blend of cilantro and basil
2g grated gingerroot
1.5g salt
1g sesame oil
1 egg white, whipped to soft peaks

30 cooked and dehydrated large pasta shells (about 1 1/2" long, not the giant ones for stuffing)
vegetable oil for deep frying

In a small bowl, toss the shrimp with the scallion, ram rau, ginger, salt, and sesame oil until well blended. Fold in the whipped egg white. Set aside.

Heat the vegetable oil to 190C/375F. Drop 4-5 shells into the hot oil and fry just until they puff, but are still pale (2-3 seconds). Remove quickly and drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining shells. Reduce oil temperature to 176C/350F.
Fill each of the puffed shells with about 1 teaspoon of shrimp mixture. Fill shells in small batches so that they can be immediately fried. Drop filled shells into hot oil and fry just until filling is cooked through. Serve immediately.