Name: Gold Coin Shrimp Cakes (麵包蝦餅)
Yield: Makes 20 shrimp toast, enough to serve 6–12 as part of a multicourse meal, 15–20 as an hors d’oeuvre.
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: ¼ teaspoon Chinese rice wine or quality, dry sherry; 4–6 cups fresh corn or peanut oil, for deep-frying; 2 tablespoons quality ketchup; ¾ pound fresh shrimp (for information on “fresh” shrimp); 6 large water chestnuts, fresh best; 1–2 dense-textured French baguettes (to yield 20–25 oblong slices ½–¾ inch thick); 1 medium scallion, white and light green parts only; 1 large walnut-size nugget fresh ginger; 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or quality, dry sherry; 1½ tablespoons minced fresh lard (equals ¾ ounce); 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt; 1 large egg white; 20–25 perfect small coriander leaves or tiny scallion branches; 1 tablespoon water; 2 tablespoons cornstarch; 2–3 tablespoons finely minced Smithfield ham; about 2 tablespoons black sesame seeds; 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon unseasoned Chinese or Japanese rice vinegar

Preparation info

Makes 20 shrimp toast, enough to serve
6–12
as part of a multicourse meal .

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking

By Barbara Tropp

Published 1982

About

It is uncertain when shrimp toast entered the Chinese repertoire, but what is clear is that they are almost universally bad—anemic-looking slabs of shrimp plastered atop squares of greasy Wonder Bread. Horrors!

Here is the ultimate shrimp toast, a plush purée of colorfully garnished shrimp crowning an oblong slice of crusty French baguette. In search of Chinese roots, I gamely tried all manner of Chinese breads, but the French won out, even over San Fran