Khanom Pang Na Goong (Thai Shrimp Toast)

Ingredients

• 300 g shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 8 white bread, slightly stale
• 1 egg
• 6 garlic, peeled
• 4 tbsp fresh cilantro, stems included
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 5 tbsp sesame seeds
• 5 dl vegetable oil
• 1 cucumber, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
• 5 tbsp rice vinegar
• 3 tbsp white sugar
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• ½ tsp salt

Method

1. 1.

   Pickle the cucumber ajad — Make the ajad relish first. Warm the rice vinegar with the sugar and a pinch of the salt until the sugar dissolves, then cool it completely, stir in the cucumber and shallot, and chill for 15 minutes so the cucumber stays crunchy but takes on the sourness.

2. 2.

   Pound the garlic paste — Pound the garlic, the cilantro stems, the white pepper and the rest of the salt in a mortar until you have a fragrant, slightly wet paste. This trio is the backbone of the topping, so take it to a real paste rather than a mince.

3. 3.

   Mix the shrimp topping — Chop two-thirds of the shrimp to a rough paste and the rest into pea-sized pieces so the topping keeps some bite. Mix both with the garlic paste, the egg, the cornstarch, the fish sauce and the chopped cilantro leaves until the mixture is sticky and holds a mound on the spoon.

4. 4.

   Spread and coat in sesame — Cut the crusts off the bread and spread the shrimp mixture over each slice about 1 cm deep, taking it right to the edges so nothing shrinks back in the oil. Press each slice face down firmly into the sesame seeds until the surface is completely coated.

5. 5.

   Chill so it sets — Chill the toasts on a tray for 15 minutes. This sets the topping and is the difference between a neat toast and a pan full of loose shrimp paste.

6. 6.

   Deep-fry until golden — Heat the oil in a deep pan to 170°C. Lower the toasts in shrimp side down, two or three at a time so the oil stays hot, and fry for two minutes until the sesame is even gold, then turn them and give the bread 30 seconds more.

7. 7.

   Cut and serve with the ajad — Drain the toasts on a rack rather than paper so the underside stays crisp, cut each one into two triangles, and serve hot with the chilled cucumber ajad on the side.