Chinese · Authentic-ish Chinese
Prawn Toast
170 kcal a serving, against 334 for the traditional version. That is 164 kcal off, or 49%, with 20.1g of protein. Serves 6. 20 minutes.
What the traditional version is
Thick triangles of cheap white bread smeared with a very thin paste of minced prawns, egg white and usually a good handful of pork fat. The whole thing is completely crusted in sesame seeds and plunged into a vat of hot oil until the bread absorbs its own weight in grease.
What changed, and what each change costs
150g of frying oil for a hot grill
The bread acts like a literal sponge in a deep fryer, soaking up massive amounts of fat before the prawn paste even cooks. Grilling toasts the bread from above and cooks the prawns gently without drowning them in oil.
What it costs you. You lose that heavy, oil-soaked crunch that coats your lips. Baked bread crunches exactly like normal toast, not like a solid fried crouton.
Upping the prawns from 400g to 500g while cutting the sesame seeds down to 15g
Prawns are pure lean meat. Packing a thicker layer onto the bread turns this into a proper dish rather than just a bread snack. Sesame seeds are mostly fat, so a lighter sprinkle delivers the roasted flavour without the heavy load.
What it costs you. The toast looks a bit bare on top compared to the solid wall of seeds you get at a restaurant.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 334 | 170 |
| Protein | 19.5g | 20.1g |
| Fat | 20.7g | 3.8g |
| Saturated fat | 2.8g | 0.6g |
| Carbohydrate | 18.3g | 14g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 5.8g | 11.9g |
Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Chinese prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked.
Allergens. crustaceans, gluten, eggs, sesame, soybeans.
The method is in the book
I'm very happy with this trade. This is a genuinely light starter that actually tastes of prawns. Nobody is going to mistake it for a greasy hangover cure anymore. The texture of the bread is definitely drier than the takeaway version, which is the unavoidable tax of dodging the deep fryer. But the thicker, chunkier prawn paste completely makes up for it. Eat them scorching hot straight from the grill while the sesame seeds are still popping, and you won't miss the oil for a second.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Chinese, along with 55 more. Buy the paperback