Ground shrimp in between crispy-fried white bread makes Korean-style shrimp toast (menbosha) a perfectly fun merienda.
Shrimp Toast is probably one of the best (and tastiest) examples of East meets West in Chinese cooking. Ground shrimp is seasoned with sesame oil, spread on top of fluffy white bread and then deep fried until perfectly golden and crispy. Paired with a flavorful dipping sauce, this dish is a great appetizer, a welcome addition to a full dim sum spread—or maybe just a fun snack to make for merienda.
In traditional Cantonese shrimp toast, white bread is cut diagonally to form little triangles, and crusted with a layer of sesame seeds on top of the ground shrimp before deep frying. This adds a nice crunch and doubles down on the sesame flavor.
There’s also menbosha, the Korean offshoot of shrimp toast that takes little minced shrimp balls and puts them between small slices of bread to create mini sandwiches—the perfect little appetizer if you’re hosting a dinner party.
Our version takes menbosha and turns it into a full-sized sando, for people like us who don’t want to share!
Other versions of this dish will also add aromatics like garlic, ginger, and scallions, or herbs like cilantro—and some versions suggest that you add just an ounce or so of ground pork fat with the shrimp to achieve a meatier, richer flavor. Our version keeps it simple, but you can customize and flavor it however you like.
We know deep frying can be tricky sometimes. If you cut into the sandwich and find that the center’s still a little raw, bring the oil back up to 162°C or 325°F and dip the raw part of the sandwich for 20 seconds in the hot oil. Just make sure not to keep it in the oil for too long, otherwise the bread will burn!
Prep shrimp: Peel and devein your shrimp. Finely mince half of the shrimp into a paste. Roughly chop the other half, leaving slightly bigger chunks for more texture.
Season ground shrimp: Add minced and chopped shrimp, potato starch, egg white, and salt to a bowl. Stir with chopsticks in one direction, moving in a circular motion to emulsify mixture. The consistency should become thicker as you stir. Season with sesame oil and continue to mix.
Assemble: Remove crusts from your white bread. Spread half of the mixture evenly on one slice of bread. Place another piece of bread on top, and press firmly to make sure that the ground shrimp is in an even layer.
Deep-fry: Fill a deep pot with 2–3 inches of neutral oil over medium-high heat and bring up to 162°C or 325°F. Once the oil is up to temp, deep-fry the sandwich until golden brown on all sides, about 1 minute per side. Transfer sandwich to a paper towel-lined plate to absorb excess oil. Season with salt while hot.
Make dipping sauce and serve: Combine mayo, furikake, and lime juice in a bowl.
To serve, slice shrimp toast down the middle. If you see any gray raw spots in the shrimp filling, heat up your frying oil back to 162°C or 325°F. Carefully lower the sandwich cut side down into the oil to cook the raw parts. Serve shrimp toast immediately alongside mayo dipping sauce.
You can! Brush or spray the sandwich with oil, then air fry at 350–360°F or 175–180°C until golden all over. Make sure to flip the sandwich halfway to cook everything evenly.
