Recipes - MOMS Club, Tampa

Baked Shrimp Toasts
From the Kitchen of Renee

Active time: 20 min
Start to finish: 1 3/4 hr

4 teaspoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon mirin*
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 lb medium shrimp in shell (31 to 35 per lb), peeled, deveined, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 (9- by 4-inch) white Pullman loaf, unsliced

Cook garlic and ginger in oil in an 8- to 9-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until softened and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add mirin, soy sauce, and salt (omit salt if making ahead; see cooks' note, below) and simmer, stirring, 15 seconds.

Transfer marinade to a bowl and cool to room temperature. Add shrimp and cilantro, tossing to coat, and marinate, covered and chilled, 1 hour. Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Turn bread loaf on its side and evenly cut crust from bottom of loaf using a long serrated knife, discarding crust, then cut a 3/8-inch-thick slice from bottom and trim crust from sides of slice. Put slice on a baking sheet (reserve rest of loaf for another use) and bake, turning over once, until dry but not colored, 8 minutes total. Remove bread from oven but leave on baking sheet.

Immediately increase oven temperature to 475°F. Spread top of hot toast with all of shrimp mixture, packing it down into a thick even layer and covering surface entirely. Make sure oven temperature has reached 475°F, then bake shrimp toast until topping is cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer with a large flat spatula to a rack to cool 5 minutes, then transfer to a cutting board. Halve shrimp toast crosswise with a very sharp knife, then cut each half lengthwise into fourths, making 8 strips total. Cut each strip into 4 pieces. Serve toasts warm or at room temperature.

Cooks' note: Shrimp can be marinated (without salt in marinade) up to 4 hours. Stir in salt before proceeding.
*Available at Asian markets and some supermarkets.
Makes 32 hors d'oeuvres