Hot Plate: Five new Toronto takes on shrimp toast

Shrimp toast—umami-packed shrimp paste spread thick on white bread that’s deep-fried and sprinkled with sesame seeds—has been gracing dim sum carts in North America since the mid-20th century, when Cantonese immigrants brought the recipe over from Hong Kong. Now, Toronto chefs have caught on, and suddenly the dim sum staple is gracing menus across town. Here, five new takes on the snack.

Related: Seven Toronto takes on baked Alaska

The one with jalapeño relish

1 From Aisle3, a Vietnamese snack and cocktail bar on the outskirts of the Junction, comes a playful twist on the classic dish. For their iteration, a thick layer of shrimp mousse packed with lemongrass and chili is spread on milk bread, then deep-fried. The toast is topped with jalapeño relish (because fusion) and finished with a dollop of scallion aïoli. $19, aisle3bar.ca

The one with everything-bagel spice

2 Ayla chefs Kevin Shawcross and Danvee Kwok put their heads together to create a shrimp toast with a surprising breakfast-inspired ingredient. “Our prawn toast okonomiyaki is a mashup of so many things we love—it’s inspired by chef Jowett Yu, formerly of Hong Kong’s legendary Ho Lee Fook, and the bold flavours of Cantonese and Japanese cuisine. Unlike the classic version, where the prawns are placed on top, we roll our toast,” says Shawcross. They finish it off with kewpie mayo, bulldog sauce, shaved smoked bonito and then—instead of the traditional sesame seed coating—house everything-bagel spice. $22, aylaupstairs.com

The one with cereal

3 Jayden Park serves shrimp toast at Gateau Ghost for nostalgic reasons. “I grew up in Incheon, Korea, and this dish really brings me back to my childhood,” says Park. “I wanted to recreate it for westerners in a way that would be more familiar.” To achieve this, Park ditches the traditional triangle configuration in favour of a cylindrical shape for some big croquette energy. Now also on the dinner menu, the dish was originally a brunch item, which explains the shrimp paste’s cheeky cornflake crust. The toast is topped with a house aïoli made with confit shrimp heads (waste not, want not) and sprinkled with chives. $17, gateaughost.com

The one that’s part salad

4 The folks over at Lisbon Hotel, an all-day café and cocktail bar in Corktown, were forced to make their shrimp toast a menu staple. “We tried to take it off, and people were so mad,” says owner Sally Gillespie. “We quickly brought it back.” (Granted, this version is closer to a deconstructed shrimp cocktail, but it’s shrimp and toast, so here we go.) For it, chef Mason Sankey’s rubs toasted Blackbird pullman loaf with garlic, smears on a layer of cocktail sauce, then blankets it with poached Argentinian shrimp mixed with fresh herbs, garlic aïoli, guindilla peppers and lemon zest. $15, lisbonhotel.ca

The one that’s closest to the classic

5 Suite 115 co-owner Jacky Ha plays his Shrimp Toasty pretty straight. “I first tried shrimp toast when I was a child on holiday in Hong Kong,” he says. Later, when he staged there, he would walk around every night after his shift, trying different versions of the toast from local canteens. Driven by nostalgia, Ha composes the dish by dolloping an airy shrimp mousseline on top of a soft brioche base. He then shallow-fries it on one side, so the mousse gets golden and crispy, and finishes it in the combi oven. It’s garnished with kewpie mayo and diced scallions. $19, suite115.ca