Smash Shrimp (Prawn) Toast Tacos

Give the classic dim sum dish a very fun update by turning shrimp (prawn) toast into smash shrimp toast tacos. Blitz your topping, spread it onto mini tortillas, and pan-fry until golden. They’re super quick to make, easy to prep in advance, AND packed with light, fresh flavors. Serve with sweet chili jam and egg-free garlic aioli for a wonderful twist on the smash taco trend, perfect for entertaining and weeknights.

Shrimp (or prawn) toast is a classic Cantonese dim sum dish, and on paper, it promises SO much. It’s hard to see how a gorgeously spiced topping slathered onto fluffy bread and deep-fried until super crispy can go wrong, but whenever I’ve ordered it out, it’s generally been a big disappointment. So often the topping lacks both prawns AND flavor, plus the bread is overly greasy and not crispy.

But, these prawn toast-inspired tacos are anything but lacking in flavor! This is a lovely, light twist on the smash taco trend, and one of my favorites to make for a quick weeknight meal or easy entertaining. It’s as simple as blitzing your prawns with a few lovely aromatics, then spreading them onto mini tortillas and pan-frying until golden.

They’re super quick to cook (I’m talking less than five minutes), and you can prepare the topping in advance to save time. For summer entertaining, I also LOVE to cook them on an outdoor grill, and that’s EVEN faster as you can cook more at once.

Love a smash taco? Try these smash dumpling tacos, Korean fried chicken smash tacos, lahmacun (Turkish pizza) tacos, banh mi inspired smash tacos or the classic smash burger tacos next.

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Shrimp (prawns). They need to be raw for this recipe. I find it’s a lot more affordable to buy frozen raw shrimp, so that’s what I’ve used here. Just make sure they’re properly defrosted before using them and that you pat them dry, or your mixture could be too wet.
• Fish sauce. I know this can be divisive as it’s a strong flavor, but I highly recommend using it here. It brings a beautiful, deep umami flavor to the tacos that salt alone can’t match. If you don’t want to use it, just use more soy sauce.
• Mini tortillas. I’ve used flour tortillas, but you could use corn tortillas if you like. Or use gluten-free flour tortillas.
• Cornstarch (cornflour). This (along with the egg) acts as a binder and will stop the prawn mixture from becoming too watery. It also keeps it light and fluffy. You could use regular plain flour if you don’t have cornflour.

How to Make Shrimp Toast Tacos

This is a step-by-step photo overview of how to make the shrimp toast tacos – the full recipe with ingredient quantities is at the bottom of the page for you.

1. Add everything (except the sesame seeds) for your shrimp toast topping into the bowl of a food processor or mini chopper.

1. Blitz into a thick paste.

1. Spread a thin layer of the shrimp mixture on top of each mini tortilla, then scatter with the sesame seeds.

1. Cook, shrimp side down, until lovely, golden, and crispy.

1. Flip, then cook on the other side briefly.

1. Top with aioli, sweet chili jam, more herbs, and serve.

Smash Shrimp Toast Tacos FAQs

Can I use cooked shrimp (prawns)?

They need to be raw for this recipe – cooked shrimp won’t blitz up smoothly and won’t stick to the tortilla.

Can I make the shrimp toast tacos in advance?

You can prepare the elements in advance, then just top and cook the tacos when you’re ready to serve. The blitzed shrimp mixture will keep for 2 days in the fridge. Any leftovers can either be reheated in a hot pan on the stovetop for a few minutes or in the microwave until piping hot. If you reheat them in the microwave, your tortillas will end up quite soft, but they’ll still taste delicious.

What else could I serve with the shrimp toast tacos?

Pair the tacos with a big crunchy Asian-style slaw, crispy smashed potato salad or loaded potato wedges. You could also serve them as part of a snacking spread, along with crispy Korean fried chicken, spicy tuna crispy rice paper cups,baked salmon sushi cups, chicken and mushroom potstickers, cheesy gochujang pizza pockets or chicken satay skewers.

Like this Recipe? Try these Easy Smash Taco Recipes Next

If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! You can leave a recipe rating and a comment below. And remember to tag @Zageer on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok if you’ve made one of my recipes. Seeing your recreations really makes my day 😊.

Give the classic dim sum dish a very fun update by turning shrimp (prawn) toast into smashprawn toast tacos. Blitz your topping, spread it onto mini tortillas, and pan-fry until golden. They’re super quick to make, easy to prep in advance, AND packed with light, fresh flavors. Serve with sweet chilli jam and egg-free garlic aioli for a wonderful twist on the smash taco trend, perfect for entertaining and weeknights. Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 10 mins
Total Time 20 mins

Servings: 10 tacos

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients

For the tacos –

• 12 oz raw shrimp, (prawns), peeled, deveined, and tail off (350g)
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch, (cornflour)
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce
• 2 scallions, (spring onions), chopped
• Handful of cilantro, (coriander)
• 4 garlic cloves
• 10 mini tortillas
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• Olive oil

To serve –

• 2 scallions, (spring onions), finely sliced
• A handful of cilantro leaves, (coriander)
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• ¼ cup sweet chili jam, or sweet chili sauce
• ¼ cup egg-free garlic aioli

Method

1. Blitz the topping.Add the shrimp (prawns), egg, cornstarch, sesame oil, soy sauce, fish sauce, scallions, cilantro, and garlic cloves to the bowl of a food processor or mini chopper. Blitz into a smooth paste.
2. Top the tacos.Lay your mini tortillas out on a clean work surface. Scoop up a heaped tablespoon of the shrimp toast mixture and spread it all over a tortilla, using the back of your spoon to create a smooth, even layer. Repeat with the rest of the mixture. Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top of the filling and use the back of your spoon to press them into the topping.
3. Cook the tacos. Set a large, non-stick frying pan or skillet over medium-high heat and add a drizzle of olive oil. Once hot, add a tortilla, topping side down, and press the tortilla firmly into the pan with a fish slice. Cook for three minutes, then flip and cook it for another minute on the other side, just to let the tortilla crisp up a bit.
You can cook multiple tacos at once, depending on the size of your pan, or you could cook them on a flat plate on an outdoor grill or barbecue.
4. Garnish and serve.Transfer the tacos to a serving plate, then drizzle each with a little sweet chili and aioli. Finish with the chopped scallions, cilantro, and another scattering of sesame seeds.

Nutrition

Serving: 2tacos
Calories: 458kcal
Carbohydrates: 44.4g
Protein: 20.5g
Fat: 22.4g
Saturated Fat: 3.4g
Polyunsaturated Fat: 12.9g
Cholesterol: 146.3mg
Sodium: 1708.3mg
Fiber: 1.9g
Sugar: 3.6g

Notes

PREP AHEAD: You can prepare the elements in advance, then just top and cook the tacos when you’re ready to serve. The blitzed shrimp mixture will keep for 2 days in the fridge. STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: Any leftovers can either be reheated in a hot pan on the stovetop for a few minutes or in the microwave until piping hot. If you reheat them in the microwave, your tortillas will end up quite soft, but they’ll still taste delicious. INGREDIENT NOTES: If you use frozen shrimp (I generally do as they’re cheaper), make sure they’re defrosted fully and that you pat them dry. If you don’t, your mixture could end up very wet. To make them gluten-free, swap regular flour tortillas for corn tortillas, or use gluten-free flour tortillas.