Who needs shrimp salad when you can have Ekiben’s Old Bay shrimp bao buns with mango-papaya slaw?
The humble shrimp salad is almost as much of a Mid-Atlantic staple as a crab cake or soft shell sandwich. Generally a combination of mayo, spices, onion, and celery, shrimp salad is easy to whip up on a scorching summer day and delectable with Ritz crackers or sandwiched between a potato roll.
But if you want to kick things up a notch and really impress your guests, look no further than Steve Chu and Ephrem Abebe’s recipe for Old Bay shrimp bao buns with mango-papaya slaw. Chu and Abebe are the geniuses behind Ekiben, a restaurant beloved in Baltimore for its mashup of Asian and African street food flavors. Those flavors are on fantastic display here; the dish is “cold, flavorful, and refreshing,” Chu says, “making it the perfect pairing with steamed crabs and crisp beer.”
Plus, the build-your-own-bao factor fits right in with the festive crab feast atmosphere. Each plump shrimp bursts with Sriracha-laced heat that is immediately cooled by the crunchy tropical fruit slaw. As Chu says, “at Ekiben, we focus on giving our guests a tour of flavor, and like proper hosts, we can’t let anyone leave our house hungry.”
Shrimp Bao Buns With Mango-Papaya Slaw Recipe
Makes 12 to 14 buns
Ingredients:
For the shrimp buns:
1 pound 12 ounces raw, medium peeled and deveined shrimp
3 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning
12 to 14 frozen bao buns or lotus leaf buns (or you favorite sandwich bread)
For the sauce:
¼ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons minced onion
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons Sriracha
1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
For the slaw:
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 pinch salt
1 cup green papaya, julienned (about ¼ small green papaya)
¾ julienned green mango (about ½ small green mango)
1 medium carrot, julienned
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Instructions:
Step 1: Fill a large bowl with ice water and set aside. Put 10 cups of water in a pot, add the Old Bay seasoning, and bring to a boil. Add the shrimp and move the pot off the burner. Cover the pot and let the shrimp poach in the hot liquid until the shrimp are curled and cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and put the shrimp in the ice bath until chilled. Drain and pat dry.
Step 2: Make the sauce: combine the mayonnaise, onions, sugar, Sriracha, and Old Bay in a mixing bowl. Add the shrimp, toss to coat, and set aside.
Step 3: Make the slaw. Combine the vinegar, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl and stir to dissolve. Use a julienne peeler to peel the fruit and carrots into julienne strips. Add to the bowl with the vinegar mixture. Add the garlic and cilantro and stir to combine.
Step 4: Steam the bao buns in a steamer or microwave according to package instructions. Cut the buns open and place the shrimp on the bun and top with the slaw. Serve immediately.
Justin Tsucalas is an award-winning photographer and owner of Plaid Photo, a Baltimore, Maryland-based studio.
Creative director and set designer Giulietta Pinna specializes in visual content creation for commercial and editorial food, interior, lifestyle, product and still life projects.
Recipe tested by Ivy Manning
