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1
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.
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2
Add mirin, soy sauce, and salt (omit salt if making ahead; see note, below) and simmer, stirring, 15 seconds.
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3
Transfer marinade to a bowl and cool to room temperature.
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4
Add shrimp and cilantro, tossing to coat, and marinate, covered and chilled, 1 hour.
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5
Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 350u00b0F.
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6
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.
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7
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.
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8
Remove bread from oven but leave on baking sheet.
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9
Immediately increase oven temperature to 475u00b0F.
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10
Spread top of hot toast with all of shrimp mixture, packing it down into a thick even layer and covering surface entirely.
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11
Make sure oven temperature has reached 475u00b0F, then bake shrimp toast until topping is cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes.
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12
Transfer with a large flat spatula to a rack to cool 5 minutes, then transfer to a cutting board.
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13
Halve shrimp toast crosswise with a very sharp knife, then cut each half lengthwise into fourths, making 8 strips total.
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14
Cut each strip into 4 pieces.
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15
Serve toasts warm or at room temperature.
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16
note: Shrimp can be marinated (without salt in marinade) up to 4 hours.
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17
Stir in salt before proceeding.
