Come travel with me! I’m back to school and I’m going to take you on a whirlwind international culinary tour for the next 11 weeks! For the last couple of years I’ve taken culinary classes at one of our local community colleges, Grossmont College. I have learned from some great teachers, shared cooking space with fellow food lovers and future chefs and had generally a really great time suiting up in my chef uniform and playing the game!
This semester I’m taking a world culinary tour via the International Cooking Class. Join me on my travels, in the classroom, and learn about other cultures and savor new cuisine! Each week I’ll make a dish and a drink from each country and I hope you’ll feel like you’ve been around the world, in your mouth!
The first day of class is all lecture…5 hours of lecture! Usually we break it down into 1 hour of lecture and the rest is in the kitchen. I guess we have lots of ground to cover before we get lift off! Chef Kim understands this is a long sit and we are twitching to get cooking. He is making Horchata Mexicana and Jamaica Drink for the class and suggested we bring in some snacks to share. I always opt for the protein knowing my classmates will bring the sugar!
Get your passport ready ‘cuz we are going to the Caribbean, Mexico, South America, India, Southeast & Western Asia, Africa, Germany, Spain, Italy, France, and the British Isles! Did I mention we are flying 1st Class? Champagne and an elegant appetizer will be served when we get to cruising altitude. Fasten your seat belts, the captain is ready for take-off!
We are serving Mango Shrimp in Wonton Cups to get you started.
Place the wonton squares on work surface and lightly spray them with olive oil on both sides. If they are too oily they remain soft at the bottom and crisp around the edges.
Bring four corners together, place in the muffin cup then open up the edges so you can see down into the bottom of the cup. Kind of like a little flower.
Press each square into the bottom of miniature muffin tin to form a cup.
The folds make the cups more interesting visually and make for a better cup shape. Try to keep the the flaps from overlapping with their neighbor and from dropping down into the cups. If they drop into the cup and cook in that position, you won’t have an opening in the cup to fill. These rejects make great crunchy toppings for salads so all is not lost!
Bake until wonton cups are golden brown, about 13-15 minutes. Rotate pan after 10 minutes if edges are browning more on one end than the other.
Cool completely in tins. They can be made 3 days ahead. Remove cups from tins and store in airtight container at room temperature.
Oh yes, the yummy filling ingredients. The bright colors make you feel happy just looking at them!
Whisk mayonnaise, Sriracha and lime juice together in a small bowl to blend. More Sriracha for a zippier sauce. It’s up to you.
Chop vegetables and shrimp about the same size for a uniform look. Place red bell pepper, mango, chopped fresh cilantro, and shrimp in a medium bowl.
Add spicy sauce to the salad mixture and mix to combine. Add only as much sauce as needed to moisten the mixture. If it is too wet, the wonton cups will be soggy and the flavor balance will be off. Don’t hold back, give it a taste! One of the wonderful things about cooking is you get to taste as you go!
Salad can be prepared up to 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate….if you can wait that long to taste these crunchy one bite wonders!
Place wonton cups on serving platter. Spoon 1 teaspoon shrimp salad into each cup no more than 45 minutes before party starts or the wonton cups can lose their crunch. Then don’t worry, they won’t get soggy ‘cuz they won’t last very long on the platter!
- 1/2 package of square wonton wrappers
- Olive Oil Spray
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha (more or less depending on heat desired)
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 4 teaspoons fresh key lime juice
- 1/2 of a medium red bell pepper, finely diced
- 1/2 mango, finely chopped
- 12 ounces peeled cooked medium shrimp, coarsely chopped
- Fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Place the wonton squares on work surface and lightly spray them with olive oil on both sides.
- Bring four corners together, place in the muffin cup then open up the edges so you can see down into the cup. Press each square into the bottom of miniature muffin tin to form a cup.
- Bake until wonton cups are golden brown, about 13-15 minutes. Rotate pan after 10 minutes if edges are browning more on one end than the other.
- Cool completely in tins. They can be made 3 days ahead. Remove cups from tins and store in airtight container at room temperature.
- Whisk mayonnaise, Sriracha and lime juice together in a medium bowl to blend.
- Add red bell pepper, mango, chopped fresh cilantro, and shrimp. Stir to combine. Season the salad mixture, to taste, with salt and pepper. Salad can be prepared up to 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.
- Place wonton cups on serving platter. Spoon 1 teaspoon shrimp salad into each cup no more than 45 minutes before party starts or the wonton cups can lose their crunch. Garnish with cilantro leaves.
These are delicious appetizers. The mango and shrimp are a great match. The cups are like Lays potato chips, you can’t eat just one!
What a WONDERFUL, exciting trip, planned. You are just so much fun to follow-if I can’t be there!
I am awed at your professional blog and cooking skills. Bill would be so interested, too, and in trying the recipes!!!
Awww…. thanks Mom! Some of my favorite memories of Pop are discussing recipes for hours on end and cooking together, especially at the holidays!
These are delicious, cute appetizers. I want to make a dinner like it with my family. The cups are like Sets snacks, you can’t eat just one! Thanks for sharing this for us.