Wow Your Guests With These Crispy Coconut Cone Appetizers with Shrimp, Avocado, and Lime from Top Chef Winner Paul Qui

If you’re looking to really impress your guests this holiday season, bake up a batch of these yummy and exotic appetizers from Top Chef winner Paul Qui. He devised a dainty coconut shell and filled it with an inspired spicy seafood salad. “It’s citrusy and light with lots of amazing textures,” says the chef and owner of qui and East Side King in Austin, Texas.

He took his inspiration for the dish from the Vietnamese street-food crepes bánh xèo.

To make the cones, we used the Chef’s Choice Petite Cone Express ($50, amazon.com).

Cones

Makes: 18 cones

Ingredients:

2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
2 cups coconut milk (use a full-fat variety like Thai Kitchen brand)
¼ tsp salt
Cooking spray

Directions:

1. Mix flour, sugar, coconut milk, and salt in a bowl; chill for an hour or more. Once cold, stir again to make sure all ingredients are incorporated.

2. Set waffle maker to setting No. 4; when hot, mist with cooking spray. Ladle 1½ tsp batter onto the grids of the waffle iron. Close lid; bake until green light comes on, indicating that they are finished. Waffles should be golden brown (it may take a few tries to get them just right).

3. Roll waffles while hot using the cone mold (included with machine). Handy tip: Immediately lay the hot waffle on a thin dishcloth to use as a protective layer for your fingers as you wrap the waffle around the mold and press it into a cone shape. Let cool.

Filling

Ingredients:

½ lb. boiled shrimp peeled, de-veined, and quartered
1 avocado, diced
Juice and zest from 1 lime
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ cup minced onions
¼ tsp chili powder
1 jalapeño minced, seeds removed
10 sprigs of cilantro with stems, minced; reserve some for garnish
Salt to taste

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together and keep cold.