Serves 4–8

A great finger food super for casual gettogethers, these fried vegetables sometimes never leave the kitchen because sneaky fingers grab them right off the paper towels! They are that good!

Spicy Coconut Bundles

1 cup shredded fresh coconut

illustration cup brown sugar

illustration cup shrimp paste

½ cup diced red onion

½ cup chopped lime segments

½ cup chopped peanuts

½ cup dried shrimp

1–2 jalapeños, seeded and sliced

20–25 medium-sized spinach leaves, washed and patted dry

  1. Place the coconut in a medium-sized sauté pan and cook over medium heat until browned, about 20 minutes; set aside to cool.
  2. In a small saucepan, melt the brown sugar over medium heat, stirring constantly. Mix in the shrimp paste until well combined. Set the sauce aside.
  3. Place the coconut, onion, lime pieces, peanuts, dried shrimp, and jalapeños in a medium-sized serving bowl; gently toss to combine.
  4. To serve, place 4 to 5 spinach leaves (depending on the size of the leaves) on each serving plate. Top each leaf with approximately 1 tablespoon of the coconut mixture and drizzle a bit of sauce over the coconut.
  5. To eat, roll up the spinach leaf around the coconut mixture and pop the whole bundle in your mouth. Pass additional sauce separately.