Mouthful of Happiness

Contributed by Jen Hiebert
Total Prep Time: 1 hr	Servings: 20

Jen says:

This is our attempt to re-create a simple, tasty appetizer we had in an Arlington, VA, restaurant sometime in the late '90s.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 c small (1/4-inch) ginger cubes
• 1/4 c red (hot) peppers
• 1/4 c diced purple onion
• 1/4 c dried shrimp (the tiny ones)
• 1/4 c chopped peanuts
• 1/4 c chopped lime, with peel
• 1/2 c roasted coconut, unsugared
• 20 6-inch rounds of collard, cut from regular leaves
• 1/4 c fish sauce
• 1 T sugar
• 2 T ground peanuts
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions:

Arrange the ginger, peppers, onion, shrimp, peanuts, lime, and collard rounds in a circle on a plate, with the coconut mounded in the middle. Combine the fish sauce, sugar, ground peanuts, and black pepper separately in a dish, and equip it with a small spoon. To make a mouthful, put a pinch each of ginger, peppers, onion, shrimp, peanuts, lime, and coconut onto a collard round, drizzle a little sauce over it, gather the collard edges together, and pop into mouth. Happiness!

Substitutions, Options, Meal Suggestions: 

This is a fun, informal, build-your-own appetizer to offer guests. Substitute seeds or tree nuts for peanuts, or just leave them out (both the sauce and the filling), and it's peanut-free. Add or subtract items as you like to vary flavors and texture; there's no wrong here.

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