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Prawn Cocktail Mini Tacos
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5 from 7 votes

Prawn cocktail mini tacos (shrimp)

Recipe video above. Prawn cocktails, in canapé form! These one-bite mini tacos are fantastic finger food, and you’ll love the nifty trick for making the miniature taco shells - just use an upside-down muffin tin!
Fill with anything chopped small enough to fit - try Jalapeño chicken, spicy salmon, Thai chicken salad or even old school taco beef! In the spirit of summer here in Australia (and an attempt to be grown-up cocktail party canapé worthy), I've gone for prawn cocktail with a classic Marie Rose sauce.
Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time12 minutes
Cooling30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 7 minutes
Course: Appetiser, Party Food
Cuisine: Western
Keyword: Appetizers, crispy rice finger food, Cucumber canape, mini tacos
Servings: 17 mini tacos
Calories: 69cal
Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats

Ingredients

Mini tacos:

  • 6 corn tortillas ~13cm / 3" wide (Note 1 on flour tortillas)
  • 1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt (halve for table salt)
  • Olive oil spray

Prawns:

  • 220g/7 oz cooked prawns/shrimp, peeled (ie 500g/1 lb whole cooked in shell, then peel yourself, Note 2)

Prawn cocktail sauce:

  • 4 tbsp mayonnaise , preferably whole egg, or Kewpie (Note 3)
  • 1 tbsp ketchup (or Aussie tomato sauce)
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 tsp horseradish cream , or better yet fresh horseradish (Note 4)
  • 2 dashes of tabasco , for touch of spice (optional)
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper , for touch of spice (optional)
  • 1/8 tsp garlic powder (or small garlic clove pressed using garlic crusher)
  • 1 tbsp cornichons (or dill pickle), finely chopped

Garnish/serving:

  • 1 tbsp chives , finely sliced (or parsley)
  • Fancy options - salmon roe, caviar (not pictured)
  • Dried black beans or rock salt , to keep upright when serving (optional, Note 5)

Instructions

Abbreviated recipe:

  • Cut 17 x 6cm/2.4" rounds, microwave to soften, oil and salt, press into upside muffin tin. Bake 12 minutes, cool in tin. Fill!

FULL RECIPE:

    Crispy mini taco shells:

    • Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced). Get a standard 12 hole muffin tin.
    • Cut circles from the tortillas using a 6cm / 2.4" cutter. (Note 6 on using offcuts)
    • Warm - Spread half on a dinner plate and microwave for 30 seconds on high (makes them pliable). Spray the warm tortillas lightly with oil, sprinkle with half the salt.
    • Wedge - Turn the muffin tin upside down. Wedge the tortillas salt side down between the muffin tin holes - they fold into taco shapes! Repeat with remaining rounds.
    • Spray the surface of the tortillas lightly with oil (no salt).
    • Bake for 12 minutes, or until quite golden and crispy. Cool in the muffin tin so they set. (Stays crisp 2 days!)

    Prawn cocktail filling:

    • Dice the prawns into small 5mm / 0.2" cubes (for large, cut in half horizontally, lengthwise then chop - see video).
    • Mix the Marie Rose sauce in a bowl. Then stir the prawns through, just before assembling.

    Assembling:

    • Fill taco shells with prawn cocktail filling, sprinkle with chives. To keep them upright, place on a bed of rock salt or dried beans for serving.
    • Pass around, bask in praise, be coy when people ask how you made those marvellous mini taco shells!

    Notes

    1. Tortillas - You'll need more than 6 tortillas if yours are smaller or less if larger. Corn tortillas bake up crisper than flour ones, have better flavour and stay crisper for longer, but flour tortillas work too - no need to warm to make pliable & takes a few more minutes in the oven.
    2. Prawns (shrimp) - Best to buy good whole prawns and peel yourself. Else, buy whole raw and boil, or pan fry - 250g/8oz raw peeled prawns, sprinkle lightly with salt then sear in a pan on medium high heat until just cooked, they will keep cooking as they rest. Cook time will vary with size: small - 1 minute each side, large - 2 minutes first side, 1 1/2 minutes second side.
    I find frozen cooked peeled prawns rather flavourless. I'd use seafood sticks instead!
    3. Whole egg mayonnaise - smoother, less sharp, not as sweet as regular mayo. Labelled as such on the jar - I like S&W and Hellmans. Else, Kewpie always works :)
    4. Horseradish cream mainly adds tang here and tiny wasabi-like heat. Can be omitted, don't sub with lemon juice (thins sauce).
    5. Not essential to have a bed of something to keep them upright for serving, you can lie on side or arrange so they hold each other up. To re-use dried beans, rinse under hot water in colander, dry thoroughly tea towels, store in container indefinitely.
    6. Cutting rounds - If you don't have a round cutter, you can always trace around a glass using a small knife. Stack, to cut faster!
    Use tortilla offcuts to make crispy tortilla shards for sprinkling on salads. Chop/cut into small random pieces, spray with oil, sprinkle with salt, bake 8 to 10 minutes until crispy. 
    Making ahead - Mini taco shells will stay crispy for 2 days in an airtight container in the pantry (flour tortillas lose a bit of crispiness but still respectable, can re-crisp in oven for 5 minutes). For filling, prepare both sauce and prawns but don't combine until <30 minutes before using (salt will extra juice from prawns which tins the sauce). Once filled, they will stay respectably crispy for 30 minutes, but I still scoff them down an hour later!
    Nutrition per mini taco.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 36g | Calories: 69cal | Carbohydrates: 5.25g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 4.6g | Saturated Fat: 0.9g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 183mg | Potassium: 47mg | Fiber: 1.1g | Sugar: 0.9g | Vitamin A: 300IU | Vitamin C: 2.5mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 0.2mg