Monday, July 30, 2018

Rosie Loves Her Coconut Fried Shrimp.

I love coconut fried shrimp.
 I've worked and worked on a recipe
and I finally have it down.
And now you do too.
You're welcome.


Peel and de-tract the shrimp, leaving the tails on.  I don't say devein, because that line running down the shrimp is not a vein.  It's the digestive tract and I don't want to eat it. 

Prepare a two-stage bath.
The first is a beer batter.
The second is an equal combination coconut and panko breadcrumbs.

Beer Batter 
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup corn starch
1 tsp dried ground mustard
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
3/4 cup beer
Mix dry ingredients, then whisk in beer until smooth.

For frying, I always use peanut oil.  Heat about two inches of oil in a deep fryer to 350°.

Run the shrimp through the beer batter, then pick each up by the tail, give it a quick shake, and dredge through the coconut/panko mixture.
Shake off the excess breading, then drop shrimp, one at a time, into hot 350° peanut oil.
You want to ease the shrimp into the hot oil so you don't lower the temperature.
Maintaining hot oil is the key to a crisp fry.  Fry shrimp for about 60-90 seconds (depending on size of shrimp), until golden brown, then remove and drain on a rack.

Serve with my pineapple/orange marmalade dipping sauce.
And some coleslaw.

For the coleslaw:  I make a basic dressing for my coleslaw.  You can pour in as much or as little as you like.  For the coleslaw, I shred some green cabbage, about two cups worth.  You can always add in a little purple cabbage for the pop of color.  Then I shred in some carrot and some green, yellow, orange, and red peppers for more color. 
For the dressing, start with 1/3 cup mayonnaise, a tablespoon of cider vinegar, a tablespoon of sugar, and a tablespoon of buttermilk. Mix until smooth.  Add a pinch of salt and give it a few good grinds of pepper.  Pour over coleslaw mix and toss to coat.  Cover and refrigerate to let all the flavors have a meet-'n'-greet.

For the pineapple/orange marmalade dip:
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh pineapple (You could use canned, but I had fresh and there's nothing better than fresh.)
1/4 cup orange marmalade
1 TB brown sugar
1 TB rice vinegar
1 TB horseradish
juice of one lime
1 TB soy sauce
1 TB Gray Poupon Dijon mustard
1 TB Thai Chili sauce
Combine all in a small saucepan.  Bring to boil, then simmer a few minutes.  Remove from heat and let cool.  Stir in 2 TB chopped red onion.

Crisp and crunchy on the outside.
Sweet, succulent shrimp on the inside.
Amazingly good!


Enjoy!

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