Coconut Fried Shrimp.

Just gimme some fried shrimp and I'm a happy camper.
In particular, gimme some coconut fried shrimp and we're talkin' died and gone-to-heaven happy.

So here's yet another recipe for beer-battered coconut fried shrimp.
Please enjoy!

For the shrimp, use extra large to jumbo.  The bigger the better.  The shrimp need to stand up to the batter, so no wimpy shrimp here.

Peel and de-tract shrimp, leaving tails on for easier handling.  Yes, I say de-tract, not de-vein.  That black line running down the back of the shrimp is the digestive tract, not a vein.

For the wet batter:

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp togarashi seasoning

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup beer or thereabouts (Enough to make it the consistency of pancake batter.)

Whisk dry ingredients first, then stir in egg and beer.

As for the togarashi seasoning, it's a spice blend which I order from Amazon.  Ingredients are:  red chili powder, black sesame seeds, white sesame seeds, nori (seaweed), poppy seed, orange zest, and lemon zest.  You can substitute accordingly.

Any beer will do, but I happened to have Boone Creek Blonde Ale from Appalachian Mountain Brewery brewed with honey and orange zest.

Holding shrimp by tail, dip in batter and let excess drip off.

For the coating:

Equal parts coconut and panko

Simply dredge the battered shrimp through the mixture or place all in a container and shakeshakeshake to coat.  Shake off any excess coconut.

Heat about 3 inches peanut oil to 350°-375° in heavy deep pot.

Place shrimp in one at a time being careful not to crowd the pot.  Too many shrimp will lower the temp of the oil and you'll get greasy, not crisp, shrimp.

I usually fry 4-6 at a time.  Fry about 1 minute and remove to rack to drain.

There are lots of different sauces you could serve these shrimp with.

Usually I go with an orange/honey/soy dipping sauce, but today I decided to go with Rosie's Pig Shack Sauce.  It's my version of the commercially available Boar and Castle Sauce and it's quite good.  OK.  It's better than the B&C sauce.

Here's the recipe:  Rosie's Pig Shack Sauce   (Say that five times fast!)

Also, I had another dipping sauce leftover from some potstickers/shrimp-stuffed wontons from the other day.  It's Asian-inspired with soy, ginger, and Asian chili sauce and complements the shrimp quite nicely.

Dipping Sauce:

2 TB soy sauce

1 tsp chili garlic sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1-inch chunk of fresh ginger

1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

chopped scallions

Take the chunk of ginger, slice it into smaller pieces, then run it through a garlic press to extract the juice.  Scrape off some of the pulp to use too.  Combine with the rest of the ingredients.

Sprinkle some fresh cilantro over top. 

Fried oysters, courtesy of Mr. Hawthorne.

Quite yummy!