Coconut Shrimp

It was time to make something that the hub and I could enjoy together.  Dan told me when I started this blog not to worry about him for dinners. Sure, he loves when I cook something that he would like, but he’s just not the adventurous type. I love veggies and trying new things. He loves cereal, corn dogs and pizza.

I stumbled upon a recipe in my Taste of Home Summer Appetizer magazine for Coconut Shrimp and I knew he would like it. I attempted to make it on several occasions but never brought the actual recipe to the grocery store – I was always missing 1-2 items. I finally copied the recipe into my phone and yesterday I picked up the last two ingredients on my lunch hour.

The Ingredients:

1 Can (14 ounces) Light Coconut Milk
1 Jalapeño Pepper – seeded and chopped
1/4 Cup Minced Fresh Cilantro
1- 1/4 Pounds Raw Medium Shrimp – I used 1 lb. of large peeled/deveined with tails on.
3/4 Cup all-purpose Flour
4 Egg Whites
3/4 Cup Panko Bread Crumbs
3/4 Cup Flaked Coconut, lightly toasted – whoops, forgot that step!
1/3 Cup Apricot Preserves
1 Teaspoon Spicy Brown Mustard

Directions:

Place 2 tablespoons coconut milk in a small bowl, cover and refrigerate. (This will be used in the dipping sauce later)

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the jalapeño, cilantro and remaining coconut milk.

I got my jalapeño and cilantro chopped up for the marinade…

…and  my shrimp washed and then it was time to add everything to the Ziploc bag.

I placed the shrimp into the bag and gently turned it to make sure all of the shrimp were coated well with the marinade. I then set the bag in the fridge for an hour while I hit the treadmill.

The next step… Place flour in a shallow bowl. In another bowl, lightly beat the 4 egg whites. In a third bowl, combine the bread crumbs and the lightly toasted coconut. I did not toast mine – due to forgetting that step all together. It stuck really well without being toasted. The shrimp would probably turn out more golden if I had done the toasting step. Maybe next time.

Drain and discard the marinade.

Dip shrimp in flour and then egg whites. Then roll them into the panko/coconut mixture. This took a while, but was worth the effort.

Place the coated shrimp on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 7-9 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. I turned mine over at 9 minutes and the second side only took about 6 minutes.

I prepared the dipping sauce while the shrimp was in the oven.

I grabbed the 2 tablespoons of coconut milk out of the fridge and added a heaping teaspoon of Sierra Nevada Porter and Spicy Brown Mustard to 1/3 cup apricot preserves and used a fork to really mix it well.

My photos are super orange due to the lack of natural sunlight. No worries – I’m shopping for a new camera 😉 – otherwise the fall/winter months could be really difficult for my food photos after 6:00 p.m.

Back to the shrimp… The kitchen smelled amazing, the timer went off and it was time for plating, final blog photos and eating.

Kind of hard to see their shapes with them piled on the plate.

I just kept wanting to pull the toasted coating off the shrimp pieces.

More photos…

More grainy photos…

These were iPhone photos with very little light…

I made a side of coleslaw and we both dove in. We pretty much ate the entire cookie sheet full of shrimp between the two of us. It was awesome! The perfect amount of crunch combined with plump and juicy shrimp. The sauce was addicting – I wanted to lick the bowl.

While it was a more time-consuming meal to prepare, I managed. I worked a full 8 hr. day, got in a 70 minute treadmill workout and still had time to prepare and sit down for a nice dinner with Dan. Couldn’t ask for anything more perfect than that.

Have a great weekend!