Foodies and the Feast: Coconut Shrimp

Jen's Version

(Acworth, GA)

I am a fan of seafood. I get upset when I'm at the beach and people don't want to eat fresh seafood. I'm upset that they are denying themselves of the goodness. When Chris and I first started dating, we would go to Hemingway's on the Square. They have an outside patio with live music and the best coconut shrimp. I don't think I had ever tried coconut shrimp before there, so it became this great memory for me of dating my now husband. Now that we have kids and less time to date, I have learned to make coconut shrimp at home. It's not entirely the same, but still very yummy!

What you need:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 lb extra-large shrimp (21 to 25 count), peeled and deveined
vegetable oil for frying

Having extra large shrimp is VERY important. If you're gonna do shrimp, do big shrimp. When you cook and fry em, they will shrink. So you need big, juicy, awesome shrimp. Mix your seasonings in the flour in one bowl and your bread crumbs with the coconut in another. Also, lightly beat your eggs in a third bowl.

The process of "battering" something has become a staple in my cooking. Now when I do anything battered, I use these steps.

1. Dredge the shrimp in the flour and shake off excess

2. Dip in the egg

3. Coat with the bread crumbs

Dredge. What a weird word...

I leave the tails on so I can do this process easier. Tomato, tomatoe.

Now you fry em up in the heated vegetable oil. You will watch for when they get brown to know to flip. It takes about 1-2 minutes a side.

Yummmmmmmmy...

I usually just use Orange Marmalade but for the blog I decided we step it up a notch and added rice wine vinegar and chili pepper flakes. So gooooooood!

I paired mine with grits and asparagus with goat cheese and the husband was a happy boy. Well, minus the asparagus. Asparagus makes him angry for some reason.

Val's Version

(Denver, CO)

Yummy, yummy in my tummy! This one will definitely be a repeat contestant in our hizzy :)

We happen to love seafood in our family. I blame it on my Dad. When we were growing up, trips to the beach included quite a few seafood dining experiences ... with ALL 4 kids. My Mom also likes to just boil up a pot of crab legs with corn and new potatoes for family dinner.

Who's complaining? Not this girl.

So, my pallet was introduced at an early age to the finer foods in life. My husband, well … he eats just about anything. And Cali isn't picky (unless she sees me being picky). Therefore, we eat good.

Jen's cooked this a time or two and this was my first go at it. Coconut crusted chicken I've done. Not the shrimpies. I saw somewhere how easy it is to overcook shrimp, so I've really only topped it on pasta and done it scampi style. Or the infamous cocktail shrimp. My other half is the grill master and he can do some crazy good marinades. This lady was ready to try something new!

Ok - so I was uploading my pictures and came across this and just couldn't resist.

He also LOVES to eat ...

(Lucas 2013 - 1 year old)

I only used the specified amount of spices this go around and will be adding more next time. I love to taste the different flavors and felt like this could've had a bit more. I even did a couple extra dashes of Paprika, but it needed something more.

Once you've got your stations set up (I always have stations), you're ready to take the shrimp through it's journey into the frying pan. Quite the process.

Dip the shrimp into the flour blend, then dunk them into the egg, and then right on over to the coconut mixture. Place them on your rack/baking sheet so the unattached coating can fall

and not stick to the pan.

BOOM! Into the boiling oil they go. See-ya suckas :O)

BE CAREFUL! This step is a little dangerous and if you have young ankle biters, keep them at bay. There needs to be some kind of safety equipment for frying. Probably is, I just haven't been smart enough to invest in any yet.

They need to cook for no more than 2 minutes on each side. Once they start really curling, they are done and could be overdone. The perfect shrimp makes an open "C" not an "O." Don't compare mine to that trick.

While my shrimp were frying, I worked on the marmalade. Cali LOVED saying that, by the way. Add the orange marmalade, rice vinegar and red pepper flakes to a pot and let that simmer for about 8-10 minutes, or until hot and melted. We really enjoyed this dipping sauce and will most likely use it again with other foods.