We eat our fair share of shrimp in this household. There's always some type of sale on shrimp at the grocery store. Ordinarily, I would go to the fish counter, but we've been exercising caution with the coronavirus and heading toward the less-contact frozen stuff, which is equally delicious. The key is to defrost in the fridge a day before, pat the suckers dry after peeling, then toss with a little salt to "return them to the sea."
However, much like chicken breast, shrimp can get drab. Shrimp does a great job of incorporating itself into dishes with little effort (stir-fries, stews, gumbos, pastas), but making shrimp the star can be a bit trickier, given their size. Unless you're buying colossal shrimp, they just don't seem all that special. Yet we still keep buying them. Hence, my attempt at coconut shrimp.
Truth be told, this recipe was developed primarily out of nostalgia. It was my veiled attempt at appeasing my obsession with popcorn shrimp by harkening to a fried shrimp that's socially acceptable for an adult to eat. As a child, I would devour popcorn shrimp at the now extinct Crabby Tom's like it was my job, slathering each nugget in globs of ketchup and shoveling them in my mouth until I practically choked.
Note: in my book, there's only two categories of foods that ketchup belongs on: fried meat nuggets (chicken, shrimp) and hotdogs (and their cousins, the corndogs). I don't enjoy ketchup on burgers, eggs, fries, tots... I'm picky with my ketchup. Yell at me later.
There's one very necessary "trick" to getting this recipe just right, and that's the "wet hand/dry hand" technique. Consider this your opportunity to learn a new skill. Food media loves to talk about the wet hand/dry hand technique, as it appears people of all skill sets in the culinary world mess this up at some point. Heck, even I messed it up twice while testing this recipe. Frankly, it's kind of a tedious process that requires lots of active thinking. It also goes against instinct to use the non-dominant. Just do yourself a favor and always keep one hand dry. If you mess up, stop and wipe that hand dry. Personal preference dictates that I keep my dominant hand dry, so given that I am right handed, I use my right hand for dry ingredients and the left hand for wet. That way I have my dominant hand free in case something crazy happens like a phone call or a burglar. And because I'm not a monster, I've detailed this method in the recipe for both right handed and left handed folks. And if you're ambidextrous, then stop showing off, okay??
While the pre-breaded frozen coconut shrimp may seem appealing and is certainly more convenient, I encourage you to take the extra step in eliminating some of those hard to pronounce preservatives by making it yourself with this carefully written recipe.
And if you've never had fried shrimp and ketchup, there's no better time than the present.
With messy hands and a bottle of Heinz,
~c.j.
COCONUT SHRIMP
PREP TIME: 10-15 minutes
ACTIVE COOK TIME: 15 minutes
YIELD: 6 servings (When I first made this, I ended up with 42 shrimp, making 6 servings of 7 shrimp.)
INGREDIENTS
2 lbs 16/20 count shrimp, peeled and deveined (tails can stay on or be removed - dealer's choice!)
3 tsp kosher salt, divided + more for finishing
4 c. oil, for frying (such as vegetable, grapeseed, peanut, safflower, sunflower, canola, or corn - olive oil isn't your friend here.)
1/2 c. flour
3 large eggs
1 c. unsweetened dried coconut
1 c. panko breadcrumbs
1/4 c. cornstarch
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp smoked paprika
DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, pat shrimp dry with a paper towel and toss with 2 tsp salt. Set aside.
Preheat your oven to 200° F. Clip a thermometer to the side of a dutch oven filled with oil. Warm oil over medium heat to 325° F. Meanwhile, set up the breading station and bread the shrimp.
Set up the breading station: Grab three medium bowls. In the first bowl, place the flour. In the second bowl, whisk together eggs with 1 tbsp of water until thoroughly homogenous - this usually takes a little longer than you think. In the third bowl, combine coconut, panko, cornstarch, sugar, smoked paprika, and 1 tsp kosher salt. Have a wire rack or baking sheet ready to house the shrimp.
Bread the shrimp using the "wet hand/dry hand" method. (This may seem tedious, but it's the cleanest and least wasteful way of breading these shrimp. You will be able to use every bit of your ingredients without getting the egg wash clumpy or the breadcrumbs soggy. You can do about 3 or 4 shrimp at the same time per step and still not make a mess.)
If you are right handed: Use your left hand to pick up a shrimp and drop it in the flour bowl. Using your right hand, toss the shrimp in the flour bowl until evenly coated, shaking off the excess. Grab the shrimp with your right hand and drop it in the egg mixture. With your left hand, coat the shrimp in the egg and allow excess to drip off. Pick up the shrimp with your left hand and drop it into the coconut-breadcrumb mixture. With your right hand, toss the shrimp in the coconut-breadcrumb mixture until evenly coated, again shaking off excess. With your right hand, place the now breaded shrimp onto the wire rack or a lined baking sheet. Repeat the process with all other shrimp.
If you are left handed: Use your right hand to pick up a shrimp and drop it in the flour bowl. Using your left hand, toss the shrimp in the flour bowl until evenly coated, shaking off the excess. Grab the shrimp with your left hand and drop it in the egg mixture. With your right hand, coat the shrimp in the egg and allow excess to drip off. Pick up the shrimp with your right hand and drop it into the coconut-breadcrumb mixture. With your left hand, toss the shrimp in the coconut-breadcrumb mixture until evenly coated, again shaking off excess. With your left hand, place the now breaded shrimp onto the wire rack or a lined baking sheet. Repeat the process with all other shrimp.
Fry the shrimp: Prepare a baking sheet with a wire rack for shrimp to drain. Once your oil has reached 325° F, gently place about six of the breaded shrimp into the oil and allow to fry until golden brown and crisp - about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Watch to maintain the heat of the oil, adjusting your stovetop accordingly if the temperature rises or drops. Remove the shrimp, place on the wire rack baking sheet, sprinkle with kosher salt, and put into the oven to keep warm. Repeat the process until all shrimp are fried and salted.
Serve however you like them! Suggestions: with cocktail sauce, lemon wedges, and french fries; over a bed of fried rice; in a sandwich with mayo, lettuce, and tomato; or like with a pool of ketchup.
COOK'S NOTE: These freeze extremely well in a storage bag, just like the breaded shrimp you would find in the freezer aisle at the grocery store. To reheat from frozen, simply place shrimp on a foil lined baking sheet and bake at 425° F for 10-12 minutes.
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