Baked coconut shrimp garners (mostly) rave reviews
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When last we heard from reporter/taste tester Ryan Evans he happily said he could “eat 100” of the Swedish meatballs I made for a story two weeks ago. This time it was coconut shrimp with a little sweet chili dipping sauce, and he said “I could eat a thousand of these.”
Well, as relatively easy as this recipe from acouplecooks.com is, I won’t be mass producing them any time soon.
They actually call it “easy coconut shrimp,” but that depends partly on how you buy your shrimp. If you devein and shell the shrimp yourself, this recipe gets a lot harder. If you find uncooked shrimp deveined and shelled but with the tail still on, it’s a lot easier. I went down the middle, buying deveined but shell and tail still on, so I had to take the time to peel as much of the shell off while still trying to keep the tail, though that’s mostly an aesthetic thing you can skip.
Ryan was the first newsroom taster to say what became a very recurring theme: “Coconut is an easy flavor for people to overdo, but that was spot on.”
“I thought it was perfect,” page designer Toni Pennello said. “Sometimes coconut shrimp tastes like candy. You know what I mean?”
Page designer Lyndsay Bartos agreed, adding that the coating was pleasantly light. “It was really good. The breading was much better than that store-bought stuff. Sometimes it’s so thick you actually want to peel it off.”
I suspect that’s because of the panko bread crumbs. They are naturally lighter than regular bread crumbs, and a personal favorite for many recipes that call for such a coating. As the remarks suggest, the panko is also in a tasty proportion to the coconut, keeping the final dish from becoming cloyingly sweet. Baking rather than frying probably helps keep it light, and certainly keeps it simpler and easier to clean up.
The recipe recommends, and I concur after trying it, to buy some sweet chili sauce for dipping. Reporter Ed Lewis cited it as a great offset to the sweetness. “It was definitely better than store bought shrimp,” he said, “I think the chili sauce really adds a nice zing.”
While Ed didn’t predict he could eat a thousand, or even a hundred, he admitted. “I could clean that plate.”
Columnist Bill O’Boyle agreed. “It was good, really delicious. Like Ed said, I could eat the whole plate.”
Alas, there was one response that was not so complimentary, coming from our newsroom foodie, Editor Roger Dupuis, who initially refused to even try it. “I don’t like shrimp,” he confided. But egged on by several who had tasted it, he agreed to have one.
“It was good,” he said somewhat unconvincingly. “I don’t like shrimp, but the coconut helped cover it up.”
I found this after googling “New Years Eve recipes,” figuring I should look for something new for my own planned meal and timely for the test kitchen. There were a few other interesting ones that I hope to share in coming weeks. But, as the saying goes at the end of every December: You’ll have to wait until next year.
Happy New Year, and
Dobru Chut!
Easy Coconut Shrimp (acouplecooks.com)
1 pound large shrimp, deveined tail on
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup flour
2 eggs
⅔ cup panko bread crumbs
½ cup shredded sweetened coconut
Sweet chili sauce, for serving
Heat the oven to 400°.
Pat the shrimp dry. Mix the shrimp in a bowl with the garlic powder, onion powder, and kosher salt.
Place the flour in an even layer on a plate. Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl, and set it next to the plate. Place the panko and coconut on another plate, and set it next to the bowl. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Dredge each shrimp into the flour, then dip it into the eggs, then dredge it into the panko and coconut. Place each shrimp gently onto the baking sheet. Wash your hands off as necessary, since the coating can start to become gooey.
Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake until juicy and opaque, about 12 to 14 minutes
Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish