Day One-Hundred Twenty-Three - Crispy Coconut Shrimp (6.5.14)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• 3/4 cup dried breadcrumbs
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 1/2 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (tail on)
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 4 cups vegetable oil
• Bottled sweet-and-sour sauce, for serving
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp curry powder
• Lime wedges, for serving

Instructions

1. In a food processor, pulse together coconut and breadcrumbs until coconut is in small pieces; transfer to a shallow bowl and scatter a handful over a baking sheet. Set aside. In another shallow bowl, lightly beat the egg whites.
2. Toss shrimp with 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Working in batches, dip shrimp in egg whites to coat completely; lift from whites (shaking off any excess), and dredge in coconut mixture. Lay on prepared baking sheet.
3. In a large, deep heavy-bottom pan, heat oil over medium heat until 350 degrees on a deep-fry thermometer. Cook half the shrimp, lightly shaking to separate shrimp, until golden brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer shrimp to paper towels to drain. Return oil to 350 degrees and repeat with remaining shrimp.
4. For the optional sauce: in a small bowl, whisk together yogurt, lime juice, mustard and curry powder. Serve the sauce with shrimp; garnish with lime wedges if desired.

Opinions

Katie: This shrimp was delicious. We had sweet and sour sauce and a yogurt-based sauce on the side, but the shrimp was very good just on its own. I enjoyed the flavor compliment the yogurt-based sauce provided to the shrimp much more than the sweet and sour sauce. The sauce did have strong flavor though with the curry and lime. I recommend just trying and eating the shrimp by itself. :)

Potter: This was great shrimp. Better than getting coconut shrimp at a restaurant. I was a bit disappointed in our dips for it but the shrimp itself was great. It took quite a while to but together since I was hand dipping the shrimp in the egg and breading mixture but the actual frying part only took a few minutes. If you have a strainer with large holes or a wide mesh screen you could probably just dump the shrimp in the eggs and then shake them in the breading on the screen/strainer to speed up the process.