Coconut Shrimp

Before being married, my wife and I traveled to Maui, where we celebrated my sister-n-law’s marriage. We stayed in Maui for nearly two weeks, soaking up the sun, relaxing, and of course, eating really good food. On one dinner occasion, my wife had ordered coconut shrimp. It sounded so delicious, but if you know me, I have more of a spicier palette. Sitting across from her, watching her eat these coconut shrimp, I just knew she was in heaven. Nothing could have been better for for dinner for her that night.

As many of you readers know that when my wife loves something so much, I attempt to recreate it, and get the feeling from the snapshot from when we had it in the past. Keep in mind that there are dishes like Pancit Bihon, where I have to go with my instincts from her childhood, however those are far and few. Prepare yourself for the coconut shrimp. These things are sweet, lightly salty, and truly delicious.

Ingredients:

• 15-20 (you could use more) large, fresh shrimp, cleaned and deveined
• 3/4 cup of flour
• 1/2 cup of cornstarch
• 1 cup of ice cold water
• 1 tbs of salt
• 2 tbs vegetable oil
• 1/2 tbs of ground white pepper
• 2 cups of shredded coconut
• Oil for frying

First you need to make your batter. Add the flour, cornstarch, salt, and pepper into a large bowl. Combine and mix this. Then add your ice cold water, as well as the two tablespoons of oil. Add you shrimp to the batter and coat thoroughly. You can set this aside for a few minutes and let them get all excited in the batter. In the meantime, add about a cup or so of cooking oil to a pan and bring to a medium to high heat. If you want to get technical, around 350 degrees. Also, preheat your oven to 350 degrees as these will go in the oven for a few minutes to finish off.

In a second bowl, add the coconut. Now get ready for some batter fun. Take the battered shrimp, a few at a time, and add them to the coconut bowl. Toss them around and make sure the shrimp are covered in coconut. Add them to the pan, about six at a time, depending on the size of your pan. Cook these until golden brown, then remove with a slotted spoon to remove any excess oil, and let drain on a paper towel before adding them to a baking sheet to finish off. Continue this process until the shrimp are cooked. Place these in the oven for roughly 4-6 minutes. This will get the coconut going and warm up the shrimp again.

Serve these with a sweet and sour sauce, horseradish with honey and mustard mix, or my wife’s favorite which is a warmed orange marmalade. These shrimp come out with a great sweet crunch, with a lightly salty taste. Trust me, it’s all good.