03.25.12

I have an awesome baked coconut shrimp recipe that I use often (I'll include it below). So, when I saw this recipe from a blog called Budget Bytes I just had to try it. It was tasty! Although I probably won't make it often as I'm trying desperately to cook fried food for the family infrequently. I might attempt to adapt my Crispy Chicken Nuggets recipe and bake these tasty morsels next time.

The recipe called for sweet chili dipping sauce. I found this easily in the Asian foods aisle at my local grocery store. I usually serve my coconut shrimp with a sauce made from orange marmalade, a splash of cider vinegar and a touch of Thai chili paste. So, I served both tonight.

Coconut Chicken with Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

3 boneless,skinless chicken breast halves

2 large eggs

¼ c coconut milk

½ c flour

1 c panko bread crumbs

1 c shredded coconut pulsed in food processor

½ t salt

½ c vegetable oil, divided

1 c sweet chili sauce

Directions:

STEP 1: Cut off any extra fat globules from your chicken breasts. Cut each breast into 6 strips, diagonally to prevent the end strips from being really short.

STEP 2: Prepare your breading station by gathering three bowls. In the first bowl combine the flour and salt. In the second bowl, combine the eggs and coconut milk. Whisk together until well combined. In the third bowl, stir together the panko bread crumbs and shredded coconut.

STEP 3: Place 1/4 cup of vegetable oil in a large heavy duty skillet and heat over medium/high heat until it is just below smoking.

STEP 4: While the oil is heating, dredge the chicken strips. First, coat each strip in the flour and salt mixture. Then dip each into the eggs/coconut milk and finally coat each in panko and shredded coconut.

STEP 5: After breading the strips, the oil should be hot enough. Place about 6 strips in the pan at once. There should only be one layer in the pan and there should be about an inch between each strip. If you over crowd the pan it will get too cold and the strips will soak up a lot of oil instead of frying. Fry the strips for 2-3 minutes on each side or until they are golden brown and crispy. 

Place them on a plate with paper towel to drain and move on to the next batch. After a couple of batches you may need more oil so you can add the second 1/4 cup to the pan. Allow the oil to come up to temperature before frying the next batch (2-3 minutes). Because the strips are thin, they should be cooked through by the time both sides are browned

STEP 6: When all of the strips are done frying, serve immediately with sweet chili sauce to dip in.

Baked Coconut Shrimp

Ingredients:

2 egg whites

1 ½ cups panko bread crumbs

½ teaspoon cumin

¾ cup shredded coconut

1 garlic clove, minced

pepper

24 large or jumbo shrimp, peeled, deveined, butterflied

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 500°F.

2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

3. Beat egg whites in bowl.

4. In a small plastic bag, mix panko, cumin, coconut, garlic, and pepper.

5. Dip shrimp in egg whites, then shake in plastic bag to coat (press coating onto shrimp a bit to make it stick.)

6. Lay shrimp on baking sheet and bake about 12 minutes until golden brown.

7. Serve with dipping sauce: 1/2 cup orange marmalade, splash of cider vinegar, ¼ t chili paste