Coconut-Crusted Shrimp with Tamarind-Honey Sauce

1. Appetizers

Ingredients

Batter
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup beer
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon cayenne
1 large egg

Coconut Crust
1 cup shredded coconut
½ cup panko breadcrumbs
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Batter and Crust: Whisk together flour, beer, baking soda, salt, sugar, cayenne, and egg in a large bowl until smooth. Don’t over mix. Put the coconut, panko and salt in a breading pan.

Shrimp
6 cups canola oil
24 medium shrimp (1 pound)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 lemon, cut into wedges for garnish

Shrimp: Heat oil in a heavy sauce pan or wok over high heat until it registers 350°F on a candy thermometer. Peel and devein shrimp, leaving the tail and the first segment intact. Hold shrimp by the tail and dip into the batter. Let excess drip off then dredge in coconut mixture, coating completely and pressing gently to adhere. Place the dredged shrimp onto a sheet pan. Coat the remaining shrimp in the same manner.

Tamarind-Honey Sauce
2 Tablespoons tamarind paste
3 Tablespoons honey
3 Tablespoons water
1 Tablespoon Asian fish sauce
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 clove garlic
1 Thai chile, minced
½ teaspoon ginger, minced
2 Tablespoons cilantro, chopped

Make Tamarind-Honey Sauce: Whisk together the tamarind paste and honey over low heat until melted, strain. Mix in all the other sauce ingredients in a small bowl, then add tamarind and honey mixture. Right before ready to serve, add the cilantro. Transfer into a serving bowl and garnish with a cilantro leaf.

Fry the Shrimp: Fry the shrimp in hot oil in batches of about 8, turning once until golden for about 1 minute. Transfer with a skimmer to cooling rack that is placed over a sheet pan. Season the shrimp lightly with salt and a drizzle of lemon juice. Skim any coconut/panko from the oil and return the oil to 350°F between batches. Fry remaining shrimp in the same manner.

Serve: Transfer slightly cooled shrimp to a platter and serve immediately with the tamarind dipping sauce.

Recipe created by Parties That Cook®

Serves/Makes

Makes 24 Shrimp