The first time I ever had this type of shrimp was in a cajun restaurant. They served it with orange marmalade (ick). I serve it with Thai Sweet Chili Sauce. Plan to assemble these one day and fry them up the next. It’s crucial to freeze the breaded lovelies before you fry them so the shrimp won’t overcook as you brown the outside. Eating overcooked shrimp is a lot like chewing on rubber. It’s something you don’t ever want to repeat — or inflict on guests!
Ingredients:
- Uncooked shrimp
- Bread crumbs, small amount (I make them from low-carb hot dog or hamburger buns)
- 1 can of flat beer (we use Michelob Ultra)
- Flour (we use soy flour)
- Shredded coconut
Directions:
Peel and devein the shrimp. Ugh! If you can buy it already done, do it! You don’t need fancy tools to do it, just a sharp small paring knife to slit open the back and gently coax out the vein (which is really the intestines — and my, oh my, some are much larger than others). Rinse the peeled, deveined shrimp in a colander under running water.
You’ll need to toast the coconut in the oven or skillet for a couple of minutes, then mix it with your bread crumbs. I used far more coconut than bread crumbs. Your beer should be flat and at room temperature. (To get it flat, simply open it a few hours before you’re going to be using it.)
Get your beer and soy flour ready. Set the breadcrumb and coconut mixture aside for now. Pour the beer into a bowl.
Add the flour a teaspoon at a time and mix well until you have something that is the consistency of thin pancake batter.
Have all your ingredients handy. You’re about to enter assembly line mode! I’ve got my interlocking shallow prep pans here. Crumb/coconut mixture on one end. Beer batter in the middle, shrimp on the end.
Suit up and start breading. Drip the shrimp in the liquid mixture, then coat with the coconut crumbs.
Keep going. It’s good to have an interesting TV program or an audiobook on in the background, or some peppy music. If you’re making a lot of these, you’ll want a helper or some outside amusement.
Here is a closeup look at the steps. Let the excess liquid drip off before plunging the little shrimpy into the dry mixture. Then here’s an important step — you want to place the shrimp in a single layer on a cookie sheet that will fit into your freezer. Freeze the shrimp overnight — or at least a few hours until frozen solid.
After the shrimp are frozen, pull them out of the freezer. Heat your oil in a large skillet over heat that is about 360 degrees. Once the oil is heated up, gently place your shrimp into the pan and cook until nicely browned on both sides. Place on a paper-towel covered plate to drain. Serve with Thai Sweet Chili Sauce.
Leave a Reply