Coconut Shrimp (revised)
Shrimp, coated with coconut and then deep fried is a popular dish in Zihuatanejo. Here is my take on it: (Sorry I didn’t have the camera out, but will surely do it again).
NOTE: We’re going to use what’s called a breading station. The trick is to move the shrimp from one pan to the next while keeping one hand dry and the other wet, otherwise the whole process turns into a wretched mess.
Yield: 2-3 servings
See Abbreviations, if needed
· 3/4C unbleached all purpose flour
· 1t hot paprika
· 1/2t salt
· 1/2t freshly ground pepper
· 1/2t sugar
· 2 eggs
· 1.5C unsweetened shredded coconut
· 3/4C Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
· 1 lb large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 6 [10-15 count] shrimp per person)
· 1.5 C grapeseed, vegetable or peanut oil if using a wok, (about 3 cups if using a Dutch oven)
1. Set up a “breading station” to coat the shrimp:
(using three dishes and two hands–one “dry hand” and the other “wet hand”
· Combine flour, paprika, S/P and sugar and place in a shallow dish, far left
· Beat the eggs lightly with a little water and place in the second shallow dish, center
· Combine the coconut and panko and place in the third shallow dish, far right
2. With the left hand, drop a few shrimp into the flour mixture, coat thoroughly and
then transfer the shrimp to the egg mixture
3. With the right hand, swish the shrimp to thoroughly coat them with egg
4. With the right hand, transfer the egged shrimp into the coconut/panko mixture and coat thoroughly
5. Again with the right hand place the coated shrimp on a rack to await frying
6. Repeat with all the remaining shrimp
7. Heat the cooking oil in a wok or Dutch oven to 375F. Use a thermometer!
8. Carefully place a few shrimp in the oil and immediately increase heat to get the oil back
up to 350F to 375F
9. Swish the shrimp in the hot oil until golden, about 2 minutes
10. With a slotted spoon or tongs, transfer the deep fried shrimp to a rack and place in
warming drawer or oven
11. When all the shrimp are prepared, serve immediately
12. Coconut shrimp can be accompanied with red onions, orange and lime slices
and/or chutney
When I saw an advertisement for a cream whipper, by iSi, that had an insulated bottle for hot savory products, I had to have it. The idea here is that this thing not only makes light and fluffy whipped cream in seconds but hot mousses as well, and keeps a mixture cold in the bottle for eight hours or hot for three hours. It’s called an iSi Thermo Whip and is available at Williams Sonoma (who, by the way, are finally offering a discount to culinary professionals).
It has four stainless steel parts: the pan where proprietary “wood chips” (in the white plastic container) are placed by the tablespoon; a drip tray that rests over the wood chips; a rack that holds the product to be smoked; and a cover that slides tightly over the pan to seal in the smoke. The smoker comes with a sampling of wood chips and the company, Camerons, makes nine varieties—from Alder (for salmon) to Oak (for sausage). Very little smoke escapes the pan when fired on top of the stove due to the special cut of the wood chips, which are so fine that they should be called wood dust.
The Cuisipro people have come out with a roasting rack that does tricks. It is hinged with a removable pin. Empty, it is high in the center so, when loaded with a bird or large roast, the arms close in to hold it. But if, for example, you wish to wrap the outside of a turkey with cheese cloth and then brush on melted butter, the arms can be held open so you can work around the bird. It has handles to facilitate lifting. Once lifted out of the roasting pan and placed on a serving plate, the hinge pin can be removed and the arms will fall away. Neato! But wait, there’s more: When finished with the rack, the arms can be folded together and the hinge pin reinstalled to store the rack in half of the space it takes when the arms are open and opposed. It fits a 16″X13″ roasting pan. The Little Woman placed a 22 pound turkey in the rack and it looked like it could hold a 24-26 pound bird. It is not surprising that the rack was the winner of a 2006 Houseware’s Design Award. About $20 at most kitchen shops.
Now there is a better peppermill out there or, at least, a new peppermill of choice. Cooks Illustrated did a review of kitchen peppermills awhile back and found the Unicorn’s Magnum Plus was the clear winner with a superior range of grinds, large capacity and “blinding speed.”
Over the years, an annoying design problem with the housing has surfaced. Namely, the door collar that opens and closes the peppercorn refill and storage tank, opens clockwise. So, while turning the top clockwise to grind pepper, the door collar beneath it works itself open with the annoying result that pepper corns spill out into your sauce, stew or the floor. Why the Unicorn people can’t redesign the collar to open counterclockwise remains a mystery. There is a plastic détente that adds friction to the collar, but it wears smooth over a short period of use.
