Choosing shrimp is like choosing a liberal in university: there's a lot of choice. Fresh, frozen, headless, head on, veined, deveined... and that's just dealing with only one type of shrimp. If you're planning on making this dish the day of, stick with fresh shrimp if possible. The price for fresh sea food is usually higher, but the return in flavour is well worth it. Of course, if you're short on cash and time, then the frozen, headless and deveined variety will always suffice.
The beauty of shrimp is that it cooks quickly --something worth noting if you forgot to defrost your usual Thursday-night chicken breast. This dish was originally baked but if you're feeling less virtuous, then you can always shallow fry the shrimp for a savoury (if not cholesterol laden) dish.
Lemon-Coconut Shrimp
What's In It:
-Half a pound of tiger shrimp(about 18-21), deveined and heads removed
-3/4 of a cup of panko breadcrumbs
-1/2 of a cup of shredded coconut
-1 tbsp of lemon-pepper seasoning
-1 tsp of sea salt
-1 tsp of black pepper
-1 egg
Makes 18-21 shrimps
1. In a bowl of cold water, wash the shrimp to remove any remaining debris.
2. Now, combine the bread crumbs, salt, pepper and lemon-pepper seasoning in a large bowl.
3. In another bowl, pour in the shredded coconut.
4. In a separate bowl, lightly beat the egg. Now, dredge the shrimp in the beaten egg and coat in the panko bread crumb mixture.
5. Re-dredge the the battered shrimp in the egg mixture and coat with the shredded coconut.
6. Place the coated shrimp on a plate and allow to settle for 10 minutes.
7. Place the shrimp on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake at 300°F for 10 minutes, turning the shrimp at the 5 minute mark. Serve with rice and Sriracha-mayo to dip.
