Cravin' Coconut

I made a fabulous dinner last night! We were having Frank's mom over and she had mentioned that she wanted some fried shrimp. I decided on a menu of fresh teriyaki salmon, steamed broccoli, mashed sweet potatoes and fried shrimp and coconut shrimp as the appetizer.

Our favorite place for fresh seafood is the Super H Mart on Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road in Suwanee. They have a nice selection of fresh veggies and really nice selection of seafood. We bought 2 pounds of medium shrimp and a nice piece of salmon.

A few weeks ago we had Red Lobster for lunch at work and I ordered the Coconut Shrimp. It was really sweet and delicious. I wanted to make my own and searched the Internet for recipes. I found several methods and put a few ideas together in my mind and this is experiment #1.

Cravin' Coconut #1
1 lb fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails left on
1/2 to 1 cup panko bread crumbs
equal amount sweetened coconut flakes
2 eggs

Place the 2 eggs in a bowl and whisk well. In a separate bowl mix coconut and panko. Dredge shrimp individually through egg then dip in coconut mixture. Put shrimp on plate and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
I used my dutch oven to heat oil on stove top. Fill with enough vegetable oil for 2-3 inches in bottom of pan and heat to 350 degrees. The oil is ready when handle of wooden spoon bubbles.
Fry shrimp in small batches until all are golden brown. 3-5 minutes per batch.

Marmalade Dipping Sauce
3/4 cup orange marmalade
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
sprinkle of red pepper flakes

Mix together in bowl and refrigerate. Definitely make this a little in advance so the flavors can come together.
Printable shrimp and sauce recipe HERE

It turned out really yummy, but I'm ready to try again. I want more coconut flavor. Frank really liked the texture that the panko crumbs add and he was really surprised how crunchy and delicious they were. Also, we were really impressed with the sauce. I didn't add the red pepper flakes to my sauce because his mom didn't want the added heat.

Now for the rest of my delicious dinner.......

This is the method I use to cook my salmon in the oven:

The salmon still had the skin, so I put a piece of foil on the bottom of my baking pan so the skin would stick to it and when I served the salmon, I would separate the fish from the skin. Place the oven on 400 degrees, cover the pan with foil, place the salmon in the pan, drizzle a little olive oil and crack some black pepper. Cook in the oven for 14 minutes. Remove the salmon from the oven and this is when I add the flavor.

For teriyaki: The best sauce is Kroger brand teriyaki wing sauce. Drizzle the sauce on the salmon and top with fresh pineapple pieces and pickled jalapenos.  Bake in the oven another 6-7 minutes until the pineapple is warm.

I served the salmon on a bed of butter and herb rice with fresh steamed broccoli and mashed sweet potatoes. It was delicious!

Have someone over to dinner tonight!

Enjoy,
Karey