Coconut Shrimp With a Kick - Baked or Fried

Submitted by Mamas Kitchen Hope

"The yummy coconut shrimp you love with a touch of cayenne to liven things up! The tropical goodness of the coconut really adds a nice touch here. I have found these in Southern (tropical) parts of the USA but they are indicative of any tropical local such as parts of Asia, Hawaii, the Caribbean and so on. Two sets of directions allow you choose whether to bake or fry."

 

• Ready In: 25mins
• Ingredients: 7
• Serves: 3

ingredients

• 18 large shrimp, raw, peeled, deveined (about 1 lb)
• 1⁄3 cup cornstarch
• 3⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 egg whites
• 2 cups flaked coconut
• oil (optional)

directions

1. Combine cornstarch, salt and cayenne in a shallow dish.
2. Beat egg whites in a mixing bowl until stiff peaks form.
3. Place coconut in a zipper bag or on a plate.
4. Make a slit down inner curve of shrimp and press lightly to flatten shrimp.
5. Coat shrimp with cornstarch mixture.
6. Holding each shrimp by the tail dip in egg mixture.
7. Coat shrimp with coconut.
8. To FRY: in hot oil (375°F) fry shrimp a few at a time for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on each side- or until golden brown- don't overcook! Drain on paper towels or a clean brown paper bag.
9. To BAKE: in a 450°F oven bake shrimp on a lightly oiled baking sheet for 12-14 minutes or until brown turning once.

Reviews

[Liz B.]

These were good but I've prepared it both ways, baked and fried, and hands down the ones fried were better. I couldn't get the crunch while keeping the shrimp moist/tender with the baked it seems you compromise one for the other. One idea is to toast the coconut first and then bake them for less.

 

[RaeMay]

Amazing! We managed to get our oil too hot and burn the first two so we switched oil, cooled the pan, and improvised. We fried until almost done then out of the oil, onto a cookie sheet, and into the oven for a bit. They still had that fried taste without the greasy texture. Very fabulous, thanks!!

 

[donnie27]

I made this tonight.......it was really very good.....but I used the baking method, and the shrimp were rather bland looking. The edges of the coconut were almost burned and the rest of it stayed white. It just didn't have the color of fried shrimp that I expected. I did spray it with olive oil before baking, but it never got a good color. I certainly will try this again.......the shrimp were really good, but the next time I think I will fry them. I will review again when I do, although I don't think the recipe is the problem.......just that we are so used to eating shrimp fried and the color was very different. Also, the cayenne at first seemed not to be there, but after the first one, the flavor started building up and they had more spice than I expected. Very easy and like I said, I'll make these again. Donna

 

[susie cooks]

Great coconut shrimp! Great directions. I baked the shrimp and served them with recipe #178567. Great dinner! Made for ZWT 5.

 

[Sunkissed Mom]

Delicious! Was very surprised how yummy this turned out to be. Since I only had shredded coconut, that's what I used and they had a great texture not to mention looked verey pretty :) Also, with 15 large shrimp there were some egg whites left over, next time I will use 2. Can't wait to cook again, keeper!