Tremendous Coconut Shrimp
Prep
15m
Cook
8m
Total
23m
Bigly says
Sit down for this one. Coconut shrimp. TREMENDOUS coconut shrimp. The greatest coconut shrimp on planet Earth, and I have had coconut shrimp on multiple continents — more continents than most so-called food writers have ever even VISITED — and I am here to tell you that 99 percent of the coconut shrimp out there is a complete and total disgrace. The shrimp is small. The breading is soggy. The dipping sauce is a packet. A packet. A little plastic envelope of pink shame. Sad. Totally sad. Stop accepting this.
Scientists — and I've talked to scientists, very smart people, the smartest, people with PhDs in things I cannot pronounce — they will tell you that the perfect coconut shrimp comes down to two variables: surface area and moisture. That's it. That's the whole science. You want maximum jagged crust grabbing onto the shrimp, and you want NO water on that shrimp before you bread it. Pat it dry. Pat it dry AGAIN. The food chemists agree. I had a guy with a lab coat explain this to me over coffee — took him an hour and twenty minutes, drew diagrams on a napkin, the whole production — and I tipped him for the lesson. Worth every penny.
What we are doing here is CRUNCH. Crunch like you wouldn't believe. People bite into these shrimp and they hear a sound — a real, audible, room-stopping sound — and they look around the kitchen like 'who made that noise?' It was the shrimp. The shrimp made the noise. That is what crunch is supposed to be. The dipping sauce is sweet chili and fresh lime, two ingredients, and the lime is doing more work than anyone gives it credit for. Two things, done well, beat fourteen things done badly. Believe me. Not even close.
Ingredients
- 1 lblarge shrimp (16-20 count), peeled, deveined, tails on(tails on, this is not negotiable, the tail is the handle)
- 1/2 cupall-purpose flour
- 1 tsp, dividedkosher salt
- 1/2 tspblack pepper
- 2large eggs
- 1 cuppanko breadcrumbs
- 1 cupunsweetened shredded coconut(unsweetened, the sweet kind will burn and you'll cry)
- 3 cupsneutral oil for frying (canola or peanut)
- 1/2 cupsweet chili sauce
- 1 tbspfresh lime juice
- 2 tbspcilantro, chopped (for serving)
- 1 lime, cutlime wedges (for serving)
Steps
- 1
Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels. Season lightly with 1/2 tsp salt.
- 2
Set up three shallow bowls: flour mixed with remaining 1/2 tsp salt and black pepper in the first, beaten eggs in the second, and panko mixed with shredded coconut in the third.
- 3
Working one at a time, hold each shrimp by the tail. Dredge in flour, shaking off the excess, then dip in egg, then press firmly into the coconut-panko mixture, coating completely.
- 4
Place breaded shrimp on a baking sheet. Let them rest at room temperature for 5 minutes so the coating sets.
- 5
Heat the frying oil in a deep heavy pot to 350F. Use a thermometer — if you don't have one, drop a panko crumb in; it should sizzle immediately and turn golden in 30 seconds.
- 6
Fry the shrimp in batches of 4-5, never crowding the pot. Cook 2-3 minutes, turning once, until deep golden brown and the shrimp is opaque.
- 7
Transfer to a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Do not use paper towels — paper towels make the bottom soggy, and we did not come this far to be soggy.
- 8
Whisk sweet chili sauce and lime juice in a small bowl for dipping.
- 9
Plate the shrimp, sprinkle with cilantro, and serve with the dipping sauce and lime wedges. Eat hot.
One more thing
You make these once, and you are done with chain-restaurant coconut shrimp forever. Done. Eighteen dollars for six tiny shrimp and a plastic cup of pink stuff under a heat lamp? That is not a meal, that is a hostage situation. Make a whole pound at home for the price of one appetizer and feel the crunch. Feel the power. The kind of power they do not want you to have. Beautiful.
★ QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ONE? ★
Ask Bigly about Tremendous Coconut Shrimp.
Substitutions, what to serve it with, why other chefs are wrong about it. He's got opinions.
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