Summary

Preparation Time: 20-30 mins.
Cook Time: 5 mins.
Servings: 4-6
Meal type: Appetizer

Recipe Rating:  

Ingredients

• 24 black tiger shrimp, 21-25 count. Peel, devein, and butterfly, leave tail on

Breading Ingredients – 3 Step process

Step 1: Flour

• 1/4 cup all purpose flour

Step 2: Egg Wash

• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 1 fl oz coconut rum

Chef’s tip: Big Daddy’s uses Parrot Bay or Malibu

Step 3: Breading

• 3/4 cup grated coconut
• 3/4 cup panko crumbs
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour

• Canola oil, good quality, amount depends on fryer size

Dipping Sauce Ingredients

• 1/2 cup orange marmalade
• 1/2 cup prepared mustard, good quality
• 1/2 cup buckwheat honey

Chefs tip: Do not use dijon mustard because it will ruin the taste of the sauce. Use only good quality yellow mustard.

We used normal (non-buckwheat) honey which I find tastes much better than buckwheat honey. Maybe it’s the brand I have at home, but I really don’t like that wheat flavour.

Instructions

Dipping Sauce
1. Place items into bowl and whisk until well blended
2. Transfer to bowl and hold until needed
note: Sauce can be made day before
Chefs tip: You can put the sauce in the fridge for about a week actually, as long as you store it properly

I couldn’t quite get the sauce entirely blended, you could still see little flecks of honey…but my arm was getting tired from whisking.

Coconut Shrimp
1. Place butterflied shrimp into flour and lightly coat

2. Transfer to egg wash coating lightly, shake off excess.

3. Transfer to breading.

4. Lay shrimp flat and press coconut mixture into both sides of the shrimp flattening until well coated and lay out on tray
5. Repeat process until finished, let shrimp sit in fridge for at least an hour before using

I forgot to put the shrimp in the fridge but it still tasted good to me.
6. In fryer set at 350F, place the number of shrimp it holds into basket but do not over load
I didn’t have a deep fryer, so I put a small pot on the stove on medium high and filled the bottom inch with Canola oil. I also don’t own a meat thermometer so I had to estimate the temperature. When the oil started looking liquid-y, like water, I tested it by dipping a shrimp in to see if it bubbled or not. The first time it didn’t bubble so I let it heat for another few minutes. The second test had the shrimp sizzling and bubbling as soon as it touched the oil, so I turned the heat down to medium and started frying shrimp. Apparently another way to test the oil is to dip a wooden chopstick in, and when that bubbles then the oil is a good temperature…but I’ve never tested that method out yet!

7. Cook shrimp for 4-5 minutes (depends on quality of fryer and ability to maintain the temp) remove to paper towel lined tray once golden brown
Chefs tip: When the batter on the shrimp turns golden brown, the shrimp is done

My shrimp cooked in about 15 seconds….maybe my temperature was higher than 350! But it did taste delicious anyway. I definitely think the better judge of doneness is the colour of the shrimp. And if it’s been butterflied properly, the meat is so thin anyway that it cooks through super fast.
8. Once cooked, place desired number of pieces on plate or tray, serve with marmalade dipping sauce

Variations

Chicken could be used in place of shrimp – coconut chicken fingers sounds pretty tasty as well! This would be a good variation for people that are allergic to shellfish.

Results

The result was a light and crispy shrimp. The panko crumbs, which is used for tempura batter, gives it the same light texture as tempura. The coconut taste is subtle, as is the coconut rum, but it really brings out the flavour and gives it that exotic coconut taste. This tasty appetizer is a sure crowd pleaser and great finger food for any party!