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Your taste buds will go cuckoo for Average Betty’s Coconut Shrimp!
Ingredients for the Cuckoo dipping sauce and dressing:
juice from one small lime
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1 1/2 tsp. honey
2 tsp. low sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp. dijon mustard
1 tsp. Sriracha
1 – 1 1/2 tsp. creamy peanut butter (all natural variety)
1 tsp. rice wine vinegar
4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
few cracks black pepper
(optional) 2 tsp. brewed black tea
Ingredients for the Coconut Coating:
5 tbsp. flour (Betty’s scoops are rounded, not leveled)
1 1/2 cup flaked coconut (if you can find unsweetened – it’s the best)
2 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. honey
3-5 tbsp. sparkling mineral water
few cracks black pepper
12 raw jumbo shrimp
Canola oil and Olive oil for frying
lemon wedges for serving
Let’s get cuckoo!
In a clean jar with a tight fitting lid combine all ingredients listed above for the dipping sauce and shake well. Doing this ahead of time ensures that the flavors will blend together.
Butterfly shrimp:
To make life more simple, Betty buys clean, deveined, tail-on jumbo shrimp.
Begin gently cutting into outer curl of shrimp.
Once a small incision has been made, turn shrimp and cut more deeply, taking care not to cut straight through. Cut from tail to tip.
With your fingers, spread open the shrimp.
By butterflying the shrimp, the batter and coconut coating will have more surface area to cling.
Make the coating:
You will need three bowls.
In the first bowl combine 1 tbsp. flour and a few cracks black pepper.
In the second bowl combine 1 1/2 cups coconut and 1 tbsp. flour.
In the third bowl combine 3 1/2 tbsp. flour, 2 tsp. soy sauce, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. cayenne pepper, 1 tsp. dried parsley, few cracks black pepper, 1 tsp. honey. Begin adding mineral water. Start with three tablespoons and stir. Mixture will be paste-like. Add one more tablespoon and stir. Batter will begin to loosen.
Add more mineral water as needed to bring batter to a medium-thick (a little looser than a cake batter). If you add too much water and your batter becomes too runny, your shrimp will not bread properly. Don’t fret – just add a little more flour to bring the mixture back to proper consistency.
Coat shrimp:
Dust shrimp with flour in flour/pepper mixture.
Coat with batter.
Finally cover with coconut.
Using a spoon, flatten shrimp as you coat.
It is best to prepare all of your shrimp before beginning to fry.
Fry shrimp:
Heat Canola and Olive oil (about 1/2 – 1 inch in a deep, non-stick pan/pot) and fry shrimp just until golden, about 3 -4 minutes.
Drain fried shrimps on paper towels and place on a non-stick baking sheet.
Bake in a preheated 325 (F) oven to crisp. About 7 minutes. You may wish to turn the shrimp over midway through the baking process.
Makes 12 Coconut shrimp.
Serve with dipping sauce and lemon.
For a different, yummy twist: Shred some green cabbage and toss with dipping sauce. Place Coconut Shrimp on top of bed of dressed cabbage and enjoy!
Coconut shrimp are a great, make-ahead appetizer to WOW your guests with! Prepare dipping sauce and shrimp up until the baking stage. Store in the refrigerator and bake as directed when ready to serve. Tricky!
Search terms: betty #23, coconut shrimp recipe, fried coconut shrimp recipe, appetizer recipe, shrimp recipe, coconut battered shrimp recipe, cuckoonut shrimp recipe
Link to The Cuckoonut Shrimp Fairy video.
Link to the accompanying The Cuckoonut Shrimp Fairy blog post.
Betty- I was going to try these out this weekend, but I have what may be a dumb question. Why canola and olive oil? The only thing I could figure was that maybe it took higher heat better? Could you educate a brotha’ please?
Hey Paul! Great question! I guess cuz Canola is a little lighter and also less expensive. I like the flavor of the olive oil – but I didn’t want an overpowering olive oil taste and Canola is practically tasteless. You could use all Canola (which I have tried) – or all olive oil (though I’ve never done it that way).
Happy frying… let me know how they turn out ;)
xo,
Betty
Thanks and I will.
Killer comic and hell sexy Betty! What a catchy name.
Hi Betty! Would these turn out just as well if I skipped the step in the oven and just deep fried the shrimp in my fryer?
Hi Lee!
If you have a deep fryer you can absolutely skip the oven step!
I just do the oven thing cause they tend to crisp up more and some of the excess oil comes out since I’m pan-frying them.
Mmmm… I could sure go for some of these today!
Hope you like em!
Cheers,
B
Heyy…thanks for answering my question so fast! I’m making them for a housewarming party lol. My gift to the hostess. I will be sure to tell you how they turn out!
Hi Lee,
What a cool housewarming gift!
If you are frying them at home to take to the party, you may want to go for the oven option to reheat and re-crisp them before you serve them…
Have fun!
These turned out great!
So easy, I made them ahead, and everyone loved them!
Thanks
Laura
PS I tried them with a mango dip instead,
great!
(and less salty)
Hi Laura!
WooHoo! So glad you tried them and everyone loved them! I bet your mango dip was awesome with the coconut – more of a tropical vibe :)
I always love to put pictures of people’s creations on the homepage… you can email me [email protected]
Cheers,
Betty
Excellent recipe. tried them last night. I also marinated the shrimp for a few hours in coconut milk before cooking them because i simply love coconut. Thanks so much!
Hi Len!
Nice touch marinating the shrimps in coconut milk! Thanks for the comment – so glad the recipe worked out well for you :)
Cheers,
Betty
hi Betty,
I am reading that you can make ahead and crisp up in the oven later.
I am catering for 50 and want to make absolutey sure that if I make this the day before I can reheat and serve late the next day. I love coconut as well. Can I used Angel Flake? It look more exciting??
Julie
Hi Julie!
WOW! Catering for 50?!? How exciting!
I have had great results with heating and re-crisping the next day (as have others in both the comments here and that I’ve received via email). It’s not going to be the mega-crunch you’ll get from a freshly deep-fried technique, but the crunch level and texture is pleasing to me and my friends!
I’m sure you noted that this recipe only makes 12 shrimp… I’d imagine you need to have (at least) two per guest… so that’s a lot of shrimp!
After they have cooled, store them in an airtight container; layer between parchment or wax paper.
Angel Flake is sweetened, so you may want to reduce the honey in the batter or omit all together. Also, if the flakes are long strands, I’d consider giving the coconut a rough chop before mixing with the flour.
It would be so awesome if you took a picture… I’m very interested to know how it goes for you.
Don’t hesitate if you have any more questions or concerns!
Cheers,
Betty
Can I bread them ahead of time