Coconut Shrimp

Ever had a recipe that you wanted to make over and over b/c not only was it so easy, but delicious?! That is this recipe. You cannot mess it up. It's always tasty. It's not loaded in fat. It's always a hit with everyone.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup of  sweetened shredded coconut (if you don't use sweetened coconut add 3/4 tsp of sugar to step 3)
1 tbsp. cooking oil
 1 lb. raw, deviened shrimp; patted REALLY dry
2 tbsp. butter
4 green onions; cut into 2 in lengths
1 tbsp. of finely minced garlic
3 tbsp. Rum ( you can use cognac or brandy, but I use Rum b/c it's not as strong. I sometimes use Coconut Rum.)
generous pinch of Sea Salt (I use Ocean's Flavor Low Sodium Sea Salt)
Angel hair pasta (You could also use another pasta or rice if you wanted. Or you can put it on a salad. Oooo!! A salad...I'm gonna have to try that!)

Some of the best cooking advice I ever recieved was Mise en place. It means to prep everything before you start cooking. Have it all out and ready. I LOVE this and it has changed my cooking for the better. I'm never hurried or rushed to get to the next ingredient. Love it.

 In a wok or frying pan add coconut and toast. Usually takes 4-5 minutes. Don't leave it and keep stirring. Watch it carefully. It can burn FAST! Once toasted, remove from pan and plate to cool.

Toasted coconut!



Start a pot of boiling water for the angel hair pasta. Salt water.

Wipe the wok/pan you used for the coconut clean. Set on high heat. When you add a bead of water & it instantly sizzles and evaporates, add oil & shrimp. Keep shrimp in a single layer. Flip and cook other side of shrimp. Cook thoroughly. If they're 100% defrosted, it takes about 5 minutes. Remove and plate.



Is your water boiling? If so, add pasta.

 Back to the same pan, turn heat to medium. Add butter and when it boils add onion and garlic. Cook until fragrant; about 30 seconds. Add Rum, salt and sugar if you did not buy sweetened coconut.



Stir and return shrimp to wok. Let it bubble and thicken just a bit. The sauce should cover the shrimp in a light coat.



Check pasta. When al dente, drain and plate a portion. Add shrimp mixture. Sprinle on toasted coconut.

I added red pepper flakes and shredded parmesan cheese. You can add anything you like or eat it as is. It's amazing either way.

This recipe is adapted from The Steamy Kitchen cookbook by Jaden Hair. I love this cookbook. She says if there was just ONE recipe you could cook from her book- it should be this one. If you make it you'll taste why.

Until next time,
Reb