Coconut shrimp

If I ever found I was gonna be snuffed out and was offered a last meal (kinda morbid I know but the best way to describe how special it is) I would pick Coconut shrimp! I have had this delectable dish at the Hickory Pit in the Edgewater Casino in Laughlin and Joe's Crab Shack in Akron Ohio and both were absolutely fabulous! I would ask for a dozen and gorge myself (minus the sauce-THAT I didn't care for. It masked the wonderful taste!)

dte-
Not that it matters but, we have a thread buried somewhere about "last Meals". no big deal--
Although some think it a terrible thing, I will own up to really enjoying the Coconut Shrimp at the Outback. I like the Marmalade-style dipping sauce they serve with it..In fact I will squeeze a bit of lemon into that to 'tart' it up a bit. Several times we have skipped the main course entirely and have had a dinner of a couple of orders of the Shrimp and a couple of the 24 oz Fosters in the Ice-covered Mugs. My wife will have the same!!

The Outback has coconut shrimp served as an appetizer. It is served with a sweet sauce and it is delicous.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

The first time I tasted coconut shrimp was about 28 years ago at a restaurant called Las Mananitas in Cuernavaca, Mexico (capital of the state of Morelos, about an hour south of Mexico City). It was served as an appetizer while we waited for our table, sitting on the flagstone patio overlooking gently sloping grounds where white peacocks strolled leisurely. I thought it was the most perfect blending of savory and sweet flavors I'd ever had!

Since then I've aged into a properly fats-restricted adult diet, but I still eye them longingly on any menu where they appear. My mouth waters at the mere mention of them... s-l-u-r-p...

This coconut shrimp isn't fried, but rather a kind of casserole. I've made this twice and am addicted to it. My variation calls for adding chopped scotch bonnet peppers (just a little) that gives it a kick. (And instead of plain tomato sauce, I use chopped up crushed tomatoes.) The smooth sweet coconut milk and spicy peppers is a great taste! From goya.com
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Shrimp in Coconut Sauce

This dish is a succulent shrimp bathed in a silky and delicious coconut sauce.

1 1/2 lbs. large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 tsp. Goya Adobo with Pepper

3 tbsp. Goya Olive Oil

2 cups finely chopped onion

3 scallions, sliced very thin, both white and green (reserve 1 tbsp. green part for garnish)

1 1/2 tsp. Goya Minced Garlic or 3 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1/2 cup Goya Tomato Sauce

1 cup clam broth

1 can (13.5 fl. oz.) Goya Coconut Milk

Accompaniment:

4 cups hot cooked white rice

1. Season shrimp with Adobo and set aside.
2. In a skillet, heat oil on medium. Stir in onion, scallion and garlic and cook, stirring often until onion is translucent, about 10 minutes.
3. Stir in tomato sauce and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Stir in clam broth and coconut milk, bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Add shrimp and cook, turning once, until shrimp are just cooked through, about 5 minutes.
6. Transfer to serving platter, garnish with scallion. Serve accompanied by rice.

Serves 4

Kristi,
That sounds great. Guess it's time to dig out some more of those shrimp we brought back from Pensacola and see if they can make it real.
I know frozen can't equal Fresh, but so far all of those we have used have been really good in the recipes we have used.

I agree with you Mayor , Outback Coconut shrimp are deee-licious!

Here are a couply of copycat recipes for outback Coconut shrimp


Outback Coconut Shrimp #1

1 1/2 lb large raw shrimp
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c cornstarch
1 T salt
1/2 T white pepper
2 T vegetable oil
1 c ice water
oil for deep frying
2 c short shredded coconut
1/2 c orange marmalade
1/4 c Grey Poupon country mustard
1/4 c honey
3-4 drops Tabasco sauce

Peel, devein and wash shrimp. Dry well on paper towels. Set aside. In a bowl, mix all dry ingredients for batter. Add 2T oil and ice water. Stir to blend. To fry: heat oil to 350 in deep fryer or electric skillet. Spread coconut on a flat pan a little at a time, adding more as needed. Dip shrimp in batter, then roll in coconut. Fry in hot oil until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Bake at 300 5 minutes to finish cooking of the shrimp. Serve with sweet and sour sauce or the following sauce: Combine marmalade, Grey Poupon mustard, honey and Tabasco sauce to taste.

Outback Coconut Shrimp #2
1 c flat beer
1 c self-rising flour
2 c sweetened coconut flakes; [7- ounce package]
2 tb sugar
1/2 ts salt
12 jumbo shrimp
paprika

Marmalade Sauce for Dipping:
2 ts stoneground mustard ***
1 ts prepared horseradish
1 ds salt
1/2 c orange marmalade

Instructions

*** Stone-ground mustard with whole-grain mustard seed.

For the batter, use an electric mixer to combine the beer, flour, 1/2 cup coconut flakes, sugar, and salt in a medium sized bowl. Mix well, then cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Prepare your marmalade sauce by combining all four ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate this for at least 1 hour as well.

Prepare the shrimp by deveining and peeling off the shell back to the tail. Leave the last segment of the shell plus the tailfins as a handle.

When the batter is ready, preheat oil in a deep pot or deep fryer to about 350øF. Use enough oil to completely cover the shrimp.

Pour the remainder of the coconut into a shallow bowl. Be sure the shrimp is dry before battering. Sprinkle each shrimp lightly with paprika before the next step.

Dip one shrimp at a time into the batter, coating generously. Drop the
battered shrimp into the coconut and roll it around so that it is well
coated. Fry 4 shrimp at a time for 2-3 minutes or until the shrimp become golden brown. You may have to flip the shrimp over halfway through cooking time.

Drain on paper towels briefly before serving with marmalade sauce on the side.

quote:

Originally posted by Al-The Mayor-Bowen

Kristi,
That sounds great. Guess it's time to dig out some more of those shrimp we brought back from Pensacola and see if they can make it real.
I know frozen can't equal Fresh, but so far all of those we have used have been really good in the recipes we have used.

Mayor,
I used frozen medium sized shrimp both times, and they turned out fine. I may use larger shrimp from the seafood market next time. It's a great company dinner if you ever decide to make it for an occasion. You can leave out the bonnet peppers if you can't handle the spice (I put peppers in everything) and sub with cracked black pepper for a milder taste. And the color - when combining the coconut milk and tomatoes, it makes a nice golden hue. Enjoy!

The first time I had something that could be called coconut shrimp, it was quite different from the Outback style fried stuff (which is addictive). This was in a small town in Ecuador called Playas, right on the equator and consisting of a few hotels and restaurants and one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen. The hotel we stayed in served many kinds of fresh seafood, all delicious. The most interesting was their seviche, which included shrimp and fish (corvina), lime juice, cilantro, chopped tomato, some form of hot peppers, green onion and a lot of chopped coconut. I had never seen seviche prepared with coconut; it was indescribably good!

In my opinion I love the cocunut shrimp at the "Outback" It is one of my favorite Horse Dervers.

I love the sauce the serve with it. Nice and orangey sweet with the taste of shrimp, and other spices, it is great.
Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

Went to the Outback in HialeahFL the other day and had the coconut shrimp - very tasty - one of my favorites

Peggy

RedLobster serves a pretty good one too, similiar to Outback's.

MikeS.

quote:

Originally posted by Sundancer7

The Outback has coconut shrimp served as an appetizer. It is served with a sweet sauce and it is delicous.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

I've been to Outbacks in several states: coconut shrimp + salad + rib-eye + loaded potato + Foster's = HEAVEN. The thing that impresses me the most is their franchise consistency; when I'm there I don't know if I'm in Lubbock, Pittsburgh, or Arlington, VA.

If only they would get their wait-staff off their knees. I despise that trend and just last Sunday complained about it to the owner of a nice French place in Frisco, TX.

Key West Shrimp House in Madison Indiana...Mmmm. The Mashed Potatoe Salad was wonderful as well.

I've not been there for a while but it was the first place I'd ever had Coconut Shrimp and I remember it fondly.
Paul the owner was a great guy who made you feel at home and bent over backwards to make sure everything was right.
I believe his son was going to take over the daily operation. Chip off the 'ol block when it came to service.

Have to differ with the majority here. I've always viewed coconut shrimp as an evil concoction dreamt up by someone who was trying to hide the flavor of shrimp. Add orange mamalade sauce and its even more noxious.

If I wanted candy as a first course -- which is what this stuff basically is -- I'd have a Mounds bar.

It always amazes me as what a "large shrip" is defined as. To me (and to attest to large shrimp that I have consumed), a "large" shrimp would be at minimum 4 oz.

quote:

Originally posted by Adjudicator

It always amazes me as what a "large shrip" is defined as. To me (and to attest to large shrimp that I have consumed), a "large" shrimp would be at minimum 4 oz.

That would be the extra collossal not large
http://www.oceangarden.com/eng/shrimp/sizing.htm

quote:

Originally posted by rjb

Have to differ with the majority here. I've always viewed coconut shrimp as an evil concoction dreamt up by someone who was trying to hide the flavor of shrimp. Add orange mamalade sauce and its even more noxious.

If I wanted candy as a first course -- which is what this stuff basically is -- I'd have a Mounds bar.

I understand what you are saying but we all have our own choice of taste.

Personally I enjoy shrimp every way it is cooked. A nice alternative to the normal is the way shrimp is done at the Outback with the coconut and orange sauce. I admit it is sweet but it is good.

Remember, everything is a matter of taste to everyone.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

quote:

Originally posted by tiki

quote:

Originally posted by Adjudicator

It always amazes me as what a "large shrip" is defined as. To me (and to attest to large shrimp that I have consumed), a "large" shrimp would be at minimum 4 oz.

That would be the extra collossal not large
http://www.oceangarden.com/eng/shrimp/sizing.htm

Tiki: thanks for the URL regarding shrimp size. The biggest menu exaggeration I ever encountered was at Red Lobster when I went for their "Extra-Jumbo Tiger Prawns" and got a lot of fried bread.

And then there were the "Camerones Sao Paulista" on Leblon Beach, RJ-BR. As seafood dinners are twice as expensive as filet mignon in RJ I asked the waiter how many pieces I would get. He said three, but added "if that isn't enough, we'll bring a fourth". I couldn't finish the three and could barely waddle my way back to the Copa Palace!

quote:

Originally posted by MikeS.

RedLobster serves a pretty good one too, similiar to Outback's.

MikeS.

Those of you living in New England might be familiar with the "99" restaurant.
IMHO, they have the best coconut shrimp......an order of those and their signature root beer float was my favorite meal there.

I too, am a fan of Outbacks coconut shrimp. I am absolutely hooked on it. It is the only thing I order there. Sometimes I skip the extras (salad, potato, etc.) and just have a double order of shrimp. I don't know about most Outbacks but the one here in Huntsville, AL, the shrimp as very large as sometimes as wide as three fingers. The dipping sauce they serve with it is great.

I finally went to the Outbutt and got the coconut shrimp this past Friday. Now something I had Friday night gave me the burps, but I'm looking sternly at the caesar salad more so than the shrimp. It wasn't bad for frozen shrimp; I'm always suspicious that you're doing something funky with the batter (the coconut) to draw my attention away from the lack of bite in the shrimp itself (cause it's frozen), but I would eat it again.

The sauce was great; I think that second recipe above (horseradish, marmalade, dijon mustard) is probably the culprit although our server said he thought there was some cinnamon in it too.

I use a Pinia Colada lavor yogurt as the dipping sauce when I make this at home. It tasts like what Red Lobster uses. I get their coconut shrimp when I end up there, pretty good I think.
Joef

PapaJo - Do you just use the Pina Colada yougut or do you mix anything else with it? I too am hooked on the coconut fried shrimp at RL and the dip is to die for.

quote:

Originally posted by Nancypalooza

It wasn't bad for frozen shrimp; I'm always suspicious that you're doing something funky with the batter (the coconut) to draw my attention away from the lack of bite in the shrimp itself (cause it's frozen), but I would eat it again.

Nancy....... all shrimp are frozen
Virtually all shrimp are frozen at sea soon after they're caught.
The shrimp that are sold unfrozen in fish stores and supermarkets have merely been thawed in advance.
Better to keep the shrimp frozen and defrost them yourself as needed, It may make sense to buy frozen shrimp rather than those that have been thawed because frozen will be the freshest you'll get

Always check the origin of country from whence they came before you buy..........Wild shrimp from Mexico and US are the best but hard to find ....... the rest are farm grown in "exotic" ... dirty mud ponds in China, Thailand, Vietnam ....yuck!

Sassy, I just use the Pina Colada as it comes. The brand I use is Oakbrook Farms. I guess any brand would be close to the same?? Try some first and see what you think. I'm sure it's not exactly like RL but close enough for me. I'm glad to hear someone else likes the RL shrimp dip.
Joe

quote:

Originally posted by sizz

quote:

Originally posted by Nancypalooza

It wasn't bad for frozen shrimp; I'm always suspicious that you're doing something funky with the batter (the coconut) to draw my attention away from the lack of bite in the shrimp itself (cause it's frozen), but I would eat it again.

Nancy....... all shrimp are frozen
Virtually all shrimp are frozen at sea soon after they're caught.
The shrimp that are sold unfrozen in fish stores and supermarkets have merely been thawed in advance.
Better to keep the shrimp frozen and defrost them yourself as needed, It may make sense to buy frozen shrimp rather than those that have been thawed because frozen will be the freshest you'll get

Always check the origin of country from whence they came before you buy..........Wild shrimp from Mexico and US are the best but hard to find ....... the rest are farm grown in "exotic" ... dirty mud ponds in China, Thailand, Vietnam ....yuck!

Actually some of them are grown in fresh water from Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia and North Carolina.

I am not sure if they are being sold in grocery stores but they are available.

The ones that I have sampled are sweet and huge. Apparently they are bottom feeders and the harvest cannot be ascertained until they are harvested.

I believe fresh water shrimp grow to be rather large.

http://freshwaterprawn.org/Growerinfo/growerinfo.html


Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

MikeS, I see you also like the RL shrimp. What do you think about the dipping sauce?
Joe

But wait . . Forrest and Captain Dan didn't have a freezer on board.

No, that doesn't surprise me, actually. I have stopped buying those bags of raw white shrimp in the freezer section of the Bi-Lo since I don't think I ever bought a bag that didn't come from China.

I liked the dipping sauce but I didn't like it as much as my new favorite 'meat jelly'--a nondescript bottle of 'apricot-pineapple horseradish' sauce I got in the fridge section of Publix. It's the closest thing I've found to the old grilled shrimp dipping sauce they used to serve at Shoneys, to which I might have had a slight addiction problem at one time. It is good on *everything*.

Nancy, this "meat jelly" sounds good. I will have to look for it at Publix's. What section to look for?

Um, at our store it's in the end-cap between dairy and frozen foods where, for instance, you'd find the smoked salmon. It's a really plain-looking bottle; you'd never look twice at it.

I get their chicken tenders, let them get cold in the fridge, and eat them with my meat jelly. And there might be a small song and dance involved as well. :)

I agree with rjb. Way too sweet.

That meat jelly sounds suspiciously like Jezebel Sauce. That's pineapple preserves, apple jelly, horseradish and black pepper. Wonderful on meat, including shrimp.

Let's see...so far the preferred purveyors of this concoction and its variant sauces appear to be Outback Steakhouse, Red Lobster and Shoney's, with a side trip to the supermarket refrig. case for preflavored yogurt. Seems pretty non-Roadfoody.

Sounds like this one belongs in the chain restaruants forum. Could also fit in the one about candy.

I've never been to Outback but, Red Lobster does a pretty good coconut shrip.

I like that name, mbrookes, but there's something slightly . . vinegary/savory to it, at least the Shoney's variation. The Publix meat jelly is pretty sweet so I would not be surprised at all if it's Jezebel sauce, if you subbed out the apricot jelly for the apple. But I could never reproduce the Shoney's variation because there was something that hit just a little further back on the tongue, if that makes any sense.

rjb I'm ignoring you. :)

edited to add, two weeks later: I looked in the case at the store. It's Silver Spring brand pineapple/apricot horseradish. Now why I couldn't have just looked at the bottle in my own fridge remains a mystery.

quote:

Originally posted by SassyGritsAL

Nancy, this "meat jelly" sounds good. I will have to look for it at Publix's. What section to look for?

What is the official name for it?
It does sound really good.
No Publix here (BOO), but maybe on of the local stores may have an equal.

Nancypalooza, I left out the powdered mustard. That may account for the "farther back" hot.
Jezebel will last a long time in the fridge, and it's great to have on hand. Pour it over creme cheese and serve with Ritz crackers. Wow!
This stuff is really hot. You use a 5 1/2 oz jar of horseradish and most of a can of dry mustard.

Went to Outback the other night and both my son and I ordered the coconut shrimp which is an appitizer for our entree. Our server said that we could order it as a dinner and then you get 12 shrip instead of 6, plus one side for $14.99. This was great as I would always order 1 side. The appitizer size is about $7. So this was a great deal. The shrip were as big as the appitizer ones and they were delicous.