Coconut Shrimp with Apricot-Horseradish Sauce

Most recipes benefit from using fresh ingredients; in this one it’s essential to use them! With pre-packaged coconut flakes and store-bought horseradish this dish will be mediocre at best, dreadful at worst. Take the time fo find and prepare fresh coconut and horseradish; you’ll be very glad you did.

Serves

Eight people (as a starter).

Hardware

• Frying pan (at least 2 inches deep)
• Splatter screen

Ingredients

2/3	cups		apricot jam or preserves
1/3	cups		fresh horseradish, grated
			lime juice
			salt
			black pepper
1 1/2	lbs		16/20 shrimp, peeled
			lime juice
			salt
			black pepper
1	cup		flour
2			eggs, beaten
1	med		coconut
4	Tblsp		vegetable oil

Procedure

1. Prepare the coconut:
   
   
   • Punch holes in two of the eyes and drain the milk; drink it or throw it away.
   
   
   • Crack the hard outer shell by hitting it with a hammer or throwing it against a (brick or stone) wall or chopping through it with a machete; peel away all the meat from the shell.
   
   
   • Using a paring knife or vegetable peeler, remove the brown inner skin from the (white) meat.
   
   
   • Grate or shred or chop the meat very finely; a food processor with a very fine blade works best here.


2. Prepare the sauce:
   
   
   • Pick any large chunks out of the apricots (especially if using preserves) and chop them up or discard them.
   
   
   • Whisk together the apricots, horseradish, lime juice, salt, and pepper; put in a glass jar, cover, and refrigerate.


3. In a glass bowl (or plastic bag or container), mix the shrimp, lime juice, salt, and pepper; let marinate for 5 minutes – but not longer or the lime juice will start to “cook” the shrimp!


4. Put the flour in a bowl, the beaten eggs in another bowl, and spread the coconut in a glass baking dish.


5. Heat the oil to 350F; try to maintain this temperature while cooking the shrimp.


6. Dip each shrimp in the flour, shake off the excess, then dip in the egg, then in the coconut, then carefully put the shrimp in the hot oil; cover the pan immediately (with the splatter screen, not a lid) because it’s going to spit and sputter.


7. Cook for about 1 minute, or until the bottom side gets brown; turn the shrimp and cook for 1 minute more; if necessary, repeat until the coconut is nicely browned on both sides.


8. Drain the shrimp on a plate covered in paper towels; try to serve them while they’re still hot.

Notes

While you could leave the tails on the shrimp, I encourage you to remove them: People’s fingers are going to get a bit messy either way, so why not save them the bother of figuring out what to do with the tails (and making it easier for them to get to that last little bit of meat)? If people are going to be eating these with a fork you must remove the tails.

Don’t crowd the shrimp in the pan; make sure they don’t touch each other in the pan or they could stick together. This also makes it easier to maintain the oil at a constant temperature.

You could make the sauce a day in advance, but the horseradish degrades quickly. The less time between when you make the sauce and when you serve it, the better it will taste.

To prepare fresh horseradish, scrub it under cold running water, cut off the ends, peel off the skin, and grate.

You may need more flour and/or eggs; have them close at hand, just in case.

If you’ve never done it before – and even if you have – preparing the coconut and the horseradish can take a long time. Figure at least 45 minutes for the coconut and 15 minutes for the horseradish (assuming you’re using a food processor to grate them).

Rating

Difficulty: Hard.

Time: About 2 hours

Precision: 2.

Source

Adapted from Miami Spice, by Steven Raichlen.