Coconut Shrimp (China Inn Style)

I was asked a while back to locate a recipe for a shrimp that was offered at our local Chinese Buffet. I myself happen to love this dish so now that I have a spare moment, I am all to happy to oblige.

1 can cream of coconut divided
1 lb peeled and deveined shrimp
1/4 tsp ground cayenne
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups all purpose flour
3 Tbsps heavy cream
2 Tbsps sherry
1 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsps water

Reserve 1/4 cup cream of coconut, in remaining cream of coconut add cayenne and salt, dip shrimp in coconut mixture then flour, repeat with all shrimp. Fry shrimp in hot oil until golden, drain. Heat 1/4 cup cream of coconut, heavy cream and sherry to boiling. Mix water and flour together, add to boiling mixture to thicken, serve with fried shrimp.

Here is a second one that is NOT a tempura based breading but sounded good just the same. Let me know if you try it….

Coconut Shrimp
canola oil for fryer
24 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, divided
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons Captain Morgan Parrot Bay Coconut Rum
1 cup bread crumbs
½ cup shredded sweetened coconut

Preparation:
Heat oil to 350 degrees F.
Measure 3/4 cup flour into a medium bowl.
In a second, medium bowl combine, 3/4 cup flour, sugar and salt.
Stir rum and milk into flour mixture in the second bowl, let it stand for 5 minutes.
Combine breadcrumbs and shredded coconut into a third bowl.
Butterfly cut each shrimp before you start the battering. Use a sharp knife to slice through the top of the shrimp (where the vein was) so that you can spread the shrimp open.
Leave the tail intact.
To batter the shrimp, dip each one in the flour, then in the wet batter, then coat each shrimp with the bread crumb/coconut mixture.
Place shrimp on a plate to reserve for frying. Fry the shrimp by dropping six at a time into the hot oil for 2 to 3 minutes or until the shrimp are golden brown.

Serve with pina colada dipping sauce.
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Pina Colada Dipping Sauce
½ cup sour cream
1/4 cup pina colada nonalcoholic drink mix
1/4 cup crushed pineapple
sugar to taste

Preparation:
Mix all ingredients together. Chill.

If Life is Like A Box oF Chocolates……

My oldest son just returned from his first “formal” vacation as an adult. He flew out of O’Hare and spent a wonderful week in the mountains of Montana.

The friend he had gone to visit sent a delightful little box of chocolates back for me (which I thought was truly sweet). Like most women, I adore chocolate, although my preferences have changed [evolved?] over the last couple of years.

And being that I do not date much, I do not get chocolates often. Generally, my chocolate consumption is limited to “Death By Chocolate” ice cream (which I eat directly out of the carton) or the occasional “reward” of a Godiva bar which I will purchase at the grocery store and eat the whole thing before I even finish shopping (where upon I hand the empty wrapper to the cashier for scanning and disposal).

But when I popped open this little box of chocolate treasures, I found myself doing something completely odd even for myself….I would pick a chocolate, take a bite and put it back in the box….pick another and do the same thing.

I did have a little self control but not much. I did go back and eat the halfsies I left in the box later that night. However, that was the only  time I did.

Over the last two days, I have gone into the kitchen, randomly picked one, took a bite and put it back.

It occurred to me that this is a rather odd behavior for me. I am not doing it in order to prevent someone from eating them nor am I doing it because I do not like them. I am just doing it because it seems like the right thing to do.

Maybe the old Forrest Gump saying “Life is Like a Box Of Chocolates…ya never know what your gonna get” really does apply. I take a little nibble and enjoy the chocolate and little crunchiness of the center (some of them have cookie, others candied ginger) and put the rest back to enjoy a little more later…no longer shocked by what is inside but capable of enjoying it for what it is and knowing what I am eating.

And maybe as a chef, it is a fitting analogy for my own cooking philosophy. I like to explore new recipes and flavors. But I also appreciate the comfort level I have with some old favorites. I love opening a cookbook and randomly picking something new try, not knowing what it will taste like and the anticipation my tongue feels. But I appreciate the fact that if I just want a comfort dish I can go right to something I have prepared a million times and know what I am getting long before I even start the dish.

I know that I can count on the Parmesan cheese being slightly salty when I make Alfredo sauce and that the amount of butter and heavy whipping cream in it will make a deliciously smooth and creamy coating for the fettuccine noodles. I know that if I am looking for the perfect topping for bread, all I have to have is roma tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, salt and basil.

So maybe this tiny box of chocolates is like a reminder to me that I need to explore a little more and be a little less hesitant to try new things…that the second time isn’t as thrilling as the first but without that first bite, you will never know what is on the inside.

Current Projects

Current Projects

Communion: Bread and Wine

 

Normally my days off are spent doing some serious cooking. But I woke up this morning riddled with allergies and a general exhaustion (most likely from the allergies I suffer from the Kentucky Bluegrass across the street).

So after a morning of nearly zero productivity, I finally decided to make bread.

Making bread, like making pasta, is good for the soul. It clears the brain, it clears the bad karma, it cleanses the soul.

It requires you to care for the yeast and bread [sponge] like a fertilized egg. With the right care and conditions it grows into a beautiful piece of artwork.

As the rain came down in furious sheets outside (and plenty of lightening and thunder that scared my poor furry baby), I warmed the water to the right temp and added the yeast and sugar…then I carried it out to the coffee table to watch it bloom…I did not want to miss the moment when it was perfect for adding flour.

As the afternoon droned on and the rain continued, I turned on the tv only to be hit with our President announcing that the current gun background check bill had been denied. I also realized that I could not get enough to eat (over a two hour period of time I ate two Italian sausages, a cup of crab salad, and half a carton of ice cream).

I went back to making bread….

As I did I could not help but to feel that making bread, on this dark and rainy afternoon was more of a deep cleaning then just therapy for the brain, a clearing of the karma and cleansing of the soul.

I felt more relaxed and less worried about life’s small problems then I had earlier.

After several hours (I do on occasion have yeast issues…today being one of them, I suspect the moisture in the air had something to do with it), the bread was ready to be placed in the oven and bake.

The second the bread hit the oven, I felt a sigh of relief come out and the tension in my shoulders melt away. At this point, I had tended the bread as best as I could and if it was not going to bake right, there was nothing more I could do to save it.

Later, as I sliced the warm bread and poured myself a glass of chardonnay, I realized that maybe the rain, the bread and the wine were my own private “communion.” A way to cleanse my tired soul….