.coconut shrimp w/ spicy pineapple apricot sauce.

This weekend I catered a sweet 16 party. My friend, Darleen, asked me about a month ago if I could make the cake and then she asked if I could help with the food. Of course! I love doing this kind of thing. Her daughter was having a murder mystery party called "The Lethal Luau". How fun, right?

On the menu they decided on: Coconut Shrimp, salad and rolls, Huli Huli Chicken w/ rice, and then cake.

Check out the cake! It was a lot of fun to make.





Okay.. back to the shrimp. I had a recipe I've been dying to try and when she said coconut shrimp I secretly went "Yes!" I even bought a little extra so I could make some ahead of time for Jim, Paige, and myself. Seriously.. these were perfection.

You could buy these pre-breaded and frozen, but that would be a mistake. You just can't compare these to those and they don't take long at all to make. So if you're looking for the perfect appetizer for parties or dinner, try these!


Begin by making the sauce. Easy easy easy!!

I made a bunch for the party, and you really don't need a ton of this. I'll give you the recipe for the smaller batch. This will be the right amount for about 2 dozen shrimp.

1/2 jar pineapple preserves
1/2 jar apricot preserves
the juice of half lemon
3 Tbsp Thai chili sauce

If you want added heat, add 1 Tbsp horseradish.

Put all of this in a saucepot and heat on medium. This will melt the jams and mix everything together. Set aside.


You'll need three separate bowls for the breading.

In one bowl (far right) put 1 cup flour and 2 tsp baking powder.

In another bowl, break and mix two eggs.

In the last bowl, put 2 cups panko (japanese style bread crumbs), 1 cup coconut flakes, 1 tsp kosher salt, and 1/2 tsp allspice.


Take your peeled and deveined shrimp and put in the flour, coating both sides. Shake any excess flour off.


Dredge in the egg, shaking off any extra.


Lay in the breadcrumb/coconut mix and press the breading on both sides to make sure it all sticks.


Heat some oil in a pot, fry daddy, or wok to 360*. Carefully lower the shrimp into the oil. I fried up about 5 at a time. If you're using a wok, you can put 10-12 in. Fry until the shrimp is nice and golden (about 3-4 minutes)


Set on a paper towel to drain any excess oil off.

Serve warm.


NOTE: You don't want to make these too far ahead of time because then you'll have to re-heat and run the risk of having tough, chewy shrimp. Spoon some of the dip into a bowl or martini glass and put in the middle of a plate. Scatter the shrimp around the glass or bowl and serve. If you want a little decoration, put some fresh pineapple wedges on the plate and a hibiscus or plumeria flower.

These were a BIG hit at the party! Thanks so much for letting me cater your shin dig, Alexandra and Darleen! xo


Printable version:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_98gvtsmjdv