Love and Olive Oil

Coconut Shrimp & Asian Orange and Avocado Spinach Salad

This was a good one. Crispy coconut shrimp with a creamy peanut dipping sauce, perched next to a fresh and flavorful salad with baby spinach, avocado, and orange.

Yup. We’ll be making this meal again.

Except… we’d use Taylor’s peanut sauce recipe. Alton’s had far too much peanut butter and almost tasted more like my pie filling than a spicy dipping sauce. But even that didn’t stop these shrimp from shining. Delicious, and for such a “pseudo-gourmet” meal, was actually quite easy.

Coconut Shrimp & Asian Orange and Avocado Spinach Salad

Coconut Shrimp

Makes 4-6 servings. Recipe from Alton Brown.

Ingredients
24 large (15 to 20 count) shrimp, peeled, deviened, and butterflied
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 egg whites
2 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut, or 2 1/2 cups shredded fresh coconut
Canola or peanut oil, for frying
Taylor’s Kick Butt Peanut Sauce

Directions
Pat the shrimp dry with a paper towel. In a small bowl combine cornstarch, salt, pepper, and cayenne. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until foamy. In another bowl, place the coconut. Coat the shrimp with the cornstarch and shake off any excess. Dip into the egg white and then press into the coconut to get full coverage. Try to keep 1 hand dry, this will keep things a little cleaner.

In a large pan, heat the oil to 350 degrees F and gently submerge the shrimp, 6 at a time. Fry for about 3 minutes or until golden brown. Remove them to a rack to drain. Serve with Peanut Sauce.

Asian Spinach Salad with Orange and Avocado

Asian Spinach Salad with Orange and Avocado

Makes 4 servings. Recipe from Bon Appetit.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon (generous) Asian sesame oil
1 navel orange
1 6-ounce bag baby spinach leaves
1 Pinkerton or Fuerte avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch wedges

Directions
Whisk first 5 ingredients in large bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set dressing aside.

Cut off peel and white pith from orange. Cut orange into 1/3-inch rounds; cut rounds crosswise in half. Add spinach to dressing; toss to coat. Add avocado and orange; toss gently.

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12 Comments

  1. Question – I want to replace the shallots with something else (they make my belly upset) – suggestions?

  2. What a delightful dish:)

  3. I forgot to make Taylor’s kick-butt sauce (and although I’ve made it before, and it is kick butt)! I think I’ll just use that as a reason to make the coconut shrimp again. :)

  4. Your food looks and sounds so delicious! I am not sure which version my daughter and I will like more the shrimp or tofu; so we’ll have to do both!

  5. This is a very interesting pairing, and you have such beautiful pictures!

  6. I have been on the search for a yummy coconut shrimp. This looks great and seems simple enough. I just love Good Eats. Thanks.

  7. Very true! Though that stuff has an unbelievable shelf life – so even if we made this 2 times a year we could use the same bag of coconut, haha! :)

  8. That recipe sounds quite good! We’re big tofu fans. :)

  9. Always looking for things to do with coconut. Why does it come in such large bags, but each recipe only uses a small amount? I’ve always got some hanging around in the pantry.

  10. You know, I just saw a very close version of this recipe the other day – on the Veganomicon (spelt right?) authors’ website. They used slices of tofu (stay with me), marinated in tamari and then covered in this crunchy coconut stuff. Served with a curry and coconut dipping sauce, probably to compensate for the non-fish. Having seen your salad idea I think this will definitely be a good summer lunch for us (spinach not growing very well at the moment over here.) :-)

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