Coconut Shrimp with Mango Rice

While I was making these, I was getting a little frustrated. I was getting hungry, which means my patience was waning. I always forget how time-consuming it can be to bread thing; especially when those things are small and numerous. The words "these had BETTER be worth it" may have been muttered.

They are.

Panko is the perfect breading for these, because it doesn't overwhelm the subtle flavor of the shrimp, and the crispiness the panko brings to the party is a lovely compliment to the toasted coconut. To make these even more perfect, they're baked, not fried, so they're light and crispy with no hint of greasiness.

Like a lot of breading adventures, this is a three step process: flour, egg, breading. Try to use one hand for the flour and breading steps and the other hand for the egg step. If you use both hands for all three steps, as I did, you'll end up with a sticky mess of floury, eggy mess stuck to your fingers.

Learn from my errors.

The slightly sweet mango rice is a fun side dish. A note on the agave syrup. If your mango is more ripe, you probably won't need it. The mango that stumbled home with the produce this week was a little on the not-quite-ripe-enough side. I recommend you add the agave syrup at the last minute so you can taste the rice to see if you need it. (Honey would be a good substitute, but sugar will probably be gritty, since it won't have time to be incorporated.)

Coconut Shrimp with Mango Rice
Serves 4
16 prawns, peeled and deveined
1/3 c flour
1 egg
1 T milk
1 c coconut flakes
1/2 c panko
1/2 t chili flakes
1/2 c mango, peeled and diced
1 3/4 c water
1/4 c milk
1 c long grain rice
1/4 t salt
1 T agave syrup

1. Preheat the oven to 370°. Toast the coconut in a dry pan over low heat. Divide the coconut in half.
   
2. To bread the shrimp, add the flour to a shallow pan. In another shallow pan, sit together the egg and 1 T milk. In a third shallow pan, mix the panko, 1/4 t chili flakes, and half the coconut.
   
3. Pour the water, the other half of the coconut, and 1/4 c milk into a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Keep an eye on it as the milk will make it prone to boiling over. Add the rice and stir; turn the heat to low. Add the diced mango and stir, then cook the rice for 20 minutes, or until fluffy. Stir and set aside.
   
4. While the rice is cooking, butterfly the shrimp so they lay flat. Dip each shrimp first in the flour, then the egg mixture, then into the panko/coconut mix. Transfer to a baking sheet.
   
5. Bake the shrimp for 15 minutes, or until pink and curled. Serve with mango rice and salad.