Deep Fried Coconut Prawns

with Spicy Ginger Pineapple Plum Sauce

As I have previously stated, I love seafood. I was cruising through the local grocery seafood section the other afternoon and noticed that they had a number of sizes of shrimp for sale, precooked. They had these giant tiger prawns that looked incredible, but they too were already steamed or boiled and laying there on ice for sale. For some reason, in the past, they always precook the giant prawns.

I commented to the seafood clerk that I wished that they occasionally had the giant prawns uncooked because I wanted to grill or fry some oriental style. He said “come back tomorrow after 2:00 PM and I’ll have some for you.”

Well, I couldn’t wait until 2:00 PM, I was there at 1:30 and there they were, in the seafood display case—uncooked giant tiger prawns. Did you know that a giant prawn can weigh 1/8th of a pound? I bought ¾ pound of prawns and got six of them in my purchase. WOW!

Here is what I did to make diner for two:

1 package baby field salad greens (or greens of your choice)

6 giant tiger prawns (about ¾ pound)
½ lemon
Rice wine vinegar
Olive oil
½ cup flour
½ cup bread crumbs
¼ cup sweetened baker’s coconut
¼ to ½ tsp cayenne pepper (to YOUR taste)
½ tsp salt
2 eggs, whisked
Vegetable oil for frying

Dressing:
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp Asian plum sauce
3 tbsp crushed pineapple
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
3/8 tsp dried ginger
¼ tsp salt

Dipping Sauce:
2 tbsp plum sauce
1 tbsp crushed pineapple

First, toss two large salad or pasta bowls into the freezer to chill.

Put together the ginger pineapple plum dressing by combining the ingredients in a small mixing bowl and stirring it all up. Now taste it. Does it need anything? Well, add it then, and when you are satisfied with the flavor, place it in the fridge to chill.

Rinse and peal the Prawns. Butterfly them by cutting them part way through from under the “curve side” with a sharp knife. You can cut them all the way through about 3/4” from the end if you want. Now place them in a small mixing bowl.

Squeeze the juice from your lemon half over the prawns and then drizzle in a little olive oil and some Rice Wine Vinegar on top. Let your prawns marinade for at least ½ hour, preferably longer. In addition to adding flavor, the marinade will tenderize them.

Once the prawns have marinated, put the vegetable oil in a large, deep, heavy skillet on medium heat. The oil should be about 1-½” deep, so adjust your oil quantity for your skillet.

In separate bowls, put your flour, the whisked eggs, and your bread crumbs/coconut mixture. Season the flour with the salt and cayenne pepper to your taste. I like lots of cayenne, and just a little salt.

Run the marinated prawns through the flour, then the eggs, then the bread crumb/coconut mixture to coat evenly on all sides and place them on a plate to the side.

Once your oil is hot (but not too hot) place the battered prawns, three at a time, into the oil. Cook three to four minutes, no longer. DON’T OVERCOOK YOUR PRAWNS. Now pull the first batch of prawns out of the grease with a slotted spoon and place them to the side on paper towels to drain. Add the next three, cooking again for three to five minutes until golden brown. Now remove them from the grease and reunite them with the other three on the paper towels.

Take the bowls out of the freezer and place a couple of handfuls of greens in each. Drizzle one third of the dressing evenly over the greens.

Now add the rest of the plum sauce and crushed pineapple to the remaining dressing to make the dipping sauce. Stir it all up.

Place three of the prawns in the middle of each plate on top of the greens and put some dipping sauce in a couple of small bowls on the table.

Pour yourself a glass of wine or iced tea, grab yourself a fork, and EAT.

Enjoy Y’all

The Redneck Gourmet