Saturday, January 21, 2012

Panko Fried Shrimp

I am not big on frying things for one reason: the aftermath. Where do I store the oil? Why is my stove top covered in little spots of oil? What if I fry off my pinky? Ahhhh, run away!

Well, the night I was feeling brave and energetic and I thought, no problem, I will faux fry! What is faux fry, you ask? I only put a minimal amount of oil in a stainless steel pan so I didn't have tons of oil to deal with later, and stainless steel ensured that my little shrimpies didn't stick to the pan. Perfecto! Next time I'm going to throw in a little shredded coconut and make coconut shrimp.


Ingredients:
  • Thawed, peeled, deveined, and cooked shrimp
  • 2 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
  • 2 eggs
  • Oil for pan (I use canola!)
Directions:
  1. Beat the eggs in a bowl and pour the panko into a separate bowl. Feel free to season the panko with anything you want! Put your shrimp in a bowl or plate for easy grabbing. Hint: you are setting up your cooking station! I put my shrimp, eggs and panko bowls right next to my stove top so I could simply dip the shrimp into the eggs, dip them in the panko, then pop them into the oil. 
  2.  Heat enough oil to cover the pan's bottom about 1/8" to medium heat. You can test the oil by dropping in a tiny panko crumb: if it sizzles and bubbles, load 'em in the pan! If it just sinks and nothing exciting happens, wait another minute. 
  3. While you're waiting for the oil to heat up, start dipping your shrimp one at a time into the eggs then the panko, making sure to coat them completely with panko! 
  4. Cook the shrimp in batches (don't crowd the pan!), only about 15 seconds per side. Place them on a paper-towel-lined plate and repeat until you're finished cooking all of them! 
Enjoy!


Possible dipping sauces: sweet Thai chili, barbeque, soy, ponzu, garlic aioli

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