Month-of-One-Pan Meals: Coconut Shrimp

Welcome to my annual Month-of Recipes on this blog. Go rummaging in the attic here and you’ll find past recipe months for appetizers, chicken, soup, mini-desserts, and more. The way it works is, for each day in February I post a recipe that fits the category. This month is one-pan meals, excluding pizza, most casseroles, and slow cooker recipes.

We love Asian flavors, so I try to incorporate dishes several times a month without resorting to my old stand-by: stir fry! Much as we love it, we need a change once in a while.

Coconut shrimp is satisfying on so many levels. Perfect for Fishy Friday, coconut shrimp has a sweet crunchiness that is pleasing to the palate. And it’s not as fatty as steak or pork, or even chicken. I baked brussels sprouts and egg rolls along side to make it a meal with carb and veggies, but you could use of some more of that extra rice I told you to keep on hand.

Coconut Shrimp (4 servings)

10 brussels sprouts, halved

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 vegetable egg rolls from freezer section of grocery store.

1 pound of large shrimp, peeled and deveined ***

1/3 cup cornstarch

1 teaspoon salt

3 egg whites, beaten until foamy

2 cups coconut flakes

Sweet and sour sauce for dipping

Preheat oven to temperature required for egg rolls.

Trim and halve brussels sprouts and coat with olive oil.

Place egg rolls on baking pan alongside brussels sprouts. Leave room in the middle for the shrimp to be added later.

While the egg rolls and vegetable are baking, prepare the shrimp.

Mix cornstarch and salt in a shallow bowl. Put whipped egg whites in a separate bowl. Put coconut in a third shallow bowl.

Dredge shrimp in cornstarch mixture, dip in egg whites, then roll in coconut. Press coconut into shrimp on all sides. Put on a plate to the side.

15 minutes before egg rolls are done, lower oven temperature to 400 degrees. Add shrimp to pan and put back in oven for an additional 7 minutes. Flip shrimp over and cook for another 8 minutes or until coconut is lightly toasted.

Remove from oven and serve immediately. I serve with sweet and sour sauce on the side.

***Note: I think you could use extra large pre-cooked shrimp, but adjust the cooking time considerably! Also, use those egg yolks in scrambled eggs the next day.

DH’s Rating: 5 Tongues Up

“We’ll be having these leftovers for lunch this week, won’t we?”

“Yep, that’s what I was planning. Is that okay?”

“Oh, yeah.”