Meow Recipes

Monday, April 4, 2022

Baked Coconut Shrimp with Springy Rice and Honey Butter Sauce

Coconut shrimp in a bowl with rice and peas

This post is sponsored by ALDI

This beautiful and perfectly springy shrimp and rice combo has us feeling that sunshine on our faces. The slightly sweet crunch of the coconut shrimp (with a nice & simple bake method, so a lot of the crisp with none of the fry-smells), the bright, sweet, green peas popping up here there and everywhere in the light, lemony, herby rice. And then there’s the honey butter sauce for sweet dips and drizzles that taste like vacation. Plus everything you’ll need for this spring crush is from ALDI, so you know you’re getting quality, affordable ingredients. BIG thumbs up from us!

For those of you who also experience a change of seasons, maybe you are also so ready for spring that you get all teary-eyed just thinking about it. Here in Minnesota, we’re in infamous “fake spring” where the weather is like, “Oh man, would you like a 50 degree day today? Okay, here you go. You deserve it!” And then turns right around and is like, “LOL, JUST KIDDING GET READY FOR SUBZERO TEMPS AND A SNOW EMERGENCY TOMORROW.” Right to our faces, like we’re not even friends.

Our hearts collectively break and we ache for the warm and the bright and the green.

And this springy coconut shrimp piled high on a mountain of steamy pea-speckled, lemony rice with drizzles on drizzles of honey butter sauce? Yeah, that’s what we’re here for and it won’t turn on us. It keeps being A+ over and over again.

Ingredients For This Delicious Springy Coconut Shrimp

When we want a little spring in our step and also in our grocery bags, we always round up our favorites from our favorite, ALDI! A definite go-to for affordable and high quality seafood options (the Fremont Fish Market Jumbo EZ Peel Raw Shrimp is a top-notch choice for this), beautiful fresh and frozen veggies, and lots of other seasonal delights. But we also – like always – are hitting up the pantry items too, like the panko, coconut flakes, and rice. ALDI always has so many options to brighten up our days.

Here are the major hitters that you’ll need for this spring fling:

For the golden crunchy shrimp:

Fremont Fish Market Jumbo EZ Peel Raw Shrimp
Chef’s Cupboard Panko Breadcrumbs
Baker’s Corner Coconut Flakes (sweetened or unsweetened, but sweetened sure ups the yum factor! )

For the springy rice:

Specially Selected Jasmine Rice
peas (we used frozen Simply Nature Organic Sweet Peas, but you could use fresh or any other green veg favorite)
lemon juice and zest
herbs or greens
garlic

For the delicious honey butter drizzles and dips:

butter
honey
Dijon mustard

How To Make Baked Coconut Shrimp

In addition to the fresh and ready ingredients comin’ atcha ALDI-style, it’s also relatively simple to bring it all together. Like we said, we love this baking method for the shrimp in order to minimize clean up but maximize perfect shrimp cooks and crunch factors.

Panko & Coconut. You’ll give the panko & coconut flakes a little pre-toast in the oven first to guarantee that golden brown goodness. Yum!
Shrimp. Coat the shrimp in flour, then egg, then panko/coconut mixture and spread out on pan. Give them a little drizzle of oil before heading into the oven to bake.
Rice. Whatever rice cook method you prefer (we used our pressure cooker!) and then toss in the butter, lemon zest and juice, and stir in the frozen peas.
Sauce. Whisk all your sauce ingredients together and try not to drink it right then and there.

Serve those crisp beachy shrimp on a pile of bright sunny rice, drizzled with that sweet, zippy honey butter sauce and, yep yep yep, it already feels warmer here.

Baked coconut shrimp on a sheet pan with lemon and honey

Our Love Keeps Going and Going and Going For This One

The tender juiciness of the shrimp under the solid crunch of the coconut coating, plus a pile of steamy green-flecked garlicky lemon rice and a drizzle of honey butter sauce… all of it is just freshness and brightness and color hard at work. It’s one of those meals you can look forward to all day. And again the next day. And maybe we’ll just make it every night this week.

So, basically, we’ve laid out a big ol’ welcome mat for spring in the form of this coconut shrimp and rice and we really, really, really hope it pays us a visit ASAP.

Baked coconut shrimp in a bowl with rice, peas, and a lemon wedge

Baked Coconut Shrimp: Frequently Asked Questions

Does coconut shrimp taste like coconut?

Sure does! The beautiful sweet and nutty coconut flakes shine through on the shrimp and leave you with a slightly sweet tropical flavor.

Should I make the shrimp with the tails on or off?

For this recipe, we typically remove the tails; however, you could keep the shrimp tails on if you want them to be more of a finger snack. We like to eat them on the plate with a fork, which is why we pulled the tails off.

Can I fry the shrimp instead of baking them?

You can! Add oil to a medium skillet and fry a few shrimp at a time over medium-high heat. Be sure not to overcrowd your pan. Cook the shrimp for about 2 minutes per side until they come out a beautiful golden brown color.

Baked Coconut Shrimp with Springy Rice and Honey Butter Sauce

Author: Lindsay
Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 3-4 servings

Print Recipe

Description

Perfectly springy baked coconut shrimp piled high on a mountain of steamy pea-speckled and lemony rice and drizzles upon drizzles of a beautiful honey butter sauce. This is exactly the spring vacay you need!

Ingredients

Units

Coconut Shrimp

3/4 cup Chef’s Cupboard Panko Breadcrumbs
3/4 cup Baker’s Corner Coconut Flakes (sweetened or unsweetened, but I prefer sweetened)
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound Fremont Fish Market Jumbo EZ Peel Raw Shrimp, thawed, tails removed (see notes)

Springy Rice

1 cup Specially Selected Jasmine Rice, uncooked
10-ounce bag of Simply Nature Sweet Peas
lemon juice and zest
herbs or greens
1 clove grated garlic
2 tablespoons butter

Honey Butter Sauce

4 tablespoons melted butter
2–3 tablespoons honey
1–2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Instructions

Prep: Cook the rice according to package directions. (I do this in a pressure cooker)
Toast the Coconut: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place panko and coconut on a baking sheet; toast for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until nice and golden brown.
Coat the Coconut Shrimp: Make three bowls: one for the flour, one for the egg, and one for the toasted coconut. Coat individual shrimp in flour, then egg, then press into the panko until the mixture sticks to the shrimp. (I usually do all the shrimp in flour first, and then do the egg / panko dip so it’s a bit cleaner). Place coated shrimp back on the baking sheet. Spritz or drizzle with oil.
Bake the Coconut Shrimp: Bake shrimp at 425 for 10 minutes.
Finish the Rice: Add peas, lemon zest, herbs, garlic, and butter into the hot rice and gently fluff with a fork to combine. The peas just need to get heated through.
Make the Sauce: Whisk the melted butter with the honey and Dijon mustard. (And add whatever else you like – red pepper flakes, chili paste, lemon, etc.)
Serve: Serve shrimp with a pile of rice and generously drizzle with the sauce. HELLO! So yummy.

Notes

I prefer to make these with the tails removed because I like to pile them on a plate and eat them with the rice, and honestly, pulling the tails off with every bite is kind of annoying. But if you want it to look a little fancier or if you want this to be more of a finger-food situation, then you can also leave the tails on.

This amount as written feeds my family of 4 (mom, dad, toddler, baby) perfectly, with little to no leftovers. If you are serving a larger group, or people with bigger appetites than little kiddos, I would double the amounts!

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Category: Dinner
Method: Bake
Cuisine: American

Keywords: coconut shrimp, baked shrimp, spring shrimp

Recipe Card powered by

Thank you to ALDI for sponsoring this recipe!

More Springy Shrimp Favorites

Sheet Pan Shrimp and Cauli Rice (an incredibly easy sheet pan dinner)
Chipotle Orange Shrimp with Cilantro Rice (with a sweet-meets-smoky cream sauce)
Spicy Shrimp Tacos with Garlic Cilantro Lime Slaw (these are our FAVORITE shrimp tacos!)

The post Baked Coconut Shrimp with Springy Rice and Honey Butter Sauce appeared first on Pinch of Yum.

from Pinch of Yum https://ift.tt/EGYjRZg

Monday, March 28, 2022

Spring Salmon with Creamed Leeks, Potatoes, and Asparagus

Pan-fried salmon on a plate with creamed leeks and asparagus

This dish is for everybody, but especially those of us who have been living in the hideous splotchy grey of winter’s end because it’s like, “Oh heeeeey! Remember color?! Look how beautiful and bright and warm! I am a gorgeous food painting for your eyes!”

The bright inexplicable pink of the tender flaky salmon, with golden olive oil-crisped edges. The deep green of the roasted asparagus calling us towards springtime. The pale yellow of the creamy leek drenched potatoes, speckled with bright pops of chives, an almost neon slice of lemon.

It’s like technicolor. It’s delicious. It’s bold and light and it’s serving up sunshine for dinner.

Bright, Fresh, and Happy Ingredients For This Spring Salmon

This one is such a stunner because ingredients like lemon and asparagus and bright fresh salmon sing like spring birds, but the star here is the roasted potatoes with those creamed leeks. They’re creamy, rich, and decadent but with zips of fresh lemon zest. You may want to eat just a whole pan of those, but we promise the whole plate is a song. Here’s what you’ll need to make it happen:

For the leeks:

leeks
butter
garlic
fresh thyme
heavy cream
chicken/veg broth
lemon zest
salt and pepper

For your sheet pan:

potatoes
asparagus
salmon (or you can cook separate in a skillet for extra golden crispiness, yum!)
olive oil, salt, and lemon juice

Let’s Make Springy Salmon and Potatoes

All things told, this is pretty easy to throw together. The leeks are the only diva here because it takes a few soaks to get them grit-free, and then you have to get them all creamy buttery soft, but again, this star is worth every darn step. So here we go:

Prep your leeks. Leeks are really dirty! After thinly slicing, put them in a bowl of water and gently break them apart so that any dirt trapped between the layers releases to the bottom. Once the dirt settles, pull the leeks out from the top, discard water, and repeat as necessary until clean. (Don’t just strain or the dirt falls right back on them!)
Cream your leeks. Melt some butter in a skillet and cook until the leeks are soft and yummy. Add the garlic and thyme in with the leeks, then the broth and heavy cream. Let it simmer until it thickens a bit into a nice creamy sauce. Then remove from heat and add the lemon zest and season to taste.
Ready your sheet pan. Get your potatoes drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepp and start those first. After about ten minutes, add the asparagus to the pan with the same treatment and finish roasting.
Cook your salmon. This is our preferred method here – heat a bit of oil in a skillet and add the salmon, skin side down. Cook for a few minutes until it release easily and then flip and cook for a bit more until you have a golden crispy exterior and it’s done to your preference. (Could also bake salmon on the sheet pan for ease, but you lose that golden-crisp which IS a real treat here.)
Make potato & leek magic. Pour that creamy leek mixture over the roasted potatoes and bake until bubbly and browned at the edges.

Creamed leek sauce on a spoon over a saucepan

How To Cook Perfect Salmon

You have a couple of options for making the salmon here. We often gravitate toward baking salmon because it is our best no-fuss, no-brainer way to get a perfect cook on it. And you could definitely do that here by tossing it on the pan with your potatoes and asparagus! BUT, if you are willing to take one extra step and have one extra thing to clean, we really recommend crisping these fillets up in a skillet with olive oil.

The golden brown crispy edges that you get all over are a whole other level in terms of texture and taste in this dish. The salmon does cook pretty quickly, so you have to baby it a bit so it doesn’t dry out. Again though, that golden crisp…oof, worth the extra pampering.

Pan-fried salmon on a plate with asparagus, potatoes, and creamed leeks

This bright, colorful, super delicious, and deeply satisfying spring dinner is waiting for you. Please do answer its call, won’t you?

Spring Salmon with Potatoes: Frequently Asked Questions

Will my salmon get crispy if I pop it in the oven instead of cooking it in a pan?

Baking sheet will be the easiest method, but it won’t get crispy and personally I love the crispy exterior! If you want the easy option, just throw your salmon on the sheet pan with the veggies and creamed leeks for the last ten minutes of cooking.

How do you get all of the dirt off of the leeks?

If you dump the contents of the rinsing bowl into a strainer, all the dirt at the bottom will just go right back over the top of the leeks, which is why it’s helpful to first pull them out with a skimmer, or just with your hands, and then discard the water.