Coconut Coconut Shrimp

Marlene Koch is one of my new favorite cookbook authors.  She takes popular home and restaurant dishes and "healths-them-up!"  Her new book "Eat More of What You Love" arrived recently and I immediately went to this recipe.  I love coconut shrimp, but only order it, oh, maybe once every 5 years because of the fat and calories.  After all, it often calls for full-fat coconut milk and loads of coconut and then, of course, deep fried.

The coating for the shrimp is a mixture of lo- or fat-free buttermilk, light mayo, and coconut extract.  Use Panko breadcrumbs, and a tip Marlene gives:  freeze the coated shrimp for about 15 minutes before baking to help the coconut mixture adhere.  You can serve these as appetizers or entrees.  This recipe includes the ingredients for a dipping sauce.  A tip from me:  make the sauce ahead of time (up to days ahead, if you'd like) and keep chilled.....it will be much thicker this way.  As comparison, Red Loster's serving of coconut shrimp has 784 calories, while this recipe has only 165....33 per shrimp!  I'm listing the recipe as Marlene lists it, but I did use 13/15 shrimp for entrees.

COCONUT COCONUT SHRIMP (makes 8 appetizer servings)

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
3/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/2 cup reduced- or fat-free buttermilk
2 Tbsp light mayo
1/2 tsp coconut extract
1 pound large or XL shrimp (about 24 per pound), peeled and deveined (you can leave the tail on, if you like the appearance, or remove for quicker eating!)
1 Tbsp natural rice vinegar
3/4 tsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
6 Tbsp no-added sugar orange marmalade
3 Tbsp pineapple juice
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 425.  Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray (I lined mine with parchment paper first for easier clean-up).

In a wide, shallow bowl, mix together the coconut, panko, and dry breadcrumbs

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, light mayo, and coconut extract.  Dip each shrimp into the milk mixture and then into the crumb mixture to coat.  Place coated shrimp onto prepared baking sheet.  Spray shrimp well with cooking spray (Pop the shrimp into the freezer for 15 minutes.  This will help hold crumbs in place.)

Bake for 15 minutes and then broil for 1 minute to lightly brown (watch carefully).

To prepare the sauce, place all of the ingredients (vinegar through red pepper flakes) in a small measuring cup and stir.  Microwave on high for 30-60 seconds until warm (or in a saucepan on your stove).  Stir again.  Serve with shrimp.