This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
I have this thing that happens to me every single time I go to a restaurant.
Order regret.
Even though I study every single menu for weeks before impending dinner reservations, I show up to the restaurant, undecided. After perusing the menu yet again, I’m typically still between at least two or three items when it comes time to order, which consequently leaves me scrambling, requesting to be the last to order and ultimately making an in-the-moment decision I’m not comfortable with. Almost immediately after the waiter walks away from the table I start thinking about my order, or actually, what I should have ordered, and the regret settles in.
I’d like to say that most of the time, I’m happy with my decision, but more times than not, I have some slight form of regret, even my meal is delicious.
But! Every once in a while I’m blissfully happy with what I’ve chosen, with the latest occasion happening on our trip to Breckenridge back in January. After a study session of the menu prior to arriving, I had narrowed it down to two options, and then surprisingly, after we were seated, quickly honed in on my choice – crispy ginger-infused scallops. Of course, after I ordered the initial regret started to creep in, but once our food arrived and my plate floated on over to me, I had a hunch I’d made the correct decision – and after my first bite, my hunch was confirmed.
The just barely crisp scallops were nestled on top of coconut-infused rice, and surrounded by a slightly sweet, velvety orange butter sauce I gluttonously inhaled even after the last scallop was long gone. I left the dinner happy, full and ready to replicate the dish at home.
In staying true to the original dish, I was going to stick with scallops, but Kevin isn’t in to them as much as I am, plus shrimp is much more affordable, so that’s what I went with instead. The breading is equal parts panko, flour, plain bread crumbs, and shredded coconut, along with some orange zest and ground ginger. Each shrimp is coated in an egg wash, lightly dipped in to the breadcrumb mixture and then pan-fried in a little bit of coconut oil.
For efficiency the coconut rice is left to cook prior to breading and frying the shrimp since it takes close to 45 minutes to cook completely. I used a white jasmine rice, but you could use a brown jasmine rice or really any kind rice for that matter, just make sure to adjust the liquid accordingly.
Sometimes when I’m cooking with coconut milk, I’ll cheat and swap out the full-fat stuff for the light version, but the consistency is different, so here, you really want to stick with the original. Chicken stock, for extra flavor, is also used, along with a packed tablespoon of brown sugar, some garlic and coconut oil. Just before serving, a good amount of sliced green onion is tossed in, but my non-picky toddler picked it out, so it’s not completely necessary.
Once the shrimp are perfectly crispy, a super quick butter sauce is throw together with some freshly squeezed orange juice, a touch of sugar, a splash of vanilla, and plenty of butter. Similar to a buerre blanc, the butter is slowly whisked in emulsifying the sauce, to a silky-smooth consistency.
I ether pile the rice in a bowls, top with a handful of shrimp and then drizzle the sauce over, or pile the rice on a plate, top with the shrimp and then spoon the sauce around the edge of the rice, either way, make sure you get a perfect bite every time – a little bit of shrimp, a little bit of rice and plenty of orange butter…
- 1 tsp. coconut oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 (15.5 oz.) can coconut milk
- 1 cup jasmine, long grain, or basmati rice (brown or white)
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 1 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup chopped green onion
- ⅓ cup panko
- ⅓ cup flour
- ⅓ plain breadcrumbs
- ⅓ cup shredded, sweetened coconut
- 1 tsp. orange zest
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. ground ginger
- 1 egg + 1 Tbsp. water
- 1 lb. large shrimp (31-40 ct.), peeled and deveined
- 6 Tbsp. coconut oil
- ⅓ cup orange juice
- ½ tsp. sugar
- ¼ tsp. vailla
- 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut in to ½ Tbsp. pieces
- Heat a medium saucepan to a medium heat. Add coconut oil and garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Add chicken stock and coconut milk. Add rice, salt, and brown sugar. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 40-45 minute or until all the liquid has absorbed. Fluff rice with fork and just before serving toss with green onion.
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a cookie cooling rack.
- Add panko, flour, breadcrumbs, coconut, orange zest, salt and ground ginger to a small bowl. Add egg and water to another small bowl, whisk to combine.
- Coat shrimp in egg mixture, then coat in breadcrumb and coconut mixture.
- Heat a large non-stick skillet to a medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of coconut oil. Add ⅓ of shrimp, fry until golden brown on both sides, about 1-2 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels and then transfer to cookie cooling rack. Clean pan out and repeat with remaining shrimp in two more batches. Keep shrimp warm in the oven while you make the sauce. Keep the brown bits in the bottom of the pan after the last batch of shrimp is cooked.
- Place the heat on medium and add orange juice. Once the mixture has reduced by half, add sugar and vanilla. Whisk until dissolved. Turn the heat off and slowly whisk in pieces of butter, one at a time, making sure each piece of butter has melted before adding the next one. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve shrimp with rice, drizzle with butter sauce.
Josh @ The Kentucky Gent says
Coconut shrimp is my jam! Going to have to give this a try at home. Thanks for the delicious recipe.
Nicole says
Thanks Josh!