Ingredient: coconut, unsweetened

Coconut Chicken w/ Sweet Spicy Sauce

In late August (2020), I had posted a recipe for coconut shrimp. It has become one of our favorite meals so I thought there was no reason not to try the same recipe using chicken breast.

It uses Panko bread crumbs to give a light crispy texture to the coconut breading. Panko was invented during WWII by the Japanese. The word panko is derived from ‘pan‘, giving us the word for bread in Japanese (derived from the Portuguese word ‘pão’ for bread), and ‘ko’, indicating flour, coating, crumb, or powder.

Panko crumbs are made from grinding yeast-risen bread, which is baked using an electric current, which goes through the dough. This type of bread has no crust, instead, the entire loaf consists of the soft and airy bread center. Panko adds crispiness but being neutral in flavor, it does not over power the item it is coating.

This unique oriental product caught the attention of North America in the 21st century due to its interesting texture, subtle flavor and striking visual appeal.

Print Recipe
 Coconut Chicken w/ Sweet Spicy Sauce
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword coconut chicken w/ spicy sauce
Servings
Ingredients
Coconut Chicken
Sauce for Drizzling
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword coconut chicken w/ spicy sauce
Servings
Ingredients
Coconut Chicken
Sauce for Drizzling
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
Sauce
  1. In a food processor, puree ingredients for sauce & set aside.
Coconut Chicken
  1. Using 3 separate bowls, place flour in the first, egg in the second & panko & coconut in the third.
  2. Slice the chicken breast & dust pieces in the flour then dip in the egg & lastly coat with panko/coconut mixture.
  3. Preheat a skillet over medium heat. Melt butter, then add oil. Once the combo is heated, place the chicken tenders in the skillet & cook 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden & cooked through.
  4. I prefer to place cooked chicken on a plate lined with paper towel to drain any excess oil from it before serving. Serve with spicy sauce on the side. This meal is real good with some steamed rice.

Coconut Shrimp w/ Sweet & Spicy Sauce

Coconut shrimp …. flavors of the tropics! When prepared correctly, you should end up with a significantly crunchy, thick crust of aromatic coconut, surrounding a center of plump & tasty, cooked shrimp. The concept is simple but it is possible to end up with rubbery shrimp. I found there are just a couple of key things to keep this from happening.

First, select the best possible shrimp you can find. My own choice is always the Marina del Rey, wild-caught Argentinian shrimp. You need a large or jumbo size. If your shrimp are too small, the ratio of breading to shrimp will be off and they will cook through too quickly, turning rubbery as the crust crisps up.

Adding a bit of Panko-style bread crumbs in with the coconut gives the shrimp an extra crispy crust as well as a flour dusting before you dip them into the egg wash. As much as I prefer not to fry things, these coconut shrimp seem the best when pan-fried in a combo of oil & butter.

The sweet/spicy sauce is very simple but plays a major role in the end result. We enjoyed these shrimp as the main course with Jasmine rice & steamed broccoli.

Print Recipe
 Coconut Shrimp w/ Sweet & Spicy Sauce
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American, Asia, Filipino
Keyword coconut shrimp w/ sweet & spicy sauce
Servings
SERVINGS
Ingredients
Coconut Shrimp
Sauce for Drizzling on Shrimp
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American, Asia, Filipino
Keyword coconut shrimp w/ sweet & spicy sauce
Servings
SERVINGS
Ingredients
Coconut Shrimp
Sauce for Drizzling on Shrimp
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Instructions
Sauce
  1. In a food processor or blender, puree ingredients for sauce & set aside.
Coconut Shrimp
  1. Using 3 separate bowls, place flour in the first, egg in the second & panko & coconut in the third.
  2. Clean & devein shrimp. Dust them in the flour then dip in the egg & lastly coat with panko/coconut mixture.
  3. Preheat skillet over medium heat. Melt butter & then add oil. Once the combo is heated, place the shrimp in the skillet & cook 2-3 minutes on each side, until lightly golden brown. Place cooked shrimp on a plate lined with paper towel. Serve with the sweet/spicy sauce --- its the ultimate condiment for the shrimp!