17 Baked Coconut Shrimp & Spicy Aloe Dipping Sauce

Let's just get right to the elephant in the room.  Aloe.  Yes, the stuff you put on a sunburn you can eat and drink!  While we were living in Guam I saw a bottle of Aloe juice with pieces floating in it...I scrunched my nose and turned away.  Then just last week I saw huge Aloe leaves for sale in the produce section of our Publix.  Whhaaaat?!  I picked one up for about $2.50 and headed home to google.

I admit I was too chicken to actually eat the gel chunks, but the gel-juice worked to make a really adventurous dipping sauce for these baked coconut shrimp.  It was slightly bitter at first but the sugar + lime really helped.  Once I dipped the shrimp in, it was the perfect bite...a little crunch from the panko, sweet from the coconut, and sweet heat from this sauce.  If you're looking for a little adventure give this a try!  

  

Baked Coconut Shrimp & Aloe Dipping Sauce

(Shrimp Recipe adapted from A Cozy Kitchen)

Coconut Shrimp:
1/2 pound 21-25 count Shrimp, cleaned and peeled
3/4 cup Coconut flour

2 teaspoons Garlic powder
Dash of Cayenne pepper
1 egg, beaten

1-2 Tablespoons of Water
3/4 cup sweetened Shredded Coconut

1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
salt and pepper to taste

cooking spray

parchment paper

Aloe Dipping Sauce:
(Referenced how to cook aloe from No Recipes)

1/4 - 1/2 cup Aloe, peeled and cubed

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

4 Tablespoons Sugar

1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper Flake

1 Whole Lime, juiced

For the Aloe Dipping Sauce:

1.  Cut a portion off the leaf and peel completely - it's bitter.  As mentioned before, aloe is super slimey!  Think raw egg whites meets Slimer from Ghostbusters.  Cut the peeled section into cubes.

2.  In a small sauce pan add the aloe, salt and pepper and cook over medium-high heat.  As it cooks the aloe will start to release it's juice, this is what will make the sauce.  Add the red pepper flake, lime juice and sugar.  Stir well.  Continue cooking until the aloe juice is more watery than slimey and the sugar has completely dissolved.

3.  Strain the liquid to remove the chunks of aloe (or just pick them out) but keep the hot pepper flakes in if you want to.   Pour into serving dish and get dunking!

* I tried this with honey as well, and it was awful.  Sugar is just the way to go.
** Use immediately after cutting and discard any leftovers.  It's a one time deal with Aloe.

For the Baked Coconut Shrimp:

(Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.)

1.  The ugly task of peeling and deveining shrimpies.  Ugh.  I went ahead of took the tails off too, but you can absolutely leave them on.  Peel the shells off and then take a small sharp knife and run it down the back of the shrimp where you can see a dark line.  Under running water scrape out that icky stuff and you're done.

2.  In a bowl whisk the egg and water together and set aside.  In another bowl, mix the coconut flour, garlic powder, cayenne, salt and pepper.  In yet another bowl mix together the shredded coconut and panko breadcrumbs.  Line up in the order of flour, egg, coconut/breadcrumbs.

3.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray evenly with non-stick spray.

4.  Coat the shrimp with the flour mixture, then dunk it in the egg bath and finally thickly coat the shrimp with the panko/coconut mixture.  Lay it on the baking sheet evenly spaced from the others.  Repeat until you are done with all the shrimpies.

5.  Bake for 5-7 minutes, keep your eye on them they will cook fast!



Shared on Michelles Tasty Creations