You guys remember how on Sunday I said I really wanted to get some more appetizer recipes up on the site? Well, this is the first of many, and I’m pretty excited about it! What’s not to love about Thai inspired coconut shrimp and guacamole!? It’s kind of like Thai/Mexican fusion food and it really could not be more delicious. Think about it, Thai flavored shrimp, coated in sweet coconut, and served with a lemongrass guacamole (which on its own is completely addicting). I’m going to be honest, I was little nervous to post this recipe because I feel like it’s kind of different and just a little bit out there. BUT the different recipes are often some of my favorites, so I just had to share!
Here’s the deal. These cute little coconut shrimp bites are embarrassingly easy. Fried shrimp is great and all, but let’s be real, breaking out the oil and dealing with hot oil splashing on my skin is really just not something I want to do on any old day. Not to mention the mess that frying makes…I will do it for doughnuts, but for coconut shrimp, I think baking is truly just as good. So, I baked my shrimp, but before baking, I made sure to flavor it up. Instead of a just a simple coconut breading, we are first tossing the shrimp in a little Thai Red Curry Paste and then dipping it through that sweet coconut. I LOVE this combo so much. Thai red curry paste + coconut + shrimp = the best. The fact that it takes maybe ten minutes or so to bread all the shrimp and then another ten to bake them…well that should make your decision on whether to give these a try a no-brainer. Deliciously different AND fast and easy…yes please! Since you guys know I love a good dipping sauce, I had to come up with something to perfectly compliment the flavors of the shrimp. I went back and forth between a lot of different style dips and sauces, but in the end, the sound of a lemongrass guacamole was just too good to pass up. It’s definitely not your average guacamole, but trust me, it is SO good. I ended up topping the guac with some pomegranate arils and diced strawberries, one because I had them on hand, and two because the sweet flavors really balance out the heat from the Thai chiles. Plus, I’m currently in strawberry obsession mode, I just cannot get enough, so I am adding them to pretty much everything at this point…cough, cough like yesterday’s salad. Oh, and obviously if you want to just take some chips to this guac, I’d completely understand…
And now that we are well into spring, with summer just around the corner, I feel as though we should turn Tuesday nights into coconut shrimp night? I mean, these shrimp are so easy, super fun and pretty healthy (hello the shrimp is baked, and hello look at that vat of super colorful guacamole…health food right there). Plus they’re the perfect excuse to make a tropical strawberry hibiscus rum smash (strawberries again…they’re just so good right now). Seems fitting for a Tuesday, right? Thinking so! PS. add a side of rice and maybe some veggies and you’ll have turned your appetizer into a full meal…cool. cool.
Kicking Tuesday in the butter. All the shrimp and guacamole please.
