Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Celebrating with popcorn shrimp

To celebrate the end of the Summer in the Southern hemisphere, Saint Patrick's Day and most importantly, my husband's birthday I fixed popcorn shrimp because it was one of the dishes that our family enjoyed so much at Red Lobster when we lived in the US.


Popcorn shrimp
2 pounds (1 kg) small shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 egg whites, slightly beaten
1 cup flour
3 tablespoons coarse cornmeal
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon paprika
salt and black pepper
1 cup vegetable oil for frying

1) Season shrimp with salt and pepper.

2) In a plastic bag add all dry ingredients, add more salt and pepper too. Dip shrimps in beaten egg whites, drop them in bag and shake until they are fully covered with flour mixture.

3) Refrigerate prepared shrimp for about 10 minutes in freezer.

4) Fry shrimp in hot oil. Serve with tartar sauce, hot chili sauce and lime slices.

Sometimes I fix this appetizer with breadcrumbs. I coat shrimp with flour, wash them in egg mixture, then coat them with seasoned breadcrumbs, refrigerate and then fry.

A simple salt shaker turns into a lovely decor item... To my husband, whose graceful existence touches all who surround him and makes our lives more flavorful and blessed.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Popcorn shrimp is one my son's favorites! I will be making this.

Susie said...

These look easy and delicious
Cris :)
Did you leave the tails on when your fried them?
What was the count per pound of shrimp that you used?
xo

Cris said...

I did not leave the tail this time... but sometimes I do, but then the kids don't think it is popcorn shrimp. :-)

Oh Susie, I just learned something today! That shrimp are sold by count there! Oh, let's see, they are medium size, so I think there were about 30 shrimps per pound.

And as you coat them, if you feel they are not coated enough, do the egg bath and the flour mixture one more time. Every time I take them to the freezer for 10 minutes (and not only shrimp, meat too) before frying, it makes them so crunchy.

You can also add cajun seasoning or any seasoned salt will do. :-)

Tangled Noodle said...

Oh, these are marvelous! Usually, the only time I have popcorn shrimp, they are frozen and heavily processed. Your recipe is so fresh! I will definitely be making these (I keep adding to my list of your recipes that I must try!)

Although summer is coming to end for you, I'm still waiting impatiently for spring to arrive here. It has been warmer so the snow is melting - soon, we'll be able to plant our garden!

Anonymous said...

I used to love popcorn shrimp! As a kid I would always steal it from my relatives plates when we went to our favorite restaurant, lol. I haven't had it in years.

Donna-FFW said...

I love popcorn shrimp and did not have a recipe fore it until now. It looks so delicious. I am going to try this. Nice to meet you. Jus stopeed in from foodieblogroll. What a great post I landed on!

Lisa@BlessedwithGrace said...

These shrimp sound great. Yum. Thanks for the recipe. I found you via the Foodie Blogroll widget. Fun!