Friday, July 8, 2011

Thai fried coconut & lime shrimp



Yesterday I became a member of yet another food community and had to answer a few questions for my profile. Among these, I was asked what my favorite cookbook was. That is a tough one, I thought to myself, I have many and love them all.


This got me thinking. How do you decide what your favorite cookbook is. Is it the one you cook from the most? Or the one that answers a lot of the questions you have on cooking techniques?  Is it the one that makes you dream about conquering your favorite exotic cuisine? Or iss it that great new one with the lovely pictures that make your mouth water whenever you flip through it?




I love some because they were gifts from people I care about, or because of the stories that go along with the recipes, others for the photography and food styling. Some because they are so comprehensive and some because they are filled with original, exciting and unsual recipes.



I have had a longstanding love for all things food and my first steps in cultivating this passion was buying books about food and cookbooks. I spent many an hour reading them and looking at them, but the truth is that at the time I seldom cooked from them. Despite having cooked basic meals for myself on a daily basis since adulthood, I only started really cooking and experimenting with recipes and pushing my boundaries in the past years. Since then, if I have to be really honest, I have used the Internet and the blogosphere to get inspiration much more than my beloved cookbooks.




 
There was my revelation, that is how I came to realize that you are my favorite cookbook! And that is why, as you may have noticed, so many of my recipes link back to you guys.

Today is no different, I adapted this fabulous recipe from Tiffany, over at Care's Kitchen. It is not the first and will certainly not be the last.

If you have been reading me for a while you will know of my fear of deep frying. Once again I overcame it (I hope once and for all at this point) and fried up these little guys in a handful of minutes. It is a tasty, fresh , summery recipe (I promise, despite the deep frying) that I highly recommend: max result, minimum work (ok, except for cleaning the shrimp. But I did that earlier so actually making the shrimp literally took 10 minutes).

What is your favorite cookbook?

Ingredients
about 30 medium-sized shrimp, cleaned (peeled and deveined)
3/4 cup bread crumbs
3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
zest and juice from one lime
salt
pepper
2 eggs, beaten
brown sugar

Put the breadcrumbs, coconut, lime zest, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix. Take the shrimp and dredge them in the egg mixture one at a time before breading them. Place the coated shrimp on a plate and heat oil. Fry the shrimp in batches until golden and drain on paper towel or brown paper. Sprinkle over a little brown sugar and drizzle with the juice of the lime you used for the zest. Serve hot.





13 comments:

  1. LOL!! I had just one lime..and in order to get 1T of zest, it was a a bare naked lime! Couldn't even attempt a photo! 'Good' food bloggers buy extra for photos..they plan ahead ;)

    That said, your coconut shrimp looks divine, and you can't even tell the lime is balding LOL

    ReplyDelete
  2. This sounds delicious. No way can I name my favourite cookbook I have a whole shelf of favourites :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Aww that's a lovely way to see it! I agree blogs as a whole as a great big cookbook is the best kind of cookbook there is :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lisa - hi! That is because you didn't see the way bottom picture! hehe
    Lindy - Know what you mean
    Lorraine - totally!

    ReplyDelete
  5. wow..another first class recipe..looks inviting..:P
    Tasty Appetite

    ReplyDelete
  6. I have so many cookbooks but nowadays I see recipes on blogs more than those in the cookbooks. This prawn lover will always be happy to try new prawn recipe out.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Some cookbooks I need around me such as the encyclopedic Heritage of Lebanese cuisine, where the chef went to every remote village and extracted recipes from the locals, something that had never been done before; the recipes are not tested and extremely hard to follow, but at least I get the idea and am familiar with the ingredients. So that one I can't replace on the internet. We get flooded with so many sources for recipes, I have restrained myself to a few good sites which I visit on a regular basis. My other cookbooks, I consult rarely, but like to know they are there!
    I have seen some recipes in your blog that interest me and have them bookmarked.

    ReplyDelete
  8. That looks to die for!! I also have a fear of frying, so I can't say I'll be making it just yet though!
    Most of my cookbooks have been in storage for years now! (Mistake, between international moves...) kind of a bummer, but like you, I've learned to rely heavily on inspiration from the internet. Sign of the times, I guess!

    ReplyDelete
  9. You know, I don't really have a favorite cookbook right now either because I feel the same way as you; food bloggers are such a great resource! I do love my flavor bible and I consult it regularly when creating a new recipe. These shrimp look fabulous!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I don't have to think hard about this one at all, my favorite cook book is the first Ottolenghi cookbook. Its not only beautiful to look at, but the recipes are outstanding. I treasure it.
    Beautiful shrimp dish. I'm not a huge shrimp person, but i love fried food and i love coconut, so I know this is going to be fabulous.
    *kisses* HH

    ReplyDelete
  11. I get all my recipes from the wonderful blogs like yours!

    ReplyDelete
  12. You can tell I'm not a food blogger but just a regular housewife...I actually have a favorite cookbook: the Joy of Cooking. Prosaic, maybe, but it's worn, scribbled on and loved, like my mother's. A close second favorite is The Best Casserole Cookbook Ever, despite the ridiculous name, it really is the best and anyone from the South can attest how hard it is to come by a really good casserole that your grandma didn't make!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Jay - thanks
    Quay Po - let me know
    ToB - The Heritage of Lebanese Cuisine sounds amazing, what work that must have been. Glad you have bookmarked some recipes, that is the whole point in the end isn't it. To spread our passion.
    And don't get me wrong, I treasure my cookbooks. I just realized that lately I have been cooking more from blogs than cookbooks.
    Nicole, Julie - thank you. The thing is, I spend so much time reading great blogs and get inspired, so I never seem to have the need to turn to the books these days.
    HH - I don't own an Ottolenghi cookbook, but I admit that every recipe of his I have ever read I loved, so it must be about time.
    Miri - ditto
    Moomser - I looooove the Joy of Cooking! Not just because I got my very own one from you as a gift. It is my go-to book for any kind of info/recipe I need, it so exhaustive. I just tend to get lured into ideas from fellow foodboggers these days a lot.

    ReplyDelete

Leave a suggestion, opinion or your own experience. I love hearing from you.