Recipe #86: Coconut Shrimp and Jalapeno Mango Sauce

Tonight was date night for Ian and myself and we originally had plans to go to dinner and then see a movie. We live in an area that has a ton of restaurants that offer a wide variety of diverse cuisines. For tonight's dinner I was really in the mood for a meal you could find when you're vacationing on a beach. I wanted something tropical you would eat in the Caribbean. I had a couple of restaurant options in mind but I knew every place would be very expensive after paying for the service and gratuity.

Since I wanted shrimp and mangoes I decided to make dinner at home tonight. I found this recipe: http://www.tasteandtellblog.com/2011/08/baked-coconut-shrimp-with-basil-peach-sauce/ and since I was in the mood for sugar as well I thought the idea to coat the shrimp in coconut sounded delicious. I've never been a huge coconut fan and while I did give the coconut an opportunity tonight I definitely resumed my previous stance...it's not really for me.

The above recipe did call for peaches instead of mangoes but when I went to the grocery store none of the peaches were ripe enough to eat tonight. The blogger mentioned she wanted to add jalapenos to her peach sauce so I did purchase an jalapeno to pair with the mangoes but the heat was a little too much for me to handle. Overall, this meal did grow on me the more I ate it but I think next time I will just stick with basic shrimp and basic mango...simplicity is better sometimes!

Ingredients (Shrimp):

* 1 lb of Shrimp
* 1/3 cup of Corn Starch
* 1 tsp of Sea Salt
* 1/4 tsp of Paprika
* 1/8 tsp of Cayenne Pepper
* 2 Egg Whites
* 1 cup of Coconut Shavings

Ingredients (Jalapeno Mango Sauce):

* 1 large ripe Mango
* 1 Jalapeno
* 1/2 White Onion
* 2 Tbsp of Butter
* 2 Tbsp of Brown Sugar

Cooking Directions (Shrimp):

First, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Prepare three different shallow bowls.

In the first add the corn starch, sea salt, paprika,  and cayenne pepper.

In the second add the egg whites.

In the third add the coconut shavings.

Holding the tail of the shrimp dip and cover each one into the corn starch mixture.

Then transfer to the egg white and transfer to the coconut shavings.

Place the shrimp on a baking sheet that has been well sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Put the shrimp in the oven for only about 2-3 minutes, flip the shrimp once, and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Cooking Directions (Jalapeno Mango Sauce):

On a cutting board skin the mango with a very sharp pairing knife.

Then slice and dice the mango and place in a small bowl.

On the cutting board dice the jalapeno and onion.

Add these two ingredients to the bowl with the mango.

In a medium sauce pan heat the mango, jalapeno, onion, butter, and brown sugar over medium heat.

Once the mango has been mashed with the heat serve with the coconut shrimp as a sauce.