ADVENTURES IN DOMESTICITY: Mango Coconut Shrimp

Last week I suddenly had a sudden and intense craving for coconut shrimp. However, I don’t deep fry things in my apartment; so I was left to investigate various baked coconut shrimp recipes. Long story short, I found a method that worked delightfully, but sadly, I was lazy and did not document the experience for this blog. That’s okay though because while the coconut shrimp certainly yielded a lovely outcome, the real surprise of the night was the dipping sauce I used alongside them. Found on an unassuming page from About.com, the sauce proved to be so massively tasty and wonderful that I kind of went nuts with it the rest of the week. The next day, I made a double batch of the dip, and quickly finished it off with some tortilla chips, savoring each bite along the way. The day after that, I made a TRIPLE batch of the dip, saving half for further tortilla chip fun while using the other half as a stir-fry sauce (as recommended by the recipe). The results of the latter were crazy delicious, and this time, I busted out my camera. Full documentation after the jump…

The original dish that started it all. What was supposed to be a charming little side of mango dip turned into a weeklong obsession for me.

Two days later I was experimenting with stir frying. This was a bit crazy for me because I was cooking without a recipe. I rarely do such things. Here I am defrosting shrimp.

While the shrimp thaw, I set about making the sauce. It begins with several dried chili peppers that must be ground up. The first time I made the sauce, I used a mortar and pestle, but that yielded strange results, despite my best efforts. This time around, I stick with the Magic Bullet.

Ta-da!

Next up: mango extraction. I’m not a very good mango cutter; so this step in the process takes me about ten minutes. If I continue making this dip, I’ll just get a mango cutter and be done with it. (Or buy pre-cut mango, but only if they’re at a decent price)

Three chopped mangos go into the blender. This is followed by 3/4 cup of coconut milk. Remember that this is a triple batch.

For the record, a food processor yields a slightly better consistency than a blender or Magic Bullet, but since mine was dirty, I had to go this direction.

Also going into the mix is some brown sugar, lime juice, and fish sauce (can be subbed out for salt for those who don’t like fish sauce or who want to stay vegetarian).

A few pulses later, and we have sauce! The key is not to overdo it, or else you’ll be left with a runny liquid, not a chunky sauce.

With the sauce done, I get to work on the stir fry components: red pepper, scallions, garlic, and ginger.

I heat up some oil on medium high. Anticipation builds.

The bell peppers go in first. I cook them for several minutes until they become tender-ish.

Next I add scallions. This is rapidly turning into a very colorful dish.

The ginger and garlic enter the mix next. I only cook them for about thirty seconds or so.

And now the shrimp. I should note that the various odors emanating from this wok are fairly intoxicating.

Soon the shrimp are cooked. It’s now time to introduce the mango sauce. I’m hoping for positive reactions.

With the addition of the mango sauce, the stir-fry looks like a Dick Tracy explosion.

All plated and such.

And of course, a macro shot!

Oh, and here’s the mango concoction being used as a dip during a weekend power hour with jash, IndianJones, and me.

An hour later, my friend Julia happily documented our beer consumption.

THE VERDICT: amazingly tasty. Seriously, this mango dip is not only great as a dip but as a stir-fry sauce. I couldn’t believe how tasty it all was. Of course, it’s also very sweet and only gets sweeter when it’s cooked; so those who don’t love that can probably omit some of the brown sugar. I thought it was perfectly fine though. It all worked deliciously.

That being said, I ultimately like the mango mixture as a dip most of all. When cooked and mixed with the other ingredients, it’s easy to lose some of the delicate layers of flavor such as the coconut milk, lime, and fish sauce. Don’t get me wrong — it still tastes amazing — but as a dip, it’s easier to appreciate everything that’s going on. Either way, as a dip or a sauce, it’s kind of the bomb. I highly recommend making this stuff and using it however you deem appropriate.