I’ve got a new kitchen toy: an Airfryer. It is a mini oven that uses hot circulating air to cook food and you need little to no oil. Every participant received one at the Food Camp last week.
At first I was a bit skeptical. Do I really need another kitchen appliance just to be able to cook the perfect fries? But after reading the manual and recipe book I realized the Airfryer can so much more than faux-frying, as I like to call it. It is more like a mini oven making it possible to roast, grill and bake as well. And I got really excited to try it out.
The first thing I made were fries. I had some frozen french fries and popped them in the Airfryer. They were the best fries I’ve ever ‘made’ at home. Perfectly crispy on the outside without being greasy.
Next I wanted to try something with shrimp. Who doesn’t like deep-fried shrimp? My bf still reminisces about the best fried shrimp we had in Maine. But I don’t like the hassle of frying and I’m kind of terrified about getting blisters or burning myself. So I made skinny coconut shrimp. I did not want a traditional breadcrumbs coating and was in the mood for coconut. Because you do not add any oil in the Airfryer, I added a teaspoon of peanut oil to the egg mixture.
They were delicious! Lightly browned on the outside and crispy from the shredded coconut. Skinny coconut shrimp are simple comfort food without feeling guilty afterwards! For dipping I made a curry yoghurt sauce, to stay in the healthy theme.
What I always found annoying was the smell after frying. It sticks to my clothes and furniture and I could smell it for days. You won’t have this problem with the Airfryer because it uses hot air instead of oil for cooking.
Don’t worry if you don’t have an Airfryer and would like to try out this recipe. I’ve included some instructions in the recipe below how you could also make skinny coconut shrimp in a conventional oven.
- 225g raw shrimp, peeled & deveined
- 2 eggs (organic)
- 1 tbsp cajun
- 1 tsp peanut oil or dark sesame oil
- salt & pepper to taste
- 100g shredded coconut
- 100g yoghurt
- 1 tsp lime juice
- 1 tsp curry powder
- salt & pepper
- 1. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs together with cajun, peanut oil, salt and pepper.
- 2. Pour the shredded coconut in another small bowl. Dip the shrimp into the egg mixture, then press one shrimp at a time in the shredded coconut until well coated. Place shrimp on a large plate.
- 3. Preheat the Airfryer to 200°C for 5 minutes. Place about 6 shrimp at a time (depending on size) on a piece of parchment paper on the tray in the Airfryer. Faux-fry the shrimp for 10 minutes at 180°C, then flip them over and bake them for another 5 minutes until slightly browned.
- 4. For the dipping sauce, combine all ingredients in a bowl.
- If you don't have an airfryer you can simply bake the coconut shrimp in the oven at 200°C for 6 minutes, flip them over and bake them for another 5 minutes.
Have a lovely weekend!
4 Comments
Amy
May 27, 2014 at 11:19 pmThis looks delicious! I’ve never heard of an ‘airfryer’ before but it sounds amazing! :)
Vicki
June 10, 2014 at 2:22 pmIt is! And the possibilities are endless ;)
Liz
May 28, 2014 at 12:59 pmYummy! :)
Maria
May 30, 2014 at 1:15 pmlooks amazing! I love deep-fried prawns but this sounds even better!!