Mama's Panko-Breaded Shrimp

Nothing compares to family dinners on a warm February night somewhere in Mexico... I remember the sounds of cicadas and crickets saying good-bye to the day and the smell of the salty ocean breeze paired so nicely with the sweet and firm bites of fresh shrimp fried to perfection in my mother's-in-law famous breading. We laughed, breaded, cooked, and ate on that night until the feeling of pleasant languor won us over and sent us to bed. 

One may say that we had the weirdest combination of foods on our plates that night… Fettuccine pasta was one of the side dishes.  Tossed with the home-made tomato sauce generously given to my mom-in-law by her Italian friends from Canada, the pasta dish was accompanied by a salad of Italian tomatoes mixed with minced garlic, roughly chopped onion, and dried Italian herbs.  Mama’s Panko-Breaded Shrimp crowned this rather Italian-looking plate. And somehow, these dishes worked together, because they offered simple, tasty, and honest flavors that can only be created on a night of pure harmony and bliss.

Mama’s Panko-Breaded Shrimp

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs large shrimp (about 12 large shrimp), cleaned, deveined, and pat dry
• 2 cups Panko crumbs
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 ½ salt
• ½ ground black pepper (Or any desired seasoning)
• Vegetable oil for frying

Method:

1. Mix Panko crumbs, flour, and seasonings in a large shallow bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, beat one large egg.
3. Place each shrimp in the egg first, shaking off excess and then roll it in the Panko crumb mix. Press breading well on both sides and place breaded shrimp on a plate or a cooking sheet.
4. Refrigerate for one hour before deep-frying.
5. Heat oil in a heavy sauce pan until it reaches the temperature of 325F.
6. Place three or four shrimp in the oil and fry for about 5 minutes (for large shrimp) or until golden brown.
7. Keep shrimp warm by placing it in the preheated oven until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

** Notes from my mom-in-law:

*Note 1: use soda cracker crumbs or even Ritz cracker crumbs instead of Panko to achieve similar crunch and golden-brown color;

*Note 2: the flour mixed with the crumbs makes the breading stick to the shrimp and saves a step in the breading process.