Cooking Lesson #1158: Fanny’s Fish Market—Fried Popcorn Shrimp

…from the Perspectives’ Kitchen

How you doin’? Did you know fried shrimp is the seafood of choice for many people?
 
We learned a lot about guests’ likes and dislikes at our two seafood restaurants—Fanny’s Fish Market and The Fish Markets. The latter was all about grilled fresh-caught seafood. We did have shrimp on the menu, but it was skewered and grilled and not fried. At Fanny’s it was all about seafood based sauces over pastas and seafood chowders. Neither restaurant had a fryer.  The requests for fried shrimp became more and more frequent and we soon discovered if we didn’t have fried shrimp on the menu, one person might cancel out a party of 4. I guess cancel-culture started at my restaurants years ago!
 
It was time for a road trip with our chefs travelling down south where they really know the best ways to fry fish and shrimp. Along the way we stopped at the San Jacinto Inn, outside of Galveston, Texas. They served great fried shrimp, but not quite what we wanted. Next, we traveled down to the Carolina Coasts.
 
Along the East coast, very close to the North Carolina/South Carolina State line, there is a small little town called Calabash. Calabash is a small fishing town in Brunswick County, North Carolina. The population is less than 2,000. Calabash prides itself on being the "Seafood Capital of the World" because of the town's many "Calabash-Style" seafood restaurants.
 
In Calabash you’ll find several seafood restaurants, all serving delicious lightly battered and lightly fried seafood. Our culinary group ate in most of them, asked questions to all, learned what we needed to know and came back home to the test kitchen to test out our new knowledge. We discovered all the recipes had one thing in common: simple to make and yummy to eat—just what Fanny would have fried up in her day.
 
Fanny was way ahead of the pandemic and did as much business at the tables as they did in take-out—nearly 1,800 pounds of shrimp a week. Calabash shrimp is mainly “popcorn” shrimp which are small in size, grading out at 130/150 shrimp to the pound. You ‘pop’ them in your mouth, well like POPCORN.  Or use larger shrimp that make it more like a meal than a popping snack or appetizer. The result is a lightly battered, lightly fried shrimp. It’s super easy and super delicious and table ready in just a few minutes.
 
Prep time: 15 minutes
Fry time: 2 minutes
Yield: 2-3 servings
 
Ingredients
1 pound small size peeled and deveined shrimp (usually frozen)
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon hot sauce (I prefer Frank’s Hot Sauce, but Tabasco works as well)
1 cup self-rising flour (not all-purpose)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon finely ground pepper
Peanut oil for frying
 
Directions

1. Read the recipe all the way through before starting. Measure all ingredients and have at your side.
2. Thaw the frozen shrimp in a refrigerator overnight or in a bowl of cold water, if using frozen.
3. Thoroughly drain water from the shrimp and line a plate with paper towel when ready to fry.
4. Mix the milk and hot sauce together.
5. Add the drained shrimp and toss to fully coat with milk.
6. Place the flour in a small bowl or deep container.
7. Add the salt and pepper and whisk to incorporate.
8. Fill a deep pot with peanut oil and heat up on stove top to 350⁰ F—use a candy or frying thermometer.
9. Remove the shrimp from the bowl with milk and drop into the flour.
10. Toss the shrimp well in the seasoned flour to fully coat.
11. Place the shrimp in a wire basket if you have one. Gently shake off excess flour.
12. Carefully place the shrimp in hot oil.
13. Fry the shrimp for about 1-2 minutes or until lightly golden brown in color.
14. Remove from oil and place on a wire rack to drain; then transfer to the paper towel to complete the draining process.
15. Serve while warm with red cocktail sauce, or your favorite seafood dipping sauce.

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ChefSecret:  The big secret is evaporated milk—use it for the best results. Test fry up a couple shrimp to test the oil for perfect frying and flavor. Give it a taste to see if little more salt or pepper needs to be added to the flour mixture.

Quip of the Day: Life is like pantyhose. It all depends on what you put into it.
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Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to [email protected]. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/perspectives-on-food.
 
We also have 1,000 archived Covid Era recipes that you can easily access using this link https://www.perspectives-la.com/Covid-19-Survival-Guide. Use the search box above our pictures to find what you’re looking for.
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, positive, kind, thankful, and stay well and safe. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to Feeding America, Tunnel to Towers, Union Rescue Mission, Samaritan’s Purse and/or American Red Cross.

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