Cornmeal-Crusted Shrimp with an Apple-Scotchi Sauce

I have an obsession with Coconut Shrimp. That is like my go-to appetizer everywhere I go :) But...woman shall not live by coconut alone so...here goes cornmeal crusted shrimp. I also love sweet chili sauce but...this time I wanted to put a Jamaican spin on it so I went for scotch bonnet peppers instead. The apple juice, well...I thought "fruits go well with spice so why not" :) Be sure to use clean oil in order to get that nice golden brown colour. I used three different coloured scotchbonnet peppers but if you like the idea of a red sauce go ahead and use only red scotch bonnet peppers. The red will give you a richer colour too. I used gloves when doing this sauce not just for my sake but also Baby Logan :). Please bare in mind that Scotch Bonnet has a heat rating of about 100,000 - 400,000 Scouville units. Dat mean IT HOT! Spicy food lovers roll out! If you're scared of too much heat just use less pepper and remove the seeds and white membrane of the pepper. You may toss the shrimp with the sauce or use it as a dip on the side. Happy cooking guys!

INGREDIENTS

Canola Oil for deepfrying

20 large raw black tiger shrimp, peeled, deveined, butterflied

2 cups yellow cornmeal

1 1/2 cup flour

1 large egg

1/4 cup water

Apple-Scotchi Sauce Ingredients:

3/4 cup apple juice*

2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon garlic, finely minced

2 - 3 tablespoons finely chopped scotch bonnet pepper*

2/3 cup golden brown sugar

1/3 cup rice vinegar

1/2 - 1 teaspoon salt

METHOD

1. Preheat your deepfryer to 360 degrees F or use a thermometer and a deep pot.

2. In a bowl beat the egg and 1/4 cup water together. Coat each shrimp in flour then dip and coat with egg wash then finally dip and coat in the cornmeal. Place all the coated shrimp on a plate and chill for at least 5 minutes.

3. While the shrimp is chilling you may start the sauce. Using a blender, puree ALL the sauce ingredents except the corntarch and water. I like to see little flecks of pepper in the sauce so I don't puree it completely. Add this pureed mixture to a saucepan over medium-high heat and simmer.

4. Let the sauce reduce over the heat till the sugar is completely dissolved and the sauce is bubbling. In a small bowl mix the corstarch with the 2 tablespoons water and stir that in quickly to make the sauce even thicker if you desire.

5. Remove the shrimp from the refrigerator and fry in small batches of 4 or 5 depending on the size of your fryer or pot. Frying too many at once will lower the temperature and can make the shrimp greasy. Cook each batch for about 3 mins.

6. You may toss the hot shrimp with the sauce in a large bowl or spoon the sauce over the shrimp.

7. Serve immediately.

YIELD: about 3 servings as entree

RECIPE NOTES

*Use less sugar if the apple juice is very sweet

*Remove seeds and white membranes of pepper to decrease heat