Crunchy Coconut-Peanut Tilapia
With a name like “Crunchy Coconut-Peanut Tilapia” you expect the dish to be crunchy but to also taste like, maybe, coconut and peanut, right? Well, that was my assumption at least. Unfortunately, while it was nice and crunchy, it did not live up to the other two-thirds of its name.
Ryan and I both loved the texture of the panko-peanut crust, but the fish itself was quite bland. When I told him that the fish had marinated in curry powder, Ryan was shocked. I will say that the thinner pieces of fish, where there was more of a peanut taste were actually really good, but the thicker pieces were just blah.
In yet another frozen seafood complaint, my frozen tilapia from Kroger was very fishy. I typically LOVE tilapia and keep a bag of it in my freezer almost always, but this was just not good. You get what you pay for, I suppose. I believe that played some part in this recipe’s failure. My other problem was that the recipe didn’t make enough “breading” and I ended up coating one piece in just the panko instead of the panko-peanut combination. That piece was the worst, confirming that the peanut crust really did add something necessary.
Overall, this just wasn’t good. Ryan is now eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and I turned my piece into “buffalo tilapia” dousing it in Frank’s Red Hot. I will definitely try coating things in the panko-peanut coating again, but I doubt I will marinade it in the coconut milk since that seemed to add nothing other than several WW Points. This gets two stars simply because I’m at least inspired to play with the recipe a bit.
Crunchy Coconut-Peanut Tilapia
12 ounces tilapia
¼ cup coconut milk
¼ teaspoon curry powder
3 tablespoons panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons roasted peanuts
Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
Stir together coconut milk and curry powder, and pour over fish in a shallow baking dish. Turn fish to coat both sides and let sit for about 10 minutes.
Pulse peanuts and panko together in a food processor or blender; season with salt and pepper. Pour the crumbs onto a plate. Remove fish from coconut milk and press both sides into the crumbs, then gently place on the baking sheet or broiler pan.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until opaque in the center. If desired, turn on broiler for the last couple of minutes to get the top extra-crispy.
Source: Two Novice Chefs, One Tiny Kitchen
2 servings | 7 POINTS
The Not So Skinny Kitchen 