Florida Cuisine: How to Make Coconut Fish Nuggets

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Initially, I posted a picture of these fish nuggets on my personal Facebook page and got a huge response. I wasn’t going to post the recipe until I realized that South Florida cuisine is a foreign food to most people. Further, I made up this recipe based on some local ingredients. This was originally based on a quinoa fish nugget recipe from Cooking Light May 2017, but I changed it so much its not recognizable.

Likewise I often use Cooking Light as inspiration for my daily cooking as they have quick and healthy recipes. Therefore I have included these sponsored links for those that would like to order a subscription or get a “best of” book.

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South Florida Cuisine

Ingredients

3/4 cup of crushed corn chips (great way to use up the crumbs at the bottom of the bag)
1/2 cup toasted coconut
1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup millet flour, (any flour will do)
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. lemon pepper seasoning
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 cup 2 % milk
egg
a pound of halibut or cod fish cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp. pickle relish
1 tbsp. Frank’s hot sauce

We have a coconut tree out in front of our house. Consequently, every few weeks my husband cuts a bunch down and drills holes in them for the coconut water. During the rainy season the inside meat is gelatinous so I blend it up to use in recipes for coconut milk. During the rest of the year the inside meat is drier so I chop it up in my food processor, and toast it on parchment paper at a low temperature in the oven. Then I place it in a jar in my pantry until needed. It makes a great topping for salads in addition to using it for coating chicken and fish.

In addition here is a sponsored link for the food processor I use:

Directions

Initially, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Subsequently spray the parchment paper with cooking spray.
Next mix corn chips and toasted coconut on high in food processor in order to break up any remaining chunks of chips and place in a shallow dish.
Then mix flours, paprika, lemon pepper, and garlic powder together in a separate dish.
After that, mix egg and milk together in a shallow bowl.
Then dredge fish pieces in flour to coat and dip in egg mixture.
In addition, coat the pieces in the coconut/corn chip mixture. Place on the baking sheet, and coat with cooking spray.
Consequently, bake for 14 minutes flipping half way through the cooking time.

Florida Cuisine: Spicy Sauces

Shows a picture of Florida cuisine: spicy tartar sauce — Spicy tartar sauce

shows typical Florida cuisine, fish nuggets with spicy honey sauce — spicy honey sauce

Meanwhile, mix mayonnaise, pickle relish, vinegar, and hot sauce in a bowl. I usually store it in a recycled mustard squeeze bottle. As a result it makes using it easier, plus you can shake away any lumps.

Similarly, you can mix equal parts of hot sauce and honey for a sweeter dipping sauce.

Salad Ingredients

greens (arugula, spinach, etc.)
sliced onion
tomatoes
cucumber
pepperochini
olives
chili dressing

Mainly you can mix whatever salad ingredients you want. I often add fresh herbs from my garden such as basil or parsley. Also I occasionally add mango when it is in season here. Cut the vegetables in whatever size you want and toss in a bowl. I usually scoop the seeds out of the cucumbers. Then I toss all the vegetable scraps in my compost. The seeds usually make for surpring garden growth during the spring.

Chili Dressing Ingredients

1/4 cup of olive oil
teaspoon salt
1/4 cup lime juice
teaspoon chili powder
1/4 cup honey

Mix ingredients together in a jar. Again, I recycle mustard squeeze bottles. They make great dressing and sauce containers.

Of course a good Florida beer goes well with our Florida cuisine. We recommend Miami Weiss, a Hefeweizen from Mia Beer. You can buy this at Total Wine.

Bon Appetit!

Foreign Food Experiences

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