- 1/4 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
- 1 skinless boneless chicken breast (1/2 lb)
- 1 pummelo or 2 grapefruit
- 2 teaspoons dried shrimp
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 cup canned unsweetened coconut cream or unsweetened coconut milk (not cream of coconut) at room temperature, stirred well
- 2 to 4 fresh red Thai chiles (to taste, each 1 1/2 to 2 inches), minced
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 jumbo shrimp in shell (10 to 12 per lb)
- 1/4 cup Asian rice flour (not sweet)
- About 4 cups vegetable oil for frying
- Special equipment: an electric coffee/ spice grinder; a deep-fat thermometer
- Garnish: fresh cilantro leaves
- Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
- Sprinkle coconut in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan and toast, stirring once or twice, until evenly golden, 8 to 10 minutes. (Watch carefully; edges burn quickly.)
- Meanwhile, cover chicken with cold water in a 2-quart saucepan and simmer over moderate heat until just cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove chicken, discarding cooking liquid, and, when cool enough to handle, shred into 1/2-inch-thick pieces in a large bowl.
- Cut peel, including most of white pith, from pummelo with a sharp knife. (Peel is very thick.) Using your hands, split pummelo from center of one end, like an orange. Pull off interior pith and remove segments 1 at a time, then remove segment membranes and any small seeds, separating pulp. (Fruit may remain in small clumps.) Add pummelo pulp to chicken.
- Grind dried shrimp into small pieces in grinder, about 20 seconds. Heat a dry 8-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, then cook dried shrimp, shaking skillet, until pale golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl.
- Whisk together lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, coconut cream, toasted coconut, chiles, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a small bowl, then stir into pummelo mixture.
- Halve jumbo shrimp lengthwise with a sharp large knife, leaving shells in place. Devein, rinse, and pat dry. Season with remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt and dredge in rice flour, shaking off excess.
- Heat 1 inch oil in a 4- to 6-quart pot over moderately high heat until it registers 375°F on thermometer. Fry shrimp in shells in 2 batches until golden, about 3 to 5 minutes per batch, returning oil to 375°F between batches. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
- Serve pummelo salad topped with fried jumbo shrimp (peeled if desired) and sprinkled with toasted dried shrimp.
- Ingredients available at Asian markets, (866-438-4642), and (877-811-8773).