Oven fried coconut squid with mango-lime-cilantro salad

This is an example of fortuitously having some weird ingredients in my pantry, and wanting to use some of them up. So what do you make when you have squid, dessicated coconut powder, tons of cilantro, a couple of ripe mangos, and some long-living green beans?

Salad:
2 ripe mangos, cut into chunks
1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
1 largeish lime, juiced
1 bunch cilantro, diced coarsely
1 inch ginger, grated
1 jalapeno, deseeded and diced
several baby carrots, grated
2 tbsp dessicated coconut powder
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp honey
Handful green beans, chopped into roughly 1 inch sections

Directions: Toss everything together well, and let sit for at least 30 minutes to let flavors meld.

Oven fried coconut squid
1/2 lb tubes and tentacles (sounds so nefarious, but the tentacles are so key in getting that crunch factor!
1 egg, beaten
1 cup panko bread crumbs
2 tbsp dessicated coconut
1tsp sea salt
Chili sauce (we used Grandma's from Whole Foods, which goes SUPER well with squid)

Directions: Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a non stick baking sheet well with olive oil, or really whatever cooking spray you have handy. Combine dry ingredients in a shallow bowl. Toss squid into the egg after rising well and patting dry, and coat well. One by one (this is important for mega crusty goodness), pat the squid into the bread crumb mixture and transfer to the baking sheet. When you're done, give the tops a good spray with oil, and pop in the oven until golden brown and crispy, about 10-15 minutes.

Serve with coconut-lime rice and ENJOY!

Photos by Ben : heliotrope.ucsd.edu