With Ayesha Curry, go down memory lane via food, of course!

Curry tells people in this week’s issue that she is constantly creating new recipes, whether they are for her family’s dinners or her new cookbook, The Full Plate. She says that she frequently draws inspiration from her history.

Consider her pancake-battered coconut shrimp. The meal was inspired by her favorite order from Outback Steakhouse when she first started dating NBA player Stephen Curry.

“When Stephen and I were dating, there was nothing he loved more than a Red Baron pizza and going to the local Outback steakhouse,” Curry writes in the magazine The Full Plate.

“I remember his order like it was yesterday: Caesar Salad, 6-ounce Victoria’s Filet Mignon, Aussie Cheese Fries, and the occasional No Rules Parmesan Pasta.”

“I, on the other hand, always opted for the coconut shrimp,” she says, “which I have always had a soft spot for in my heart.”

She improved the meal by coating the shrimp in pancake mix and then frying them till golden brown, making them “even better.” (See the complete recipe below and in this week’s issue.)Ayesha Curry Offers Tips That Helped Her Homeschool Her Children: “We’re Getting Through It”

The mother of Riley, 8, Ryan, 5, and Canon, 2, tells people, “Now my kids love them!” “Kids are naturally drawn to anything fried, but these, in particular, have that salty-sweet thing going on that is a universal crowd-pleaser.”

Seeing children taste foods from my past is incredible. It never fails to remind me of the reasons I initially fell in love with food,” she continues. “That ability to connect people through a flavor or a dish is really like nothing else.”

Ayesha Curry’s Pancake-Battered Coconut Shrimp

Use canola oil when frying.

One cup of pancake mix (Krustekaz, for example), divided

Half a cup of dark ale beer


One big egg

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus additional for drizzling

Two cups of shredded coconut, sweetened, split

One pound of large, peeled, deveined, uncooked shrimp with the tail on

1. Fill a medium-heavy-bottomed pot with oil to a depth of one inch, and heat over medium-high heat until the oil reaches 360° on a deep-frying thermometer. Place paper towels on the baking sheet and set it aside.

2. Fill a sizable basin with ¼ cup of pancake mix. In a second large basin, combine beer, egg, salt, ½ cup coconut, and remaining ¾ cup pancake mix; stir until batter is well blended. Transfer the remaining 1½ cups of coconut to a plate with a rim.

3. Use paper towels to pat the shrimp dry. Then, put it in a bowl with the dry pancake mix and toss to coat. One covered shrimp at a time, holding it by its tail, dip it into the batter, allowing any extra to fall out, and then gently press and roll it in the coconut flour to ensure a thorough coating. Transfer the shrimp coated in coconut to a platter.

4. Fry a few shrimp at a time, working in batches, in heated oil for about two minutes, rotating once, or until golden brown. Transfer the shrimp to the prepared baking sheet using a slotted spoon, then immediately sprinkle with salt. After using up all of the shrimp, skim the oil to get rid of any residual batter. Warm up the food.

Serves: 4.

20 minutes are spent actively.

In all, twenty minutes

Amazon.com is currently selling The Full Plate: Flavor-Filled, Easy Recipes for Families with No Time and a Lot to Do.

Pick up Friday’s edition of PEOPLE, which is now on newsstands, for more from Ayesha Curry.