Coconut Shrimp With Sweet And Spicy Dipping Sauce
Crispy coconut shrimp with sweet chili dipping sauce is an easy tropical appetizer that you’ll be craving all summer long. Pair it with a refreshing cocktail for an at-home happy hour!
Ingredients
Coconut Shrimp
- 12 extra large frozen shrimp
- ⅓ cup flour
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons coconut milk
- ½ cup panko
- ½ cup sweetened coconut flakes
- Vegetable oil for frying
Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons chili garlic sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
Instructions
Make the sweet chili dipping sauce
- Combine the brown sugar, chili garlic sauce, and rice vinegar in a microwave safe bowl and whisk to combine.
- Then microwave the sauce for 1.5 minutes, stir well to make sure it's fully combined, and refridgerate for at least 30 minutes to cool.
Make the coconut shrimp
- Defrost the shrimp and remove the tails.
- Make the breading mixture. Combine panko and coconut flakes in a food processor and pulse until the coconut has broken up. You want the coconut and panko to be similar in size. A couple larger flakes of coconut are okay as they'll help give the coconut shrimp it's classic look. Transfer this to a shallow bowl for coating the shrimp and set aside.
- Add the egg and coconut milk to a bowl and whisk vigorously until combined and set aside. In a separate bowl, combined the flour, salt, and pepper.
- Set up a dredging station with the breading and the liquid and dry dredging components. Coat the shrimp first in the flour, making sure it’s entirely covered pressing it in to coat well. Then dip the shrimp into the egg and coconut milk mixture to coat thoroughly. Lastly, coat the shrimp in the breading, once again pressing it in to make sure you get a good, consistent coating.
- Once all the shrimp are breaded, you're ready to fry. Heat about a quarter inch of oil in a heavy bottomed pan over medium to medium high heat and allow it to get to temp. As a point of reference, we aim to keep the oil between 350 and 375 degrees for frying. Once the oil is hot, add the shrimp in batches as to not over-crowd the pan. Fry the shrimp for about 2 minutes per side until it's golden brown and crispy.
- Once the shrimp are fried, transfer them to a paper towel lined plate or wire rack to drain. We like to use a slotted spoon to transfer the shrimp from the frying pan to the rack, so that excess oil can drain back into the pan first.
- Serve the coconut shrimp hot with the sweet chili garlic dipping sauce!
Notes
Shallow frying - We found shallow frying our shrimp to be the best cooking method, as deep frying easily leads to overheated oil and a burnt breading. Because of the sugars in the coconut flakes that make up the breading, the shrimp can cook, and burn, very quickly if you’re not careful. To make this recipe easier, we opted for the slower shallow frying process.
Oil temp - Make sure you give the oil time to get hot before adding the shrimp to the pan. We find that about 350 to 375 degrees is best for frying. If the oil isn’t hot enough, you’ll need to cook the shrimp for a couple extra minutes on the first side for it to get the proper golden brown - but this also means that the breading will soak up extra oil during cooking, so it won’t be quite as crispy.
Remove the tails - Remove the tails after defrosting the shrimp and before breading them. That way they’re ready for you and your guests to snack on with no work or worries!
Don’t skip the food processor - Breaking down the coconut flakes helps them to stick to the shrimp and give a more consistent texture and flavor.
Coconut milk - Yes, we know it’s annoying to open a whole can of coconut milk just to use a few tablespoons. But we found it absolutely necessary for the flavor in this recipe! If you’re not sure what to use the rest of the can for, try making our pineapple curry or coconut red lentil soup (these both go great with a side of coconut shrimp!).
Serving suggestions - Enjoy coconut shrimp as an appetizer, happy hour snack, or even a main! Check out our blog post above for more suggestions.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 475kcal | Carbohydrates: 69g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 190mg | Sodium: 1123mg | Potassium: 391mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 39g | Vitamin A: 135IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 112mg | Iron: 3mg
