Crispy Coconut Shrimp
We’ve added curry for extra oomph in this Crispy Coconut Shrimp but if it’s not your thing, add a bit of your favorite spice. It’s easy and delicious!
I uncovered a stash of large shrimp the other day and had it in my mind to make something with them. I have one of those refrigerators with the pull out freezer drawer; you just never know what you are going to find in there…am I right? Luckily I was in the mood to try a recipe for Crispy Coconut Shrimp. Perfect timing.
That recipe was made to be gluten free so I had to do some further research to get a recipe using panko which are bread crumbs with gluten. In doing so I noticed that every recipe was pretty much identical in their ingredients and decided to not mess with success…someone surely knew this dish better than me so I forged ahead.
I am so grateful I only cooked half of that stash. Now, I won’t go so far as to say they were bad but they were sure bland. I had thought that only a half teaspoon of salt was pretty light-handed considering it was a pound of shrimp and quite a bit of other ingredients. The coating included flour, eggs, coconut and panko and I wish I had gone with my first instincts and upped the salt a bit. But beyond that?
Crispy Coconut Shrimp still needed something else. The bland wasn’t just from lack of salt so I tried a second time and came up with a winner. I don’t often go through multiple trials with recipes I’m working on but this time I’m grateful I did…the effort was minimal but the end result was vastly improved.
Beyond doubling the salt, I decided that I wanted to ditch the notion of unsweetened coconut and use a sweetened version while also adding both curry and garlic powder to the mix. The big difference?
The first batch of Crispy Coconut Shrimp needed the Chili Sauce to be good and the 2nd did not…the coconut flavor was more pronounced and the addition of just a bit of spice really pumped up the volume. I can’t say it tasted like curry or garlic but it sure tasted good!
I started with a smallish amount…you might try adding a bit more of the curry if you really like that flavor, I probably will too the next time I make it! Here are the ingredients I used for my final dish (ingredient list and instructions at bottom of post):
- 1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 Tbsp water
- 3/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 1 lb raw shrimp peeled with tails on
- Oil for frying – I used canola oil flavored with 2 Tbsp of butter; butter is optional
- Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce (I used Mae Ploy; but it’s also optional)
- Lemon Wedges…I like to spritz just a hint of fresh juice on the shrimp and then garnish each serving with a lemon wedge.
Don’t let the frying business for Crispy Coconut Shrimp scare you off either; a bit of oil in a skillet and it was quick and easy. I do like to add a bit of butter or ghee to my oil when I fry something to add just a touch of flavor. Try it, you might like it too.
Crispy Coconut Shrimp are meant to be an appetizer but quite frankly…with some rice and a simple salad it became dinner. I do love small bites for dinner but it’s usually at a restaurant when my friends and I order multiple appetizers. This time we did it at home and I recommend you do the same!
More Shrimp Dishes
- Indian Stir Fried Shrimp in Tomato Cream Sauce
- Shrimp Scampi and Parmesan Cheese Dip
- Thai Butternut Squash Soup with Shrimp
- Caribbean Shrimp and Grits
- Thai Peanut Shrimp Skewers with Pineapple and Red Pepper
- New England Bloody Mary with Shrimp Cocktail
PIN IT! ‘Crispy Coconut Shrimp’
Crispy Coconut Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1 cup sweetened coconut grated
- ¾ cup panko breadcrumbs
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 lb raw shrimp peeled with tails on
- Oil for frying – I used canola oil flavored with 2 Tbsp of butter; butter is optional
- Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce I used Mae Ploy; but it’s also optional
Garnish
- Lemon Wedges
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300F
- Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and place the grated coconut on it in single layer.
- Place the baking sheet in the center of the oven for five minutes, remove from the oven and stir them around and bake for up to five more minutes until they are a very light golden color and completely dry (watch carefully). Remove from oven and let cool.
- Mix the cooled coconut with the panko in a shallow bowl.
- Mix the flour, curry powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper in another shallow bowl.
- Beat the eggs and water together in a third bowl.
- Add about 1/2 inch of oil, along with the butter if using, to a large heavy bottomed pan such as a cast iron skillet and heat until rippling.
- Set up a dipping station with the three bowls in this order; first the flour, then the eggs and last the panko and coconut mixture.
- Hold the shrimp by the tail and dip it in the order of the bowls; first flour, shaking off excess, then eggs, then the coconut/panko combination (yes I make sure to pile it on!).
- Fry the shrimp in small batches, about 2-3 minutes per side, being careful to not crowd the pan.
- Cover a plate with paper towels; remove the shrimp from the pan with tongs and let drain on the paper towels. Let cool for a minute and serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Great recipe! I had leftover handmade sweetened coconut from the macaroon recipe, so I decided to buy shrimp to use it up. I’d never made coconut shrimp before, but they were delicious—and our six-year-old even decided she likes shrimp after all. I’ll definitely make this again when we have company.
This Crispy Coconut Shrimp recipe is amazing. I love how the curry adds that extra flavor definitely going to try it next time.
I have an amazing coconut shrimp recipe that was passed down through the ages, it’s not quite like yours and includes a few more ingredients that I can never find in Colorado, however, I’ll be giving your recipe a try since we just love coconut shrimp at our house.
I often find some acid (lemon juice, vinegar) helps bland things. Brings out the flavor, somehow. Anyway, these are gorgeous! Bet they taste wonderful. 🙂 Thanks!