Homemade Coconut Shrimp Recipe
Today we’re bringing a restaurant favorite home with this golden-delicious coconut shrimp recipe. With their lightly tropical, well-rounded flavor and a crisp golden shell of breading, they’re absolutely irresistible. In the past, I’d struggled with perfectly crusting the shrimp, with bald patches of exposed shrimp and stringy bits of coconut that fell off too easily, so I resolved to perfect this recipe for an even, golden, crisp coating every time. I use a special trick (similar to the one I use with my mozzarella sticks) to get the breading nice and even, and it’s a major game changer! Serve these alongside some homemade potato chips or fries and a side of pineapple salsa, and you’ve got yourself a vacation-worthy meal right at home. For dipping, we like to use a simple sweet chili sauce sweetened with a bit of apricot preserves (not-so-homemade, but fast and tasty!). You could always dip directly into chili sauce or use one of your other your favorite dips, though. This coconut shrimp recipe would also make a great appetizer for New Year’s Eve (we always do shrimp here on New Year’s). Or, if you prefer a more savory option, try my garlic butter shrimp!
What You Need
You know the drill, let’s discuss a few of the key ingredients needed to make coconut shrimp:
Shrimp. You can use fresh or previously frozen raw shrimp (as you can see, mine are still frozen in this photo, always thaw before using). I like to use extra large shrimp for the perfect two-bite treat, but any size will work. Make sure you remove the shells (but leave the tails!) before coating.Oil. Use a good, neutral oil for frying (one that can handle high temperatures), like vegetable oil or peanut oil. Panko & Sweetened shredded coconut. This will make up that crisp, amazing and slightly tropical breading. Combine these two in a food processor and pulse until the coconut is fine for an even breading. Spices. Salt, garlic powder, and cayenne flavor add some extra flavor to the shrimp. Cayenne adds a bit of heat; I feel like I use a subtle amount that adds just a hint of spice. Feel free to omit this entirely if you don’t want any spice, or bump it up if you’re a spicy food aficionado.
SAM’S TIP: Thaw frozen shrimp by placing it in the refrigerator overnight, or to thaw it faster simply place it in a bowl of cool water. Change the water periodically until the shrimp have thawed (it won’t take too long). Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Coconut Shrimp
A note on the food processor step: Many coconut shrimp recipes skip this step and just toss together panko and coconut. However, I found that when I tried this my shrimp had trouble holding on to the breading; it became patchy and not as crisp as I’d like with errant, too-stringy bits of coconut. To remedy this, I pulse everything in the food processor a few times. The shrimp hold onto this breading beautifully with flawless golden, perfectly crisp coverage and plenty of flavor. SAM’S TIP: When dipping your shrimp, make sure the egg coating completely covers the flour before moving over to the panko/coconut. Sometimes after dipping, even if you think you’ve completely dipped the shrimp, the egg will slip right off and leave bare patches of flour that the breading can’t adhere to. Take a second, dip the shrimp in egg, watch the excess drip off, and then re-dip iff there are any bare patches of flour showing. SAM’S TIP: Just like when we made donut holes, you’ll want to let your oil come back to temperature between batches of shrimp. Placing your shrimp in oil that is too cold will result in a greasy, soggy breading. Always keep a close eye on that thermometer! This coconut shrimp recipe is my last post for 2022! Thank you so much for baking with me this year 💜. I’ll see you on Monday for my first post of 2023! Happy New Year! Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Related Recipes
