Coconut Shrimp

Servings: 1lb of shrimp

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 15 min

Coconut shrimp is not a dish that you see in most restaurants but recently, my husband and I have been ordering it any chance we see it in a menu. The crispiness combined with the sweet flavor of the coconut creates the perfect combination to enjoy this seafood dish. Besides the amazing taste of coconut shrimp, I have to admit that my absolute favorite part about this dish is the sauce. I have tried a couple of different sauces for this dish, some of them more creamy, mayo based and some others more tropical. For this recipe, I decided to go with the tropical mango base sauce and they came out so good! Although this is considered an appetizer, we had it as our main meal just because we couldn't have enough. I hope you like this recipe as much as we do. Feel free to leave me a comment and feedback about what you think.

What type of shrimp to use for the perfect Coconut Shrimp

The type of shrimp to use is important not just for this recipe but for any recipe because in my opinion, it plays with the flavor a lot. From experience, for cooked dishes, is better to use raw (purple) shrimp versus using cooked shrimp (pink) because it releases that incredible seafood flavor. The size of the shrimp will vary on what you can find but try not to choose a shrimp that is too small because keep in mind that they shrink as you cook them. A large, jumbo shrimp will do just fine. The down side of using raw shrimp is that a lot of them still come with a shell and vein. If you can find peeled and deveined shrimp it will save you a lot of time, but if not, save 10 minutes aside to prep it before getting started.

Ingredients you will need

• Shrimp: Large or Jumbo raw preferably, peeled and deveined.

• Panko: Japanese breadcrumbs to help the coconut crisp

• Coconut flakes: you can find this in the baking isle. Sweetened is better in my opinion but you can get unsweet and add a bit of sugar to the mix

• Egg: beaten

• Milk: any type just to help the egg

• All purpose flour: for breading

• Spices: salt, pepper, paprika, onion and garlic powder. (sugar is optional if you want the batter a bit sweet.

• Oil: I used vegetable oil but olive oil or canola oil will work.

• Mango: I used frozen (defrosted) but fresh mango will be even better.

• Sweet chili sauce: to be mixed with the mango puree

• Chili flakes: If you want them a bit more spicy.

I highly encourage you to try this dish if you are in the mood for some seafood. If you have any leftovers you can heat up the oven at 350° and place them in a tray to heat them up for 10 minutes. You can also freeze them and bake them at 400° for at least 15 min checking and flipping them in 5 minutes intervals.