Fried Coconut Shrimp with Dipping Sauce

Coconut fried shrimp on serving platter with dipping sauce.

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5 from 5 votes

Fried Coconut Shrimp with Dipping Sauce

Restaurant-quality Coconut Fried Shrimp with a yogurt based "sweet heat" dipping sauce

Prep Time20

Cook Time5

Freeze20

Total Time45

Course: Appetizer, Entree

Cuisine: International

Servings: shrimp

Calories: 324kcal

Author: Anecia Hero

Equipment

Thermometer
Long-handled tongs

Ingredients

Shrimp & Batter Ingredients

1½ pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined; leave tails on large (about 18 shrimp)
1 large egg lightly beaten
¾ cup all-purpose flour, divided (½ cup for the wet batter; ¼ cup for the coconut mixture)
⅔ cup beer or club soda (any kind); See Recipe Notes Below)
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt, divided (¼ teaspoon for wet batter; ¼ teaspoon for coconut flakes)
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
2 cups oil (SEE RECIPE NOTES) high heat (for frying; not for the batter)
4 cups coconut sweetened, divided (SEE RECIPE NOTES)

Dipping Sauce Ingredients

⅔ cup Greek yogurt , plain (about 5 oz.)
2 tablespoons Sweet Chili Sauce
2 teaspoons pineapple , crushed
salt to taste

Instructions

Peel, devein and butterfly shrimp; leave tails on; pat dry. (If you don't pat the shrimp dry, the batter won't stick)
1½ pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined; leave tails on
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together: ½ cup flour, beer (or club soda), egg, baking powder and salt and (include cayenne if using)
1 large egg, ¾ cup all-purpose flour, divided, ⅔ cup beer or club soda, 1½ teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt, divided, ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
In a flat plate or bowl, combine coconut, ¼ teaspoon alt and ¼ cup flour (SEE RECIPE NOTES); set aside
¾ cup all-purpose flour, divided, 4 cups coconut, ½ teaspoon salt, divided
Dip shrimp in the flour/beer mixture then in the coconut mixture; place on parchment lined baking sheet; freeze for 15-20 minutes; (make the sauce now)
Heat oil to 350º; place 5 shrimp in hot oil; fry for about 1-minute; flip and fry another minute; repeat until they're golden brown
2 cups oil (SEE RECIPE NOTES)
Place on paper towel and drain
Repeat process until all shrimp are fried
Garnish with parsley and serve with dipping sauce

Dipping Sauce Instructions

Drain yogurt and place in medium mixing bowl
⅔ cup Greek yogurt
Add remaining ingredients; combine well; add salt to taste
2 tablespoons Sweet Chili Sauce, 2 teaspoons pineapple, salt to taste

Notes

Be sure to pat the shrimp dry with a paper towel; otherwise, the batter doesn't stick

I highly recommend using a pair of long handled tongs when adding, flipping and removing the shrimp. The cold shrimp splatter when they hit the hot oil.

Beer - Use any beer you like; the reason for adding beer is the carbonation makes the batter nice and fluffy; if you don't have beer, use carbonated water or club soda.

Coconut/Flour mixture:

Start with 2 cups coconut and 1/4 cup of flour
The coconut/flour mixture gets clumpy after you've coated about 12 shrimp; when this happens, throw out the clumpy and mix together a second batch using the remainder of coconut and flour

Oil:

The exact amount of oil will depend upon the size of your skillet and the number of shrimp
Use enough oil to almost cover the shrimp
(I used a 10" inch skillet for 18 shrimp and 2 cups of oil was enough)

Nutrition