Coconut shrimp was one of the first meals I had when we were on Maui a few years back. To tell you the truth, before then, I didn’t understand what the fuss was about. And though it’s been a few years, I still can remember how deliciously succulent the shrimp were and how crunchy and sweet the coconut coating was on the outside! One bite of these crunchy coconut-crusted shrimp and I’ve transported back to island life all over again—a tropical vacation all in one bite. Not even kidding when I say I dream about these fried coconut-crusted shrimp!
Since we’ve come back, I’ve been working my way through all the delicacies that Maui has to offer. It started with the garlic noodles, that the Hawaiian shrimp scampi, and now I’m circling back to the coconut shrimp that we had as our first dinner in Hawaii. If you’ve ever had coconut shrimp at a restaurant, you know they aren’t the cheapest appetizers on the menu. Even the frozen stuff you get at the grocery store comes with a pretty hefty price tag. You could easily make a huge batch of homemade Hawaiian coconut shrimp for about the same price you’d pay at a restaurant. But you get way more! Plus, I’ll give you tips along the way so you can easily prep these ahead of time for A New Year’s Eve party, a game night, the big game, and pretty much any other occasion where you want to get a few people together!
Peeled and deveined shrimp: though almost anything from medium to extra-jumbo shrimp would work for this recipe, it’s important to remember that the cooking time will vary quite a bit from medium to jumbo shrimp! For this recipe, I used jumbo shrimp (21-25/ lb.), but you could also use extra-large (26-30/lb.), and the cooking time should only vary by 30 seconds or so. Sweetened shredded coconut flakes: This ingredient is usually available in most grocery stores. I found it in the baking aisle next to the chocolate chips. Keep in mind that this recipe calls for sweetened shredded coconut. Panko bread crumbs: We use a combination of shredded coconut and Panko crumbs to coat the shrimp, which gives it a lovely sort of crunchy and sweet texture. All-purpose flour: we dredge the shrimp in flour first. Garlic powder + salt: we use these two ingredients to give the flour mixture some much-needed flavor Eggs: dredging the shrimp in eggs in step number two before we add them to the final coconut/panko mixture.
The good news is that you can make coconut shrimp in the air fryer! We tested the recipe both ways and found the air fryer ones to be less greasy and totally delicious! I recently purchased this one, and I can’t believe I waited this long to hop on the air fryer train!
How to make the most killer shrimp dipping sauce:
This sauce is sweet, creamy, and a little tangy. The sauce I like to serve with crispy fried shrimp is almost like dynamite sauce. It’s not spicy at all, but it is totally addicting. Can you tell I’m a firm believer in that half of the magic of coconut shrimp is the dipping sauce? For this recipe you’ll need:
sweet chili sauce – I picked up the sweet chili sauce from the international aisle of my grocery store where they keep all the Asian items. a couple of teaspoons of mayo – The mayo is just regular mayo from the condiment aisle a generous squeeze of lime juice – fresh lime juice tends to work best for this recipe
Just whisk it all in a bowl, and you’re ready to serve. Fair warning: if you’re big on sauce in general, you’ll automatically want to double the recipe.
Tips for making coconut shrimp:
If you’re looking for a way to reheat the leftover coconut shrimp, I like to do so in an air fryer on the ‘reheat’ setting or in a traditional oven (at 400ºF) for about 6-10 minutes.
