Last night, I had a taste craving for Coconut Shrimp. Red Lobster has some fabulous coconut shrimp, as do a number of other places, but I had eaten out for lunch and was feeling like I should do something at home. After a couple of quick searches for recipes, we headed off to the grocery store to get the items we didn’t have on hand. Below are the recipes that we used, along with links to the reference recipes. I think we’ll try a few variations in the future, but the first attempt was fantastic!
Ingredients
1 lb extra large shrimp, uncooked
7oz package shredded coconut
2 eggs
1 TBS Coco Lopez + water to make 1/4 cup liquid
1 TBS granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup flour
2/3 cup cornstarch, divided in half
Vegetable Oil for frying
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup crushed & drained pineapple
1/2 cup Coco Lopez
Instructions
- Peel, de-vein and butterfly the shrimp. It’s best to leave the tails on so they’re a bit easier to eat.
- Pat the shrimp dry with a paper towel – you want them as dry as possible.
- Mix the 2 eggs and the liquid mix (water + Coco Lopez – I used about a tablespoon of the creme of coconut before the can was mixed up, so it has a very dense consistency – put that into the 1/4 cup measuring cup and then filled water to make 1/4 cup total).
- Mix the flour, sugar, salt, coconut and 1/3 cup cornstarch together
- Dip the shrimp in the plain cornstarch, then the egg wash, and finally in the coconut mixture. Then, fry for a minute or so in hot oil until the coconut is brown/crispy. Shrimp cooks really quickly, but it’s best to cut the first one to be sure your oil is hot enough to be cooking them through!
- Put cooked shrimp on a paper towel to drain some of the oil and then you’re ready to eat!
Dipping Sauce
Mix the sour cream, crushed pineapple and 1/2 cup Coco Lopez together to make a fantastic dipping sauce for the coconut shrimp. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe sources:
Outback Gold Coast Shrimp Recipe with Creole Marmalade
Joe’s Crab Shack Coconut Shrimp Recipe with Dipping Sauce
Restaurant Coconut Shrimp and Dipping Sauce



