Coconut Shrimp is the perfect summer dinner, especially when paired with the best coconut shrimp sauce ever.
Large shrimp are dipped in gluten-free flour (or regular all purpose if not dining gluten-free), then dunked into a batter of egg and coconut milk, and finally rolled in shredded coconut. The coconut shrimp are deep-fried until crispy and golden, and then served with a sweet and tangy Peach Lime Sauce.
For a "fancy" meal, this one can be pretty inexpensive to make, and it will sure impress.
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Ingredients for Coconut Shrimp:
For the Gluten Free Coconut Shrimp:
- Fresh, uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
- Unsweetened shredded coconut. I used organic shredded coconut with no sweeteners.
- High quality gluten free all purpose flour. I used Bob's Red Mill GF 1:1 Baking Flour (the blue bag).
- Coconut milk
- Eggs
- Neutral oil for frying
For the Peach Lime Sauce:
- Peach preserves. I like to use natural preserves that don't have corn syrup.
- Freshly squeezed lime juice. You can add the zest if you'd like it extra limey.
- Crushed red pepper flakes
If you want coconut-forward, you could even fry the shrimp in unrefined coconut oil.
How to Make Coconut Shrimp:
- Prep: Set out three medium-sized bowls in a row. In the first bowl, add ½ cup of flour.
- In the second bowl, combine the eggs, coconut milk, and the remaining 1 cup of flour. In the third bowl, add half of the shredded coconut. Don't add all of the shredded coconut at once as it may clump. Add in more as needed.
- Line a cookie sheet with paper towels and place a wire cooling rack on top of it. This is where the fried shrimp will drain.
- Peel and de-vein the shrimp.
- Coat the shrimp in batches in this order: flour (first bowl).
- Then, batter (second bowl).
- And finally, the shredded coconut (third bowl). Once the shrimp are fully coated, set them off to the side on a plate.
- Heat about 1 inch of oil in a Dutch oven or deep skillet. Heat the oil over medium-high heat to 365 F. To test if the oil is hot enough, wait a few minutes and then flick some flour into the Dutch oven. If it sizzles, it's ready and you may start adding in your shrimp. Do not overcrowd the pan. Fry the shrimp on one side for 1-2 minutes, then turn with a slotted spoon and fry the remaining side for another 1-2 minutes, until golden brown. Drain on the prepared cooling rack, and tent with foil to keep warm. Sprinkle with salt, optional.
- Repeat with the remaining batches.
- Serve with Peach Lime Sauce. Enjoy!
How to make Peach Lime Sauce:
This is the best coconut shrimp dipping sauce ever! It is seriously SO addictive, and it only uses three ingredients.
Peach preserves. Lime juice (and zest, if you want). Red Pepper Flakes.
Combine all the above ingredients in a bowl, and stir. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving to allow the flavors to meld.
Notes on Gluten Free Coconut Shrimp with Peach Lime Sauce:
- Don't buy too much shrimp. Stick with a little over 1 lb. to 1.5 lbs. Even if the amount looks a little small when the seafood counter guy hands it over to you. Once you add all of the breading and shredded coconut, each shrimp bulks up to nearly twice its size.
- Thoroughly coat your shrimp in flour, batter, and coconut. Nobody likes to see a bare patch on their golden deliciousness.
- Prepare the sauce a few hours ahead. Just to allow the flavors to combine and strengthen.
- Serve with a small side salad and a simple vinaigrette. Or, go full fried and pair it with potato wedges or something. It's totally up to you, man.
- Swap the gluten-free flour for regular if not dining gluten-free.
- If you can find already peeled and de-veined shrimp, you will have a whole lot less work to do. To keep costs down, I stuck with classic in-the-shell fresh uncooked shrimp and peeled and de-veined them myself.
Equipment
You only need basic kitchen tools to make Coconut Shrimp. I recommend:
- A dutch oven or cast iron skillet
- Canola oil or unrefined coconut oil or peanut oil
- Wire cooling rack
- Mixing bowls
- Slotted spoon
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Gluten Free Coconut Shrimp with Peach Lime Sauce
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Yield: 6 servings
Sweet and tender shrimp coated in a gluten free batter and organic shredded coconut, then fried to golden deliciousness. Paired with a three ingredient Peach Lime Sauce.
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Equipment
- canola oil or
Ingredients
For the Coconut Shrimp:
- 1 -1 ½ lbs. fresh, uncooked medium shrimp peeled & deveined
- 8-10 oz. unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 ½ cup gluten-free all purpose flour (or regular flour) I used Bob's Red Mill GF 1:1 (the blue bag)
- 14 oz. can coconut milk with the thick cream on top
- 2 large eggs
- neutral oil for frying I used canola. Tip: Use unrefined coconut oil for all of the coconut flavor
- salt to taste
For the Peach Lime Sauce:
- ½ cup peach preserves
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice and zest, optional
- ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
For the Peach Lime Sauce:
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
For the Coconut Shrimp:
- Prep: Set out three medium-sized bowls in a row. In the first bowl, add ½ cup of flour. In the second bowl, combine the eggs, coconut milk, and the remaining 1 cup of flour. In the third bowl, add half of the shredded coconut. Don't add all of the shredded coconut at once as it may clump. Add in more as needed.
- Line a cookie sheet with paper towels and place a wire cooling rack on top of it. This is where the fried shrimp will drain.
- Peel and de-vein the shrimp.
- Coat the shrimp in batches in this order: flour (first bowl), batter (second bowl), and shredded coconut (third bowl). Once the shrimp are fully coated, set them off to the side on a plate.
- Heat about 1 inch of oil in a Dutch oven or deep skillet. Heat the oil over medium-high heat to 365 F. To test if the oil is hot enough, wait a few minutes and then flick some flour into the Dutch oven. If it sizzles, it's ready and you may start adding in your shrimp. Do not overcrowd the pan. Fry the shrimp on one side for 1-2 minutes, then turn with a slotted spoon and fry the remaining side for another 1-2 minutes, until golden brown. Drain on the prepared cooling rack, and tent with foil to keep warm.
- Sprinkle with salt, optional.
- Repeat with the remaining batches.
- Serve with Peach Lime Sauce. Enjoy!
Notes
- To prevent a lumpy batter mixture: break up any large clumps of flour before adding it to the second bowl. Flatten lumps by pressing them against the bowl using the back of a spoon.
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