Coconut Prawns

Ingredients

Prawn recipes are insanely popular in Australia in summer. Lines outside the seafood shop a mile long insane. Firstly because they taste delicious and secondly because it is so bloody hot here all the time they tick the box of both cold food and hot food. 

One of the best ever ways to cook them is to coat them with a coconut crumb and fry or saute them. I am talking seriously delicious here.

A crunchy coconut crumb with a succulent juicy prawn inside dipped in sweet chilli sauce is easily everyone's favourite summer appetizer!

This recipe both looks fantastic and tastes amazing. To prepare the prawns, we follow some simple steps for a method that results in deliciously crunchy coconut prawns every time.

Before we get too detailed I want to mention a key point. You can make this dish with the prawn tails removed. Keeping them on makes for an attractive presentation of the dish which is perfect for entertaining. 

Removing them allows you to work in batches as you coat, dredge and crumb, plus the entire prawn can be gobbled up when eating. It is much of a muchness, also don't worry if you accidentally pull a tail off (if you are choosing to leave them on) it happens.

Crispy Coconut Shrimp

The secret ingredient to making coconut prawns is using panko breadcrumbs. They are easily available at the store, often in the Asian food section of the supermarket.

The 2nd secret ingredient that I like to use is sriracha seasoning. Just a tiny little bit of it. It takes them into the world of chilli coconut prawns and is a small but articulate way of cooking them.

For this recipe, the idea is to use a flour mix to coat the prawns, followed by an egg mix to dredge them. A coconut crumb is then stuck to the outside which is what gives us crunchy deliciousness with every juicy bite. They are simply mouthwatering. 

How do you make coconut prawns

To make coconut prawns we need to batter then fry them. I use a wok, you can too or choose a fry pan to shallow fry.

To begin with, you need to prepare the prawns. These steps are shown in the photo below and summarised here:

1. remove head from prawns
2. peel skin (leaving tail intact)
3. crack eggs and whisk
4. add water and whisk to combine (set aside)

In my experience it is actually easier to remove the head of a prawn by twisting and pulling it, rather than using a knife. Start with clean hands and repeat the process till all of your prawns have had their heads removed, the skin peeled (keep tail intact) and the vein removed.

To leave the tail intact, leave the remaining small section of shell that the tail is attached to on the prawn. At this point, we will have a pile of fresh clean (no need to rinse) prawns that need some battering.

I have taken photos of the next steps so that you can follow easily. The recipe can be broken down into 24 steps.

How to prepare coconut prawns using panko breadcrumbs

Think of this process like an assembly line, where you combine the ingredients in separate bowls and do 3 steps for each prawn (with some resting in between)

A quick overview of all steps involved is:

1. prepare prawns (shown in photos 1 and 2) 
2. whisk eggs and add water (shown in photos 3 and 4)
3. mix together flour ingredients (shown in photos 5-10)
4. coat prawns in flour (shown in photos 11-12)
5. drench prawns in egg mix (shown in photo 16 )
6. coat prawns with coconut mix (shown in photo 17)
7. refrigerate to set coating (shown in photo 18)
8. fry prawns in oil (shown in photos 19 -23);2
9. drain using paper towel (shown in photo 24)

A handy utensil to have when cooking coconut prawns is a slotted spoon (shown in photos 20 -23 above)

The 3 most essential steps in the recipe are highlighted in red above. As they are so important, I wanted to draw your attention to them and have shown them in the photos below.

How to make coconut shrimp, the 3 essential steps

What you can see in the photos above are the 3 steps that are key to making coconut shrimp.

1. coating the shrimp in the flour mix
2. dunking them in the egg mix (this will make the coconut stick)
3. coating the shrimp in the coconut

This is in a nutshell the essence of this recipe. The expanded steps shown in the recipe instruction photos above are to show you the entire process involved in making this recipe. I want you to be able to easily follow these and make them yourself.

How to serve coconut prawns?

These bad boys are all about the sauce! The crunchy crumb, the dipping sauce, it is a seriously delicious combination.

For variety, texture and colour, I serve these coconut prawns with 2 dipping sauces. 

The 1st is sweet chilli sauce (red sauce) straight from the bottle.

The 2nd is a mustard yoghurt (yellow sauce) made from combining greek yoghurt with djion mustard.

These are like a good serving of hot potato chips, 1 sauce is never enough, haha!

How do you know when coconut prawns are cooked?

There are a couple of ways to know that your prawns are cooked and techniques to ensure this is well done.

Cook them at a lower heat than you would for a stir fry, you want the heat to be slow and controlled. I have the wok on between 3-4 and work in batches. Say 5-6 prawns at a time.

Before starting, make sure that the oil is hot by holding your hand above the wok and feeling the heat (if you can feel it, it is good to go). Then add your prawns.

Cook until you notice the panko crumb mix start to change colour. When it becomes a light golden shade, use your slotted spoon to lift a prawn and see how it looks (3 mins in). It will be getting there, but not fully there yet. But this gives you an idea of how fast they are cooking.

Continue cooking till the prawn crumb is a darker golden shade (5 mins). Scoop from oil, test one (they will be hot) and if the prawns are soft, but fully white and fluffy still they are good. Scoop from oil with spoon and set in paper towel lined bowl. Repeat process till all of the prawns are cooked.

Expert tips for success:

• the prawns will be too hard and chewy if overcooked
• avoid overcooking them by using a low-medium slow heat (as opposed to a medium-high fast heat)
• the colour will help guide you, when the crumb is pale, they are not cooked yet
• work in batches
• be patient (slowly cooking them right, is better than quickly stuffing them up)

They will be HOT from the wok, so when testing, be a bit careful of your lips and tongue!

FAQs to cook your coconut prawns

1. we use 3 eggs combine with the water for the egg mix
2. these are best served HOT
3. the prawns are best made on the day
4. however they can be battered the day before

Coconut Prawns Quick info:

About the recipe:

• banana prawns or king prawns work well
• bigger prawns are easier to work with than smaller ones
• keep tails intact (small part of body shell remains)
• remove the vein from the prawns
• serve with 2 textures of dipping sauce ie creamy and sticky

Your quick questions answered:

1. You cannot really taste the chilli in the flour mix
2. this recipe is for 500 grams prawns and will stretch to cover 300 grams more 
3. shredded coconut is long and thin
4. the flour is plain
5. This is a MODERATELY EASY recipe

Troubleshooting prawns tips:

If you are new to cooking coconut prawns or shrimp keep in mind:

• they need to be cooked slow and steadily
• serve them as soon as you have finished cooking and plating them

Pop your dipping sauces into small bowls and add to the serving plate. People love having the choice of 2 sauces for their prawns.

Serve the prawns with some freshly sliced lime wedges, they add a fresh zesty taste when squeezed over the prawns just before serving!

 

📖 Recipe