Coconut Shrimp / Prawns with Spicy THAI Mango Sauce
Crunchy coconut shrimp / prawns with a spicy Thai inspired Mango Sauce! These are shallow fried, not deep fried and the prawns cook VERY fast. These reheat really well! Refer to Note 6 for make ahead instructions. I made the sauce using Keitt mangoes because I think the slight tang is perfect for this recipe, but you can use any mangoes you want.
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Cook Time10 minutesmins
Total Time30 minutesmins
Course: Appetizer, Finger Food, Mains
Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Ingredients
Shrimp / Prawns
1 lb / 500 g whole prawns OR 12oz/350g peeled fresh prawns(Note 1)
1/4tspsalt
Black pepper
1egg
1/2cuppanko breadcrumbs
1/2cupdesiccated coconut(Note 2)
Oil, for frying
Mango Sauce
1cup(packed) fresh mango. roughly diced
2tbspcilantro/coriander, leaves and stems, roughly chopped
2tbspred onion or eschallots, finely chopped
1tbspfish sauce(or substitute with light or ordinary soy sauce)
1tbspsriracha(Note 3)
1tspred chilli, finely chopped (adjust to taste)
2 - 3tbspcoconut milk(adjust for desired sauce consistency)
Instructions
Mango Sauce: Place ingredients in a small food processor (or blender or use a blender stick). Whizz until smooth. Adjust salt and spice to taste. Use coconut milk to adjust the consistency.
Peel and devein the shrimp / prawns. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Whisk egg in a small bowl. Mix panko and coconut in another bowl.
Dip a prawn in the egg mixture then coat with panko. Repeat with remaining prawns.
Heat oil in a skillet (Note 4) over medium high heat. Toss in a clotted lump of panko/egg to test for heat - if it sizzles right away and floats to the top, then the oil is hot enough.
Working in batches, carefully place prawns in the hot oil. Cook for just 45 seconds (Note 5) until golden brown - start counting when you slide the first prawn in and remove the prawns from the oil in the order that you put them in.
Remove onto a paper towel lined tray to drain.
Serve warm with Spicy Mango Dipping Sauce!
Notes
1. Fresh shrimp / prawns are best for this recipe. If you can't get fresh, then frozen will work fine for this recipe.2. Desiccated coconut is the fine shredded coconut. I prefer the finely shredded coconut to the larger flakes because you get better crunch when combined with the panko breadcrumbs!3. You can substitute the sriracha with any hot sauce of choice BUT you will need to add a touch of sour (~1 tsp white vinegar) and 1 small garlic clove, crushed (because sriracha has vinegar and garlic in it which is part of the flavour base for this sauce).4. Amount of oil required: You need enough all so that the prawns are almost, but not completely, submerged. You don't need so much oil that the prawns are floating because they cook so fast. The oil bubbles when the prawns are put in the oil which cooks the top of the prawns which is above the surface of the oil - you can see this in the video. 5. There are few things in life sadder than overcooked prawns, especially if you made the effort to peel them yourself! Perfectly cooked prawns will form a "C" shape and OVERCOOKED prawns curl tightly into an "O" shape. My prawns were a fairly standard size - not jumbo, not small, they were about 10cm/4" in length (peeled, but including tail) and about 1cm/ 2/5" thick. These were perfectly cooked in 45 seconds.6. To make ahead: Allow to cool then place in a container in single layers. To reheat so they recrisp, preheat the oven to 220C/430F. Place prawns on a baking tray and bake for 3-5 minutes until they crisp up. No longer than that, otherwise they will over cook!