Does coconut shrimp taste like coconut?

Sure does! The beautiful sweet and nutty coconut flakes shine through on the shrimp and leave you with a slightly sweet tropical flavor.

Should I make the shrimp with the tails on or off?

For this recipe, we typically remove the tails; however, you could keep the shrimp tails on if you want them to be more of a finger snack. We like to eat them on the plate with a fork, which is why we pulled the tails off.

Can I fry the shrimp instead of baking them?

You can! Add oil to a medium skillet and fry a few shrimp at a time over medium-high heat. Be sure not to overcrowd your pan. Cook the shrimp for about 2 minutes per side until they come out a beautiful golden brown color.

Baked Coconut Shrimp with Springy Rice and Honey Butter Sauce Recipe

Description

Perfectly springy baked coconut shrimp piled high on a mountain of steamy pea-speckled and lemony rice and drizzles upon drizzles of a beautiful honey butter sauce. This is exactly the spring vacay you need!

Ingredients

Units Scale

Coconut Shrimp

3/4 cup Chef’s Cupboard Panko Breadcrumbs
3/4 cup Baker’s Corner Coconut Flakes (sweetened or unsweetened, but I prefer sweetened)
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound Fremont Fish Market Jumbo EZ Peel Raw Shrimp, thawed, tails removed (see notes)

Springy Rice

1 cup Specially Selected Jasmine Rice, uncooked
10-ounce bag of Simply Nature Sweet Peas
lemon juice and zest
herbs or greens
1 clove grated garlic
2 tablespoons butter

Honey Butter Sauce

4 tablespoons melted butter
2–3 tablespoons honey
1–2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

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Instructions

Prep: Cook the rice according to package directions. (I do this in a pressure cooker)
Toast the Coconut: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Place panko and coconut on a baking sheet; toast for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until nice and golden brown. After your panko and coconut are toasted and out of the oven, bump up the oven temperature to 425 degrees.
Coat the Coconut Shrimp: Make three bowls: one for the flour, paprika, and salt; one for the egg, and one for the toasted coconut. Coat individual shrimp in flour / spice mix, then egg, then press into the panko until the mixture sticks to the shrimp. (I usually do all the shrimp in the flour / spice mix first, and then do the egg / panko dip so it’s a bit cleaner). Place coated shrimp back on the baking sheet. Spritz or drizzle with oil.
Bake the Coconut Shrimp: Bake shrimp at 425 for 10 minutes.
Finish the Rice: Add peas, lemon juice and zest, herbs, garlic, and butter into the hot rice and gently fluff with a fork to combine. The peas just need to get heated through.
Make the Sauce: Whisk the melted butter with the honey and Dijon mustard. (And add whatever else you like – red pepper flakes, chili paste, lemon, etc.)
Serve: Serve shrimp with a pile of rice and generously drizzle with the sauce. HELLO! So yummy.

Notes

I prefer to make these with the tails removed because I like to pile them on a plate and eat them with the rice, and honestly, pulling the tails off with every bite is kind of annoying. But if you want it to look a little fancier or if you want this to be more of a finger-food situation, then you can also leave the tails on.

This amount as written feeds my family of 4 (mom, dad, toddler, baby) perfectly, with little to no leftovers. If you are serving a larger group, or people with bigger appetites than little kiddos, I would double the amounts!

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Category: Dinner
Method: Bake
Cuisine: American

Keywords: coconut shrimp, baked shrimp, spring shrimp