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This past week I was on my family vacation, in South Carolina. Actually, as you are reading this, I am on my way home right now. By now I have officially enjoyed the lifestyle of a beach bum for a week. I will be rested up, hopefully I will have a nice tan (and not be burnt), and I will have had plenty of time to catch up on my summer reading list.
Oh, and yes, of course I will have enjoyed visiting with my family. Especially the ones that I only see once or twice a year. Isn’t it a wonderful world we live in? We can hop on a plane in Iowa and be on the beach in South Carolina in the same day!
My family has kept this vacation up for most of my life. Back in the day my cousins and I were running around playing in the sand, possibly throwing it at each other. Now my cousin’s kids are running around in the sand, but hopefully not throwing it. Life has come full circle. My extended family has lived in the Southern states my whole life. I am very grateful for our family tradition, so that my family can re-unite every year.
As I may have mentioned before, I come from a family of really good cooks. Just as much as we love to cook, we really enjoy eating. Obviously!
One of the traditional foods we enjoy during every vacation is some shrimp. Come on, we are right next to the beach; you know the shrimp’s going to be wonderful.
We have enjoyed it as peel-and-eat shrimp with homemade cocktail sauce and we have also eaten it sautéed in BBQ sauce, or a garlic butter sauce. Any way that you cook them we will scarf them down. There is not a single shrimp that is safe from our family.
Since I love you all so dearly, I wanted to share a shrimp recipe with you so that you too can enjoy some shrimp. Although we don’t make coconut shrimp at the beach, it is delicious all the same.
What’s not to love? Shrimp wrapped in a crunchy coconut layer. I even made two different sauces for your dipping pleasures. How thoughtful of me.
Both are so simple to make it will knock your socks off. One is a sweet, creamy coconut sauce using coconut milk and honey. The other is a tahini ginger sauce—sweet, tart, gingery, and spicy. The choice is yours. Which sauce will you chose? Or maybe you’ll be adventurous and make both?
The best part about this recipe is that there is no frying involved. A few minutes under the hot broiler will cook those shrimp and crisp that coconut right up.
I hope you get to enjoy some time with family this summer, wherever it may be. You must do one thing for your family when you see them. Make this coconut shrimp. They will love you forever, and not just because they have to!
Cheers my friends!
Baked Coconut Shrimp with Two Dipping Sauces (GF)
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Yield: 4 Servings 1x
- Category: Appetizer, entree
- Cuisine: Gluten-Free, Seafood
Description
This coconut shrimp is broiled to create a crispy crust. It can come together in just 35 minutes. Plus, there are two dipping sauces for you to choose from.
Ingredients
- FOR THE COCONUT SAUCE:
- 1/2 can full fat coconut milk (save the remainder for use in another recipe, such as a smoothie)
- 2 to 3 tablespoons honey or agave nectar
- A pinch of fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon arrow root powder or corn starch
- FOR THE TAHINI GINGER SAUCE:
- 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons tahini paste (sesame seed butter)
- 2 inches fresh ginger, grated
- Zest of 2 oranges
- 1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce (use gluten-free for gluten-free eaters)
- 2 to 3 teaspoons honey or agave nectar
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- FOR THE COCONUT SHRIMP:
- 1 pound shrimp (preferably wild caught), peeled, and patted dry
- 1/4 cup coconut flour (you can sub an all-purpose flour if gluten-free isn’t a concern)
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 eggs, whisked
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
Instructions
- FOR THE COCONUT SAUCE:
- Add the coconut milk to a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer. Add the honey/agave nectar and the sea salt. Whisk to combine.
- Spoon out a tablespoon of the coconut milk into a small dish, add the arrow root powder/corn starch and whisk until smooth.
- Whisk the arrow root mixture into the pan of coconut milk. Allow to simmer, while whisking for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat and set aside until ready to serve.
- FOR THE TAHINI GINGER SAUCE:
- Whisk all ingredients together in a small mixing bowl until well combined. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Add more tahini paste to thicken, more red chili flakes for more spice, more honey for more sweetness, or more soy sauce for more salt. Set aside until you are ready to serve.
- FOR THE COCONUT SHRIMP:
- Preheat your broiler. If you are using an electric oven, position your rack in the middle of the oven. Line a rimmed cookie sheet with a cookie drying rack and spray lightly with cooking spray.
- Set up an assembly line for your dredging station. Place the coconut flour and salt and pepper in a shallow bowl and stir to combine the seasonings. In a separate bowl add the whisked eggs, and salt and pepper. In a third bowl add the shredded coconut.
- Start by dipping the shrimp in the coconut flour, tap it a few times to get any excess off. Next dip it in the whisked eggs and allow any excess to drip off. Follow by dipping the shrimp into the shredded coconut. Place the shrimp on the greased wire rack.
- Repeat the dredging steps until all the shrimp are coated. Once you get the hang of it you can do 2 shrimp at the same time, holding one in each hand.
- Once all the shrimp are covered in coconut, lightly spray them with cooking spray on each side.
- Broil the shrimp for 3 minutes on each side. NOTE: If you are using a gas broiler where the flame is really close to the shrimp, you will only need to broil the shrimp for 2 minutes on each side. Be very careful because the coconut can burn quickly. You will know the shrimp is done when the tails have turned pink, the shrimp has curled up a little, and the coconut has been toasted.
- Serve shrimp immediately with the coconut sauce and the tahini ginger sauce on the side. You can store leftovers in the fridge for up to 2 days, although they are best when fresh because that’s when the coconut is crispy.
Notes
Coconut shrimp adapted from Weelicious.
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