Coconut Shrimp with Mango Salsa

Summer is calling….and light, crispy coconut shrimp with a cool mango salsa is answering! This is the perfect summer dish. These can be an appetizer for a BBQ you’re throwing (the shrimps can even be served room temp), or it can be a quick dinner during the week (I paired mine with brown rice with lime and scallions).

I’ve had a bag of coconut in my pantry for a while, so I was trying to think of a way to use it. I saw someone on Instagram make coconut shrimp and the light bulb went off. I looked up a few recipes, but decided to try to create my own. Some of them had more of a thick batter which I didn’t want to do, but I liked the idea of the beer addition. So instead of creating a batter, I added the beer to the egg. Some recipes also combined the coconut with bread crumbs. Which is fine, but I really wanted the coconut flavor to shine, so decided to omit the breadcrumbs all together and just use the coconut! And I was not disappointed 🙂

Mango salsa is a great addition to any dish – fish, chicken, shrimp – or even just to use it as a dip with chips! It’s a little sweet but spicy from the jalapeno, and it paired beautifully with the crispy shrimp. You can add as little or as much of jalapeno as you want, depending how spicy you like it!

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5 from 1 vote

Coconut Shrimp with Mango Salsa

This dish is perfect for a weeknight dinner or as an appetzier for your next outdoor BBQ!

Prep Time45 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Course: Main Course

Servings: 4 people

Author: Christina

Ingredients

Shrimp

• 24 large raw deveined shrimp tails on
• ½ cup flour
• 1 egg beaten
• ¼ cup of beer I used Budweiser
• 1 ½ cups shredded sweetened coconut
• Salt and pepper
• Oil to fry I used Safflower*

Mango Salsa

• 1 mango, diced
• 1 jalapeño, finely diced
• ¼ of a red onion, finely diced
• 1 bell pepper, finely diced (I actually used 3 of the tiny ones)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon honey
• Handful of parsley, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper

Instructions

• Prepare the salsa. Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and set in the refrigerator for at least half hour so the flavors come together.
• If your shrimp is frozen, place in a large bowl of cold water to defrost. Once they’re defrosted, drain the water and pat the shrimp dry.
• In three separate bowls, just like a standard breading procedure, place the flour in one, the egg and beer in another, and the coconut in the other. Season each dish with salt and pepper.
• Dredge the shrimp in the flour first, then the egg, then the coconut. Make sure to fully dredge each step, especially the egg, to ensure the coconut sticks. Once all the shrimp are done, set in the fridge for 20 minutes, to make sure the breading dries out a little and sticks to the shrimp.
• Heat the oil in your pan, about an inch deep. Fry the shrimp until they’re golden brown, flipping half way. To keep them crispy once theyre done, I use a cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet. Serve the hot shrimp with the cooled salsa and enjoy!

Notes

Notes:
*Safflower oil is a neutral oil that has a high smoke point, but you could use canola or vegetable too.