Air fryer coconut shrimp
Sweet, crunchy coconut-crusted shrimp air fried until golden, with a lime-spiked sweet chili sauce for dipping and rice on the side.
- 40 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $3.67 a serving
- 660 calories
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1½ cups jasmine rice
- 1 lb raw shrimp, large, peeled and deveined, tails on
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- ½ cup sweet chili sauce
- 1 lime
From your pantry
- 2 cups water
- ½ tsp salt
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
Each serving has about 660 calories, 33 g protein, 100 g carbs and 14 g fat, and costs about $3.67 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No jasmine rice? Long-grain white rice or basmati rice works.
- No raw shrimp? Frozen raw shrimp works.
- No limes? Lemons work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the rice and bring it in a with the water.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
High heat
Stir once, cover, turn the heat to low and cook 15 minutes, then leave it covered off the heat.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
the shrimp dry with paper towels and sprinkle them with the salt.
Pat dry. Patting dry means pressing paper towels onto food to soak up the moisture on its surface. Wet food steams instead of browning, so this is how you get a good sear and crisp skin.
How you’ll know: The surface feels tacky, not wet, and the last paper towel comes away barely damp.
Set out three shallow bowls: the flour in one, the eggs beaten in the next, and the coconut, panko and oil rubbed together in the last.
Dolly’s tip: Rubbing oil into the crumbs is what browns them in the air fryer, no spray needed.Holding each shrimp by the tail, coat it in flour, dip it in egg, then press it into the coconut mix on both sides. Set them on a plate.
Dolly’s tip: Use one hand for the flour and crumbs and the other for the egg, so your fingers don’t turn into breaded clubs.the air fryer to 375°F.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Air fry the shrimp in one layer, not touching, 8 to 10 minutes, flipping halfway, until and the shrimp are pink inside. Work in batches.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 9 min
Dolly’s tip: Coconut browns fast. Check at 7 minutes; you want toasty gold, not dark brown.Food safety: Shrimp are done when they turn pink and opaque all the way through and curl into a loose C. A tight O means overcooked, not unsafe.
Stir the sweet chili sauce with the juice of the lime and serve it with the shrimp and rice.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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