These crispy, crumbed coconut prawns are so delicious and make the best crowd pleasing appetiser with a creamy dipping sauce, or main meal alongside a simple salad. Following a simple process of crumbing and shallow frying, these coconut prawns not only have a sweet and salty crunch on the outside while being perfectly tender on the inside, but they are also super quick and easy to make!
Coconut prawns or coconut shrimp depending on which part of the world you reside, are sweet and succulent prawns coated first in well seasoned flour and then a coconut breadcrumb that is quickly fried until golden brown and perfectly crisp. Serve them with a creamy garlic aioli or sweet chilli sauce and you have a simple appetiser that will have people going back for more!
Crumbed prawns, much like my salt and pepper squid, is a classic menu item on pub, restaurant and cafe menus. And when they get a bit fancy and add coconut to the crumbs, well the result is truly addictive.
This is such a simple homemade version that is surprisingly quick to make. If this is a go to order for you, then I encourage you to give making coconut prawns at home a try – you wont be disappointed!
Key Ingredients
This is a relatively simple recipe using just a few ingredients to elevate your prawns into delicious, crunchy finger food.
Note all ingredients and their quantities are laid out in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Prawns – for this recipe we want to use large raw prawns (shrimp). My preference is to get fresh, Australian caught whole prawns and peel them myself. I am using king prawns but tiger prawns or banana prawns will also work. You can also use frozen raw peeled prawns with tails on, that have been defrosted if that is easier to find.
- Plain flour – also known as all purpose flour in the US. You can substitute for plain gluten free flour as well if you require.
- Garlic powder – optional but there is nothing better than a little garlic flavour combined with the prawns.
- Seasoning – make sure your flour mixture is well seasoned with salt and pepper as this is going to ensure our prawns are full of flavour and not bland.
- Eggs – the second part of our three part crumbing station, this ensures the coconut bread crumbs stick to the prawns.
- Panko breadcrumbs – using panko breadcrumbs here is going to result in the lightest and crispiest crumb but you can use any breadcrumbs. Again, you can use a gluten free option here.
- Coconut – I prefer to use desiccated coconut as it has all the moisture removed meaning it’s going to assist with that light and crunchy coating while still having that coconut flavour. It’s also unsweetened so it’s going to ensure this dish remains savoury in taste. You could however also use unsweetened shredded coconut.
- Vegetable oil – you can use oil labelled as vegetable or use canola oil for shallow frying the prawns. How much exactly you need will depend on the size of your pan.
Step-By-Step Instructions
To make these coconut prawns you don’t need any specialty tools, just a few bowls for crumbing and a frying pan for, well frying!
If you’re using whole prawns like I am, you’ll need to start with preparing them. We want to leave the tail intact when preparing them as this is going to make a convenient little handle that is very useful during the crumbing process as well as when dipping and eating.
Start by holding the prawn in your left hand (if you’re right handed) and using your right hand to grab the head close to the body and twist away from your body. The head will come off and you can discard this. Once the head is removed, you should see the end of the digestive tract exposed at the top. Gently pull this to remove.
Next, peel off the shell starting at the legs and peeling away from you until you get to the tail.
Once you’ve peeled your prawns you can set up the production line for crumbing.
Bowl one, add the flour, garlic powder and salt and pepper and give it a good mix to combine. In bowl two, whisk together the eggs. And finally in bowl three, combine the panko crumbs and the desiccated coconut.
Each prawn will first get dredged in the flour mixture, followed by the egg, and finally in the coconut crumbs. Use your hands to gently press the crumbs onto the prawn to ensure they stick.
Once all the prawns have been crumbed, heat some oil in the base of your frying pan. You want it around a centimetre in depth. Once the oil is hot, place in your prawns using tongs making sure you’re leaving space between them and not overcrowding the pan. It’s best to do this step in batches.
Let the prawns cook for about 2 minutes or until the underside is golden brown before turning and letting cook for an additional minute or two on the other side. Prawns cook quite fast so once the outside is golden then they should be fine to remove from the oil.
Let the prawns sit on a plate lined with paper towels to allow any additional oil to drip away before serving while still hot with your favourite dipping sauce (I like garlic aioli but sweet chilli is also amazing) and a squeeze of lemon or lime.
These prawns are so delicious as a snack or appetiser on their own or they can be served with a salad and chips (try my oven baked potato wedges) as a main course. The prawns are also delicious served cold – I even added some leftovers to some homemade sushi and it was incredible. 10/10 would do that again.
Recipe FAQs
Yes you can, just make sure you thaw and pat them dry before beginning the crumbing process. When buying frozen prawns, you can find ones that have already been peeled but still have the tail on which are perfect for this recipe and make it a little easier.
Always look for and buy locally caught Australian prawns where possible.
While you can reheat the prawns in the oven or air fryer to bring back their crispiness, reheated prawns tend to go a little rubbery therefore I recommend enjoying these freshly cooked for the best taste and texture, or simply enjoying the leftovers cold.
More prawn recipes:
Grilled Prawns
Prawn Wontons with Chilli Oil
15 Minute Garlic Prawn Noodles – Popular recipe!
Prawn and Chorizo Pasta
BBQ Prawn Tacos
Coconut Prawns
Ingredients
- 600-700 grams raw whole prawns
- ⅓ cup plain flour
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 cup desiccated coconut
- ½ cup vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Prepare the prawns. Hold the prawn with one hand and use your other hand to gently twist and pull off the head. You should see the top of the digestive tract where you’ve removed the head. Gently pull it to remove, then starting from the top, peel off the shell, leaving the tail intact. Repeat with all the prawns, setting them aside in a bowl.
- Set up your crumbing station. In a shallow dish, combine plain flour, garlic powder, sea salt, and ground black pepper. In another dish, whisk the eggs. In a third dish, mix panko breadcrumbs and desiccated coconut.
- Coat the prawns. Dredge each prawn in the seasoned flour mixture, shaking off any excess, followed by dunking it into the eggs, ensuring it’s well coated. Finally, roll the prawn in the panko and coconut mixture, pressing gently to adhere the coating.
- Set aside on a plate and repeat the process with the remaining prawns.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan and carefully place the coated prawns into the hot oil, ensuring not to overcrowd the pan. Fry for 2 minutes on each side or until the coating is golden brown and the prawns are cooked through.
- Remove the prawns from the pan and let sit on a plate lined with a paper towel to drain any excess oil and lightly season with salt.
- Serve the coconut prawns with a dipping sauce such as garlic aioli or sweet chilli sauce and a squeeze of lime.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a guide only and is calculated using automated online tools, therefore we cannot guarantee the accuracy. We encourage you to make your own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe.
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