This sweet & crunchy Coconut Shrimp is irresistible. It is traditionally deep fried but since we are having so much fun with our air fryer, we decided to make this a healthier version!
We used the Ninja Max XL air fryer for this recipe.
Ingredients
For the Shrimp:
1 lb large Shrimp, deveined & peeled with tails attached
1 cup Panko
1 cup sweetened Coconut flakes
1/4 cup all purpose Flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 eggs, whisked
Avocado oil spray (for air fryer)
Sweet Chili Sauce:
1/4 cup Rice Vinegar
1/3 cup Water
1/2 Tbsp Sambal
3 Tbsp Sugar
1/2 Tbsp Cornstarch + 1 Tbsp water (to thicken sauce)
Instructions
Set up 4 separate plates for breading:
1) Flour, salt, pepper
2) Beaten eggs
3) Panko + Coconut flakes
4) Empty plate for coated shrimp
Hold the shrimp by the tail and dip it into the flour, then the eggs, then dredge the shrimp into the panko & coconut flakes. Press the breading into it until fully coated. Place coated shrimp on a plate and continue breading the remaining shrimp.
Preheat air fryer at 300F for 3 minutes. Spray avocado oil on shrimp and place it in the air fryer basket. Don't over crowd. You may have to work in several batches. Air fry at 300F for 7 minutes. At 3.5 mins, open the basket -- flip shrimp over and spray avocado oil. Continue to cook until done.
In a sauce pan- add rice vinegar, water, sambal, and sugar, then simmer on low heat for a few minutes. Once simmered, add cornstarch + water mixture to thicken the sauce.
Notes:
You may want to test out your air fryer temp settings with 1-3 shrimp first. We tested ours a few times and we noticed that the Ninja has a strong wattage. We initially followed most recipes to air fry at 400F for 10 mins but it burnt the coconut flakes! 300F for 3 minutes was perfect for us.
If you make this recipe, we'd love to see it! Tag us at @NY.Foodie on your stories & posts.