Coconut Prawns with Fiery Tomato Dip

Shrimp appetizers for lunch on a weekday? Yay! These Coconut Prawns with Fiery Tomato Dip are so much tastier and crunchier than a takeaway!

One of the perks of being a blogger is that at least a couple of times a week you get to eat the stuff you’re blogging about.  That could mean Creamy Tomato Risotto with Crispy Garlic Crumbs, or Blueberry Crumble Slice, or of course these Crunchy Coconut Prawns.

Writing blog posts with a one of these golden, juicy bites in my hand makes me a happy happy girl.

A happy happy girl who knows she’s got a very messy kitchen to tidy, and a desperately needed gym session to book.  But for that moment, with a plate full of these, I’m happy.

I remember Chris making these for me as a New Years Eve treat in our first little flat almost 11 years ago. We loved that flat.

The kitchen floor space was about 3ftx3ft.  You could literally touch every work surface at the same time.  Having more than one person in the kitchen was a very cosy affair. Not that that’s a problem when you’re sharing the kitchen with your future husband.

We lived above a Chinese takeaway and Off licence and a couple of houses down from a chippy.   That was the start of some very bad eating habits that took us a while (and a house move) to re-mediate!

Nowadays I’m glad to say we rarely eat takeaways.  Chris would rather have my Crispy Chilli Beef over a takeaway version.  Gracey on the other hand, would choose Fried Chicken as her favourite all time food, but I think that’s because she considers it a treat rather than something she eats all the time that she’s addicted to.

Lewis’ top choice is a good old Thai Green curry.  Or ‘that browny coloured sauce thing with rice’ as he calls it.

I’d be happy with a mountain of these prawns.  So much tastier and crunchier than a takeaway.  Besides, I never eat the prawns in Chinese takeaways.  They always seem so rubbery and often they haven’t been de-veined. Bit of fishy digestive tract anyone? Blurgh no thanks! The crunchiness come in park from my favourite breadcrumbs (panko), They are super versatile and can be used for things like this or for coating Katsu Pork or even in Mac N Cheese (yep you read that right)

De-veining prawns isn’t one of my favourite jobs, but it’s pretty easy so long as you have a sharp knife. These coconut prawns can be made with prawns you’ve deveined yourself, or you could also use defrosted cooked prawns.  The cooked ones are nearly always deveined, and because this recipe only calls for 3 or 4 minutes of cooking, they haven’t got the chance to go rubbery (which can often be a problem when cooking with prawns that have already been cooked once).

The fiery sauce I serve with this dish is actually based on the tomato sauce base I use for my Ratatouille with Feta Croutons.  I add in a hot red chilli (seeds too) in to spice it up.  Be warned – it’s hot! If you want it milder, just discard the seeds.

Coconut Prawns with Fiery Tomato Dip Recipe:

Coconut Prawns with Spicy Tomato Dip

Crunchy Coconut Prawns with Fiery Tomato Dip - easy and addictive!

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 22 mins

Total Time: 37 mins

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Asian

Keyword: Any Time Of the year, Chinese New Year

Servings: 14 -20 Prawns

Author: Nicky Corbishley

Ingredients

Fiery Tomato Sauce:

• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 small onion peeled and chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic peeled and finely chopped or minced
• 1/2 a red pepper deseeded and chopped
• 1 hot red chilli chopped (discard the seeds if you want the sauce to be less spicy)
• 300 g of tinned tomatoes in juice 3/4 of a regular tin
• 1 tbsp tomato puree/paste
• 1 tsp sugar
• pinch of salt and pepper

Coconut Prawns:

• Vegetable oil for shallow frying enough to fill your frying pan with 1cm of oil
• 250 g peeled raw king prawns deveined (or use ready-cooked, ready-deveined prawns)
• 3 tbsp plain/all purpose flour
• pinch of salt and pepper
• 1 egg
• 100 ml coconut milk
• 5 tbsp panko breadcrumbs
• 4 tbsp unsweetened desiccated coconut
• 1 tsp flat leaf parsley chopped

Instructions

• First make the sauce. Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the onions. Cook for 5 minutes on a medium heat until the onions soften. Add in the garlic, red pepper and chilli and cook for another minute. Add in the tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, sugar and salt & pepper. Bring to a bubble and simmer gently for 15 minutes, stirring every so often.
• Whilst the tomato sauce is simmering, make the prawns.
• Heat the oil in a large frying pan.
• Pat the prawns down with some kitchen paper to ensure they're not too damp.
• Take three wide bowls. Add the flour and salt & pepper to the first bowl. Mix the egg and coconut milk in the second bowl. Mix the panko and coconut in the third bowl.
• Coat the prawns first in the flour, then dip into the egg mixture, and finally coat in the coconut mixture.
• When the oil is hot (you can tell it's hot enough by placing a couple of he panko breadcfumbs in. If they sizzle and start to brown very quickly, it's ready) add in the prawns. Cook on one side until golden brown - about 1.5-2 minutes. Turn over and cook the other side until golden brown - about 1-1.5 minutes.
• Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon or tongs, and place on a piece of kitchen paper to remove any excess oil.
• Take your tomato sauce off the heat and whizz it up using a hand blender. Pour into a dipping dish and serve with the coconut prawns. Top the prawns with a sprinkle of chopped parsley,

Recipe Notes

Nutritional Information is per serving (based on 14 prawns), and allowing for 2 tbsp of vegetable oil to be absorbed during cooking of prawns.

Nutritional Information

Nutrition Facts

Coconut Prawns with Spicy Tomato Dip

Amount Per Serving

Calories 99 Calories from Fat 45

% Daily Value*

Fat 5g8%

Saturated Fat 4g20%

Cholesterol 51mg17%

Sodium 183mg8%

Potassium 149mg4%

Carbohydrates 7g2%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 2g2%

Protein 5g10%

Vitamin A 235IU5%

Vitamin C 13.7mg17%

Calcium 42mg4%

Iron 1.2mg7%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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