Skip to content
Open menu Close menu

Feed your appetite for cooking with Penguin’s expert authors

penguin logo

Rick Stein’s Deep-fried Coconut Prawns

Rick Stein's recipe for Deep-fried Coconut Prawns from his BBC series, The Road to Mexico, are an easy party food idea or a brilliant starter for a Mexican-inspired feast.

From the book

Introduction

If you have been anywhere by the sea in the Yucatán peninsula you will have had these deep-fried king prawns with a coconut batter. Somewhat curiously to me, they often come with an apple sauce, but far less frequently they’re served with a papaya and habanero dipping sauce, which I like. The other problem is the batter is often too sweet, so this is my version with no sugar. The sauce is a little on the hot side, but so it should be, habaneros being far and away the chillies most often used in the Yucatán.

Read more Read less

Ingredients

24 raw king prawns, peeled but with tails on (about 600g frozen raw shell-on prawns)
600ml corn oil, for frying
salt and black pepper
For the batter:
125g plain flour
1½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 medium egg
150ml ice-cold water
For the coating:
50g plain flour
60g panko breadcrumbs
60g unsweetened desiccated coconut
For the papaya dipping sauce:
1 large papaya
½-1 habanero chilli, stem removed, deseeded and roughly chopped
1 banana shallot, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and halved
3 tbsp cider vinegar
2 thin slices root ginger
juice of 1 lime
juice of 1 orange
1 tbsp soft brown sugar
1 large pinch ground allspice
½ tsp salt

Method

To make the dipping sauce, peel the papaya, remove the seeds and chop it roughly. Put it in a blender with the other ingredients and process until smooth. Pour the sauce into a pan and bring it to the boil, then immediately turn down to a simmer and cook gently for about 5 minutes. If the sauce gets too thick, add a few tablespoons of just-boiled water.

For the batter, sift the plain flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Make a well in centre and break in the egg, then bring in the flour from the sides. Whisk in the cold water to make a smooth batter. Put the coating flour in a shallow bowl.

Put the batter in a second bowl and the breadcrumbs mixed with coconut in a third.

Season the prawns with salt and pepper, then coat a prawn in flour, shaking off any excess and holding it by the tail, dip it into the batter. Lift it out and let any excess batter drip back into the bowl. Roll the prawn in the crumbs and coconut mix, pressing it down so the mixture sticks. Put the prawn on a plate lined with greaseproof paper and repeat until all are coated. Leave some space between each one.

Add the oil to a large pan and heat to 180°C. Deep-fry the prawns – a few at a time – for 1 or 2 minutes until golden and crisp. Drain them on kitchen paper. Serve at once with the papaya dipping sauce.

Reviews

5 out of 5 stars

2 Ratings

Have you tried this recipe? Let us know how it went by leaving a comment below.

Please note: Moderation is enabled and may delay your comment being posted. There is no need to resubmit your comment. By posting a comment you are agreeing to the website Terms of Use.

2 Comments

    default user avatar Fauzia Shoaib

    I make these quite often and turns out awesome every time. My kids love it.

    See more

    default user avatar Maria

    Absolutely love this recipe. I make the prawns all the time. After they’ve been cooked they can be laid out on a tray , frozen individually and then bagged. They reheat perfectly in the own. Fantastic as a starter

    See more

newsletter

Subscribe to The Happy Foodie email newsletter

Get our latest recipes, features, book news and ebook deals straight to your inbox every week

From the book: Rick Stein: The Road to Mexico

Close menu