August 24, 2022

Creamy Coconut Crunch Shrimp

Creamy Coconut Crunch Shrimp is a hybrid recipe…part ceviche-inspired, part Peruvian, yet stands all on its own. Instead of “cooking” the shrimp in an acid (lime, lemon, or orange) like is usually done for ceviche, the shrimp are poached in a wonderful lime coconut milk, which is then reduced into a velvety sauce. For the finishing touches add colorful cherry tomatoes, jalapeños and red onion for some bite, cilantro as a fresh herby accent and then topped with some broken tortilla chips for overall fun crunchiness.

Jump to Recipe

Ingredients

Organize and prep all of the ingredients – shrimp, red onion slices, cherry tomatoes, lime zested and halved, coconut milk, fish sauce, jalapéno, garlic, cilantro, and gf corn tortilla chips.

Cooking the Shrimp

Heat coconut milk with lime zest, garlic, and fish sauce

once coconut milk is simmering, add shrimp to the pan in a single layer

Remove zest from lime in wide strips with a vegetable peeler. Cut lime in half and set lime aside. Bring zest, garlic, coconut milk, and fish sauce to a simmer in a large skillet over medium heat. Arrange shrimp in skillet in a single layer and cook, maintaining a bare simmer, until opaque and pink, about 6 minutes total, 3 mins/side. Using a slotted spoon, transfer shrimp to a shallow bowl or plate and let cool or place directly on your serving platter. Right before serving, squeeze juice from one of the reserved lime halves over the shrimp.

Finishing the Coconut Sauce

cook coconut milk for an additional 5 mins until it has thickened. Remove zest, garlic and any shrimpy bits and allow sauce to cool in the pan

Continue to cook coconut milk until it thickens slightly, about 5 minutes and then remove from heat. Remove and discard lime zest, garlic cloves and any shrimpy bits. Season coconut sauce with kosher salt and pepper and let cool in pan.

Creamy Coconut Crunch Shrimp

To assemble the dish, place the shrimp on a medium sized platter and then carefully pour (or spoon) the coconut sauce over the shrimp. Top with red onion, jalapeño, tomatoes, and cilantro. Squeeze remaining lime half over. Drizzle with a little olive oil, top with tortilla chips, and sprinkle with kosher salt. Enjoy this dish either warm, room temp, or cold. Serve as is or over rice, rice noodles or lettuce.

Print Recipe

Creamy Coconut Crunch Shrimp

Prep Time15

Cook Time10

Total Time25

Course: Appetizer, Salad

Cuisine: American, Mexican

Keyword: cherry tomatoes, cilantro, coconut milk, corn tortilla chips, fish sauce, gluten free, jalapeno, lime, shrimp

Servings: 4 servings

Author: GFchow @ gfchow.com

Ingredients

1 large lime
2 garlic cloves slightly smashed
1 13.5-oz. can unsweetened coconut milk
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 lb. large shrimp peeled, deveined, patted dry, I use 8-12 count, if desired shrimp can be cut in half vertically or chopped into smaller pieces
Kosher salt freshly ground pepper
1/4 small red onion thinly sliced
1 small jalapeño thinly sliced into rounds
½ cup cherry tomatoes preferably mixed colors, halved, quartered if large
1/2 cup packed coarsely chopped cilantro basil, mint and/or parsley can all be used
extra-virgin olive oil for serving
1/2 cup corn tortilla chips, gluten free lightly crushed

Instructions

Remove zest from lime in wide strips with a vegetable peeler. Cut lime in half; set aside. Bring zest, garlic, coconut milk, and fish sauce to a simmer in a large skillet over medium heat. Arrange shrimp in skillet in a single layer and cook, maintaining a bare simmer, until opaque and pink, about 6 minutes total, 3 mins/side. Using a slotted spoon, transfer shrimp to a shallow bowl or plate, or place directly on your serving platter and let cool.
Continue to cook coconut milk until it thickens slightly (similar to the consistency of runny honey), about 5 minutes and then remove from heat. Remove and discard lime zest, garlic cloves and any shrimpy bits. Season coconut sauce with kosher salt and pepper and let cool in pan.
Right before serving, squeeze juice from one of the reserved lime halves over the shrimp.
To assemble the dish, place the shrimp on a medium sized platter and then carefully pour (or spoon) the coconut sauce over the shrimp. Top with red onion, jalapeño, tomatoes, and cilantro. Squeeze remaining lime half over. Drizzle with a little olive oil, top with tortilla chips, and sprinkle with kosher salt.
Enjoy this dish either warm, room temp, or cold. Serve as is or over rice, rice noodles or lettuce.

Notes

To avoid soggy crunchies, be sure to wait until right before serving to add the tortilla chips.

If using smaller shrimp, decrease the overall cooking time to as little as 3 mins total. Shrimp take very little time to cook.

Do ahead: Shrimp can be cooked and coconut sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Transfer to separate airtight containers. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Recipe from Bon Appétit and modified by me.

If you like this recipe, you may also like these GFchow recipes. Open-Faced Shrimp Quesadilla, Coconut Curry Chicken with Spinach, Mushrooms, and Pine Nuts, and Grilled Shrimp with Turmeric Citrus.

GLUTEN FREE DISCLAIMER

The recipes you find here are considered by me to be gluten free. However, it is up to you to make sure the ingredients you use are gluten free. Whenever possible, I will list specific brands of ingredients that I use, but always be sure to check the labels yourself to verify the item is gluten free.