My vegan seafood recipe series continues with these Coconut Crusted Vegan Shrimp! (Seriously, how cute are these)!?!? These crunchy golden bites are the perfect appetizer to impress. Golden, crispy, coconut coated on the outside, lightly chewy, juicy, with a slight taste of the sea on the inside. Serve these with homemade cocktail sauce for a real crowd-pleaser. Oil-free and air fryer versions are included in the recipe notes!
What are vegan shrimp?
I've seen vegan shrimp for sale in fancy food stores, but in my recipe, I'm keeping it simple by using one of my favourite vegan products to make the shrimp: soy curls! The soy curls are soaked in a marinade of vegetable broth, lemon juice, miso paste, and a few other seasonings. This makes them juicy and taste lightly of the sea. The soy curls are then covered in a panko coconut coating and then fried until golden brown. Crispy and golden on the outside, and juicy and tender in the middle. Yum!
What are soy curls?
If you are new to soy curls, they are this amazing affordable 1-ingredient dried soy product. Soy curls are bland in flavor with a light chewy texture. This makes them the perfect vehicle for sucking up any marinade you give them, making them perfect for this recipe. I always keep a few bags in my pantry at all times. You can find soy curls at bulk food stores, health food stores, vegan grocers, or on amazon.
How to make Coconut Crusted Vegan Shrimp:
To make the cocktail sauce: Add the ketchup, horseradish, vinegar, and hot sauce (if using), to a medium bowl and mix well to combine.
For the soy curls: to a medium bowl, add the vegetable broth, lemon juice, miso paste, parika, garlic powder, and salt and whisk well to combine. Add the soy curls and stir to coat. Let the soy curls soak for about 10 minutes until they are softened.
Note: for this recipe, to get the most shrimp-like shapes, I like to handpick the dry soy curls from the package. I select soy curls that are longer and curlier in shape to mimic shrimp shapes. Use the remaining soy curls to make recipes such as my soy curl tacos, lemon garlic soy curls, or Jerk BBQ soy curls. In these recipes, it doesn't matter if the soy curl bits are smaller or broken.
To make the coconut panko shrimp: assemble the bowls: You will need three medium bowls.
- In bowl 1: whisk together the flour, salt, and pepper.
- Next, bowl 2: mix the warm water with the chia or flax (this will thicken in about 10 minutes).
- Lastly, bowl 3: mix together the coconut and panko.
Coat the soy curls: when you are ready to assemble the vegan shrimp, working with a few soy curls at a time, remove them from the marinade. (Do not squeeze them out, you want the soy curl to hold some of the marinade). Dredge the soy curls in the flour bowl and shake off excess. Next drop them in the chia mixture and toss to coat. Finally, toss them in the coconut panko mixture, then set them aside on a plate. Repeat with all of the soy curls until you have used up all of your ingredients.
Note 1: The chia or flax mixture can get thick as you work, so feel free to mix in more water to the mixture as needed so that it is easy to work with.
Note 2: the coating will stick to your fingers so I find it easiest to dedicate a pair of chopsticks to each bowl to make coating the soy curls easier and preventing it from sticking to your fingers.
To fry the soy curls: in a large skillet or non-stick frying pan, pour enjoy oil to generously coat the bottom of the pan. Heat the oil over medium-high heat, and when hot, carefully add the coconut-coated soy curls in a single layer, giving space around each soy curl. You will likely need to work in batches. Fry the soy curls on one side until golden brown. Then carefully flip over and fry the other side until the soy curls are browned all over (2 - 4 minutes per side). Drain the fried soy curls on a paper towel and repeat with the remaining batches. 
Serve the coconut crusted vegan shrimp hot with the cocktail sauce. My chimichurri, marinara or garlic butter, or creamy red pepper cashew dip would also make yummy sauces for dipping if you want to try something other than the cocktail sauce.
Bon appetegan!
Sam Turnbull
Coconut Crusted Vegan Shrimp!
Ingredients
For the Cocktail Sauce (optional):
- ½ cup ketchup
- 3 tablespoons horseradish
- 1 ½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- hot sauce to taste (optional)
For the soy curls:
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon white miso paste
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 oz (1 cup) dry soy curls *see notes
For the coconut panko coating:
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ cup warm water (plus more if needed)
- 4 teaspoons ground chia or ground flax
- 1 cup unsweetend shredded coconut
- ¾ cup panko bread crumbs (gluten-free if preferred)
- light oil for frying (such as vegetable or canola)
Instructions
To make the cocktail sauce:
- Add the ketchup, horseradish, vinegar, and hot sauce (if using), to a medium bowl and mix well to combine.
For the soy curls:
- To a medium bowl, add the vegetable broth, lemon juice, miso paste, parika, garlic powder, and salt and whisk well to combine. Add the soy curls and stir to coat. Let the soy curls soak for about 10 minutes until they are softened.
To make the coconut panko shrimp:
- Assemble the bowls: You will need three medium bowls. In bowl 1: whisk together the flour, salt, and pepper. In bowl 2: mix the warm water with the chia or flax (this will thicken in about 10 minutes). In bowl 3: mix together the coconut and panko.
- Coat the soy curls: when you are ready to assemble the vegan shrimp, working with a few soy curls at a time, remove them from the marinade (do not squeeze them out, you want the soy curl to hold some of the marinade). Dredge the soy curls in the flour bowl and shake off excess. Next drop them in the chia mixture and toss to coat. Finally, toss them in the coconut panko mixture, then set them aside on a plate. Repeat with all of the soy curls until you have used up all of your ingredients. Note 1: The chia or flax mixture can get thick as you work, so feel free to mix in more water to the mixture as needed so that it is easy to work with.Note 2: the coating will stick to your fingers so I find it easiest to dedicate a pair of chopsticks to each bowl to make coating the soy curls easier and preventing it from sticking to your fingers.
- To fry the soy curls: in a large skillet or non-stick frying pan, pour enjoy oil to generously coat the bottom of the pan. Heat the oil over medium-high heat, and when hot, carefully add the coconut-coated soy curls in a single layer, giving space around each soy curl. You will likely need to work in batches. Fry the soy curls on one side until golden brown, then carefully flip over and fry the other side until the soy curls are browned all over (2 - 4 minutes per side). Drain the fried soy curls on a paper towel and repeat with the remaining batches. Serve the vegan shrimp hot with the cocktail sauce.
Jone says
This may be a stupid question but legit. I'm a 69 year old lifelong vegetarian. I can't bear to walk too close to a seafood restaurant - it kick-starts my gag reflex. My partner eats fish (prepares it on the grill outside) but when he brings it in the house I want to hold my nose. (he's actually my husband but it sounds cooler to say partner) The odor of even vegetarian sushi repels me enough that I can't eat it. I know there are commercially made vegan fish products out there, but they seem to work hard to duplicate that "beloved" scent and I just can't open my mouth.
I'm intrigued by your "seafood" substitutes, but do they smell fishy?
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Jone, if you do not like seafood, then you won't likely like my vegan seafood recipes as they are designed to smell and taste like seafood. 🙂
Jone says
Thank you for your swift reply. Much appreciated!
Sabrina says
Made this for in my sushi rolls as "tempura shrimp" and all my non vegan friends loved it! Also in the rolls were cucumber and avocado. YUM! Sam kills another recipe yet again! There were leftovers as well and they were gone by the end of the evening.
Sam Turnbull says
Oh I love the idea of adding it to sushi! Yum!!
Dorothy Robins says
Loved these, made them in the air fryer. I am in love. Thanks Sam.
Sam Turnbull says
You're most welcome 🙂
Cat says
I can only find soy chunks near me in Mississauga, ON - not curls and I don't support Amazon. Where can I find soy curls!??
Sam Turnbull says
Health food stores or vegan grocery stores should carry them. There are a few vegan grocery stores in the Ontario area that deliver 🙂
Kristine says
Oh My Word! I think this might be the best vegan recipe I have ever made. People often ask me what I miss since going vegan and it's shellfish. I made this for lunch today it was so easy. I let my meat eating, fish eating has been try it and he said it tasted just like fried shrimp. The texture is absolutely perfect the flavor is amazing. I didn't have horseradish but we did have store-bought cocktail sauce in the house so I used to that. I can't wait to try it again with your cocktail sauce recipe. This one is an absolute home run and I'm definitely going to serve this at parties!
Kristine says
that was supposed to say my husband not my has been hahahaha- stupid auto correct!
Sam Turnbull says
Haha!! I was wondering!! Haha
Sam Turnbull says
Aww that's wonderful Kristine!! So thrilled you loved it so much 🙂
Kumari says
A HIT!!! Sooo sooo delicious. I’ve made soy curls many times but this was supreme. The crunch. The flavor. The dipping sauce. I think this was the fave thanksgiving 2021 appetizer (accompanied by the vegan baked Brie and vegan pate which were both amazing)… mind blown with how delicious this recipe was.
Sam Turnbull says
Awesome!! Thrilled you loved it so much Kumari!!
Evie Gregory says
This is THE most over-the-top delicious vegan recipe I have ever made! Shrimp was the one thing I have been missing.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, from me and all the shrimps in the sea.
Sam Turnbull says
Aww that's amazing! Thrilled you love it so much, Evie 🙂
Ginny says
I've been trying to make soy curls work and I've had trouble giving them enough flavor...until now! I knew they would need a delicious batter and, of course, a little frying would help. The crunch on these was perfect as was the taste! So here's my thinking now, what do you think about popcorn chicken soy curls? Maybe use your veggie broth powder in bowl #1 and keep the rest the same. Would love to hear your thoughts.
Sam Turnbull says
Popcorn chicken soy curls! Love that. Idea has been added to my list 🙂
Sam C says
These were such an amazing treat! Soy curls where have you been all my life.
Thank you for sharing your recipes
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! So happy you enjoyed!
Bev says
These are fantastic! I made a few additions to the marinade, which I always do for that fishy flavor in vegan seafood. Kelp powder is readily available at healthy food stores. Or make your own by grinding up just about any dried seaweed. Add about 2 tsp. to the marinade. I also found a fabulous mushroom/seaweed broth base. The rest of the recipe is pure genius and I'll be making this recipe again and again!
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoyed it!
Linda says
Oh my goodness. Cant stop eating them !
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! Amazing!!
Marie says
What ingredient gives the inside “a slight taste of the sea?” Should we add dulse flakes or nori crumbled up to the marinade? I’m so looking forward to trying the oil free version- thank you.
Beata says
When I make Sam's vegan tofu fillets, for the most taste of the sea, I use a generous portion of Old Bay seasoning (at least twice the amount than Sam's recipe calls for), a torn up sheet of nori plus a generous sprinkle of dulse flakes. I suppose that if one has been vegan for a while, this may be an overkill, but for this non-vegan, this combo really gives the tofu a nice seafood taste, and the vegan fish recipe has been on repeat for a long time!!! If it were me, I would try to add these ingredients in this marinade for soy curls. I also think that the key here is to NOT marinate the curls for too long, as shrimp should have some snappy (but not crunchy) bite and should not be mushy at all. The curls will definitely get mushy if soaked for too long, so I would definitely keep checking and as soon as the curls are not crunchy, proceed with the breading and frying.
I have so much soy curls, I really have to try Sam's shrimp soon! Thank you, Sam!!!
Marie says
Thanks Beata. Yours tip for Old Bay and rehydrating the soy curls are great, I appreciate that!! I was wondering from Sam what is in her ingredient list in this specific recipe that gives a slight taste of the sea, or did she just miss it? I will definitely add dulse flakes to the marinade, looking forward to trying other "seafood" vegan recipes. Have a great day!!
Sam Turnbull says
The miso paste and lemon juice combined make it taste kinda fishy 🙂