🍤Golden Panko Fried Shrimp with Meyer Lemon Tartar Sauce

Sometimes the simplest recipes are the ones you keep thinking about for days afterward — and these crispy panko fried shrimp were absolutely one of those recipes.

I started with a pound of beautiful peeled and deveined 21–25 count tail-on shrimp from Trader Joe’s, which made the whole thing ridiculously easy. No peeling, no cleaning, no wrestling with shrimp shells — just thaw, pat them lightly dry, bread them, and fry.

But the real star was the panko.

I had been carrying around a bag of unusually large-flake Japanese-style panko I found at an Asian market near Daly City/South San Francisco. The crumbs were bigger, lighter and more irregular than ordinary supermarket breadcrumbs, and once fried they created this wonderfully airy, crunchy golden crust.

And then came the Meyer lemon tartar sauce.

Oh, my.

Creamy mayonnaise and sour cream, sweet pickle relish, fresh Meyer lemon juice and zest, and just a little roasted garlic made the perfect bright, tangy, slightly sweet dipping sauce for those piping-hot shrimp.

This is an easy recipe, but there are a few little tricks that make a huge difference.

Crispy Panko Fried Shrimp

Serves: 3–4
Prep Time: About 15 minutes
Cook Time: About 5–8 minutes
Total Time: About 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 pound large peeled and deveined shrimp, preferably 21–25 count, tails on

• 1 to 1½ cups all-purpose flour

• 3 large eggs

• ½ cup milk

• 2–3 cups Japanese-style panko breadcrumbs, preferably large-flake panko

• Salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

• Peanut oil or another neutral high-heat frying oil

Set Up Your Breading Station

Arrange three shallow bowls or dishes:

Bowl One: All-purpose flour
Bowl Two: 3 eggs whisked together with about ½ cup milk
Bowl Three: Panko breadcrumbs

Season the shrimp lightly with salt and pepper.

The Secret to Panko That Actually Stays on the Shrimp

The flour matters.

Because shrimp naturally hold a little surface moisture, dredging them first in flour gives the egg wash something to grip. The egg then becomes the adhesive for your beautiful crunchy panko crust.

Bread each shrimp in this order:

Flour → Egg Wash → Panko

Press the panko gently onto the shrimp so it adheres well.

For an extra-thick, extra-crispy coating, dip the breaded shrimp once more into the egg wash and then back into the panko:

Flour → Egg → Panko → Egg → Panko

Place the finished shrimp on a tray and allow them to rest for about 10 minutes before frying.

You can also place the tray in the freezer for about 10 minutes. That little chill helps firm the breading and encourages it to stay attached once it hits the hot oil.

Fry the Shrimp

Add approximately 1½–2 inches of peanut oil to a heavy cast-iron skillet or deep frying pan.

Heat the oil to approximately 350°F–365°F.

That is the sweet spot: hot enough to immediately crisp the coating without scorching it before the shrimp cooks.

Carefully lower several shrimp into the oil without overcrowding the pan.

Fry until beautifully golden brown and the shrimp are opaque and just cooked through, generally about 2–4 minutes total depending on their size and the temperature of your oil, turning as needed.

Shrimp cook quickly, so once that panko becomes deeply golden and crisp, they are usually ready.

Transfer to a wire rack or paper-towel-lined plate and sprinkle immediately with a tiny pinch of salt.

Then eat them while they are hot, crunchy and glorious.

Serve Them With

My absolute favorite pairing is my homemade Meyer Lemon Garlic Tartar Sauce, made with mayonnaise, sour cream, sweet pickle relish, fresh Meyer lemon juice and zest, and a little roasted garlic.

They are also wonderful with classic homemade cocktail sauce made from ketchup, fresh horseradish, lemon, salt and pepper.

Or put out both sauces and let everybody double-dip their way to happiness.

Nomad Kitchen Note

If you can find Course-flake Japanese panko, grab it.

Traditional panko is already lighter and crispier than conventional breadcrumbs, but the especially large, irregular flakes create even more little craggy edges that turn gloriously crunchy in hot oil.

It makes these simple fried shrimp taste like something you'd order at a very good seafood restaurant — except you can make an entire platter at home in about half an hour.

And yes, Trader Joe’s peeled and deveined shrimp make this almost dangerously easy.