Sweet Potato Shrimp Croquettes are crunchy on the outside and soft and sweet on the inside. Paired with an Indonesian inspired lemongrass tartar sauce, they’re the appetizer you never knew you loved!
I don’t know if you know this about me, but I love lists. Like, LOOOOVE them. There is something I find so zen about sitting down to categorize, organize and prioritize one’s thoughts. And then the check mark. The little feeling of pride and accomplishment every time you check something off that list is priceless. It’s like a tiny pat on the back. I know, I’m a big nerd! But I’m owning it.

I literally live by my lists, especially my daily to-do, weekly meal plan, and the endless grocery and prep lists that go along with being a private chef. But I also keep running lists for just about any other random thing you could think of, like “House Projects, “Wardrobe Purchases” and “Trips to Take” (does anyone else do this?). I just counted six stickie notes on my computer desktop, and this year I purchased an Erin Condren Life Planner and a bunch of planning themed stickers on Etsy which took my list making to a whole other weird, decorative level. Told you guys, obsessed.

So it shouldn’t come as a shocker to anyone that I have a list of future recipes for this blog. I brainstorm recipe ideas on a stickie, then schedule all my posts a couple of months in advance so I’m never stuck thinking, “what the heck am I going to blog about this week?” Sometimes I’ll have a sudden inspiration to make something that’s not on the list- I may love them, but I try not to be a slave to them- which will push back whatever is next. Well, this is one of those times when I’ve let a recipe sit on the list for so long that it ended up evolving into something completely different, and I’m so happy it did.

These sweet potato shrimp croquettes were originally destined to be regular shrimp croquettes with a Meyer lemon tartar sauce. I had the idea way back in the winter when Meyer lemons were in season. But it kept getting postponed for other recipes that just excited me more, and I didn’t get around to this one until late Spring, and then I realized that Meyer lemons didn’t make as much sense anymore, seasonally speaking.

So I went back to the drawing board and the first thought I had was to create an Indonesian inspired tartar sauce with lemongrass, lime and chile paste. So dang good.

Then I had to revamp the croquette to match this rad sauce that I want to dip everything into, so I incorporated ginger, jalapeño and coconut milk, plus sweet potato to make this fried dish a bit lighter. The end result were these sweet potato shrimp croquettes, an amazing fusion of Southeast Asian flavor in a classic American southern dish.

So while I still totally respect the art of list making, these sweet potato shrimp croquettes are proof positive that beautiful things can happen when you stray a little from the path.

5 from 1 vote

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Sweet Potato Shrimp Croquettes + Lemongrass Tartar Sauce

Sweet Potato Shrimp Croquettes are crunchy on the outside and soft and sweet on the inside. Paired with an Indonesian inspired lemongrass tartar sauce, they’re the appetizer you never knew you loved!

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Keyword homemade croquettes, shrimp croquettes, sweet potato poppers

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 400 kcal

Author Denisse

Ingredients

For the croquettes:

• 2 medium sweet potatoes
• 1 tablespoon Earth Balance or butter
• 2 tablespoons coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1/4 cup shallot diced
• 1 stalk celery diced
• 2 teaspoons ginger minced
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 2 teaspoons jalapeño diced
• 8 ounces uncooked shrimp peeled, deveined and chopped
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• 2 cups panko
• Salt and pepper
• Canola oil for frying

For the lemongrass tartar sauce:

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons grated lemongrass
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• Zest of 1 lime
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon chile garlic sauce
• 1 scallion thinly sliced

Instructions

1. Pierce sweet potatoes several times with a fork. Place on a microwave safe dish and cook for about 5 minutes, turn and cook for another 5 minutes or until tender. Allow to cool slightly, then peel and mash in a bowl along with Earth Balance, coconut milk and a pinch of salt. Set aside to cool
2. Heat coconut oil in a skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot, add shallot, celery, ginger, garlic and jalapeño and sauté for about 3 minutes, then add shrimp and continue to cook for another 3-5 minutes or until shrimp is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Add shrimp mixture to mashed sweet potato and mix well to combine. Chill mixture for at least one hour in the refrigerator (you can speed the process along a bit by chilling in the freezer, just be careful not to freeze the mixture!)
4. While mixture is chilling, make the lemongrass tartar sauce. In a small bowl mix together mayonnaise, lemongrass, lime juice, lime zest, salt, pepper, chile garlic sauce and scallion.
5. Set up a dredging station with beaten egg in one bowl and panko in another. Stir flour into chilled sweet potato mixture until fully incorporated, then use an ice cream scoop to measure out about 2 tablespoons and gently form into an oval shape. Carefully dip into egg (mixture will be soft), then roll in panko to coat. Set aside and repeat process with remaining mixture.

6. Pour canola oil about one inch thick into a deep skillet and heat until oil is shimmering. Test oil for doneness with a few panko crumbs, when they sizzle and float the oil is ready for frying. Fry croquettes in batches of 3-4 at a time, flipping once, until golden brown on all sides. Transfer to a peper towel lined plate to drain. Serve with lemongrass tartar sauce.

Recipe Notes

The sauce can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for a week.