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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.