Bang Bang Shrimp is a huge hit with everyone – crispy shrimp, coated in a creamy, spicy sauce!
This recipe is inspired by the popular Bang Bang Shrimp that everyone loves so much, and I wanted to recreate it and share this with all of you because it turns out that it’s pretty easy to make at home!
And the shrimp is so delicious that I guarantee you they’ll disappear in minutes. The whole batch will just disappear! We love to serve this alongside Crock Pot Chicken Wings for a bit more appetizer kick!
What is Bang Bang Shrimp?
Bang Bang Shrimp is a simple and amazing appetizer. You fry the shrimp until lightly brown, and toss it in a sweet and spicy sauce, made of Thai chili sauce and Sriracha.
I absolutely love how addictive bang bang shrimp is. And I really wanted to try it at home after we had Bonefish Grill Bang Bang Shrimp. Each piece of shrimp was crisp, and that sauce was so so good! I think my copycat bang bang shrimp recipe is pretty close and I’m going to spill all the secrets here.
How to Make Bang Bang Shrimp
It starts with soaking the shrimp in buttermilk. This is done to add flavour, and to give the breading/coating enough volume.
The shrimp only needs a nice coating of buttermilk, so all you need is a minute. Any more than that and the acids in the buttermilk might start cooking the shrimp (like a ceviche).
Once the shrimp is well coated with buttermilk, you can take it out, shake off the extra and coat it in cornstarch. There are recipes out there which recommend panko breadcrumbs, but the cornstarch provides a nice thick coat that’s crispy and still light.
The shrimp is fried in oil, which is heated to 375 degrees. It’s important that you use a thermometer to make sure that that temperature is maintained. While deep frying anything, its common that once you heat up the oil, and add the shrimp (for example), the temperature of the oil will drop. If you have thermometer, you can detect this and adjust the heat so that your temperature is maintained. This will avoid soggy shrimp and make sure your shrimp is fried to perfection.
What is in Bang Bang Shrimp Sauce
The bang bang shrimp sauce recipe is made with mayonnaise, sriracha and Thai sweet chili sauce. It’s what gives this shrimp appetizer its distinct flavour and makes this shrimp dish so popular. You can mix together the sauce and set it aside while you fry the shrimp.
Once the shrimp is fried, coat it with the sauce and serve immediately. The breading tends to soak up the sauce pretty quickly, but the shrimp still remains crisp for a while. I always make extra sauce so that we can dip the shrimp in it!
Other Great Appetizers
- Ginger Honey Garlic Chicken Tenders
- Easy Cocktail Meatballs (Sweet and Sour Meatballs) – a family favorite!!
- Oven Baked Buffalo Cauliflower
- Crab Rangoon (Crab & Cream Cheese filled Wontons)
- Sticky Hot Chicken Wings Recipe – delicious sauce
What to Serve With Bang Bang Shrimp
How about serving up some Bang Bang Shrimp tacos? Or Bang Bang Shrimp Pasta if you’re in the mood. You could serve Bang Bang Shrimp with Fried Rice, Grilled Zucchini and Roasted Cauliflower for a complete meal. Bang Bang Chicken and Shrimp Cheesecake Factory style may be on your list too! You could add it on top of Easy Kale Salad with Fresh Lemon Dressing to get some delicious greens in your day.
Bang Bang Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1 pound medium sized Shrimp peeled and deveined
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ½ cup cornstarch
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sriracha hot sauce
- 2 tablespoons Thai sweet chili sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- oil for frying
Instructions
- Place shrimp and buttermilk in a medium bowl and coat the shrimp well. Drain the buttermilk, and shake off the excess.
- Coat the shrimp pieces in cornstarch and set aside.
- In a bowl whisk together mayonnaise, sriracha, thai sweet chili sauce and honey.
- Heat oil in a deep skillet to 375°F. Once the oil is hot, fry the shrimp for 2 minutes on each side till they are a light golden brown. Remove the cooked shrimp and put on a plate lined with paper towels and pat any extra oil.
- Toss the shrimp in the sauce and serve immediately.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Appetizer
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I love this!!! So good and so easy to make. Thank you!
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe Mitzie!
Can you do this in an air dryer??
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure Don, but it should work just fine! I would follow the cook times in this crispy air fryer shrimp recipe. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
I made this for my husband who travels a lot and had mentioned how much he liked the bang bang shrimp at Bonefish Grill. This has never been something that appealed to me because I don’t like heat spices. He loved it and said it was even better than Bonefish Grill and I really liked it too. I even learned something new; kinda embarrassed to say, but I have never in my life heard of frying with cornstarch, and I am from the south! Excellent! I served as an entree with coconut rice and roasted broccoli. Thank you!!
I am so happy to hear that you loved this Tammy!
So easy!! And just delicious…
So happy you enjoyed it, Chris!
My husband loved it. He ate it for lunch.
Although I used sour cream and water because my husband drank the last cup of milk that we have. Also, I used cayenne pepper powder (to taste) instead of sriracha hot sauce. Not sure if the changes that I made affected the original taste of the recipe but it turned out great.
Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Yum
Thanks for this helpful information.
Looks like a winner!
Of course, if you do NOT have buttermilk handy, or don’t wish to buy a large container of it, you can also mock it up on the cheap by doing the following: use whole milk, or canned, and add to that a teaspoon of white vinegar or lemon juice. Stir and let it stand for 5-10 minutes to sour. It won’t give quite the same flavor as buttermilk would but it works in a pinch.
Great tip, thank you John!
Can these be made in an air fryer?
I’ve only tried this as written, let us know how it works out for you if you try it!