Bonefish Grill Bang Bang Shrimp is a popular, chain fried shrimp recipe! It’s crispy, coated in a creamy sweet, and spicy chili sauce, and so incredibly tasty! This appetizer comes together easily, with a few ingredients, and is the best Bang Bang Shrimp Recipe I’ve had! This is the way to make bang bang sauce coming from a former worker of the chain restaurant!
We love shrimp recipes! This creamy Shrimp Dip, Olive Garden Shrimp Appetizer, and Shrimp Fried Rice are my top favorites! But if you’re looking for a good shrimp pasta recipe you need to try these Shrimp Stuffed Shells. These Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos are also another Bonefish Grill Copycat.
What is Bang Bang Shrimp?
Bang Bang shrimp is an American Chinese dish that is lightly breaded and fried then tossed in a spicy sweet chili sauce infused with mayonnaise. With some heat from the sriracha and Thai sweet chili sauce, bang bang shrimp is not too spicy and is diluted with mayonnaise, balancing out the chili pepper flavors. This shrimp sauce has the slightest kick after one bite but is very mild and balanced out, even our children can devour these!
This dish goes by different names as some restaurants like, Cheesecake Factory call it dynamite shrimp. We recently ate out at The Hook Seafood and Oyster House and one of their appetizers was”bang bang shrimp”. My whole family loved these bang, bang shrimps and they were the first to disappear. Apparently, Bonefish Grill isn’t the only restaurant serving this popular appetizer. Needless to say, it reminded me of the Bonefish Grill shrimp which made me crave for some after our trip.
This popular shrimp appetizer comes from a former worker of Bonefish Grill. It was mentioned that you need to marinate the shrimp in buttermilk (not for too long). Then the shrimp gets breaded and deep fried. While they are still warm they get tossed in a creamy spicy sauce that seeps into the coating giving them their authentic crispy look. If you want to stay true to the bang bang sauce it should be on the spicier level of what your palette can handle. Then once mixed with the fried shrimp it will balance out in heat. This is one of the bang, bang shrimp recipes you can count on!
Bang Bang Shrimp Ingredients:
Copycat bang bang shrimp is a recipe with simple ingredients. Most of these ingredients for the bang bang sauce can be found at major grocery stores like Walmart. It’s one of those foods that can come together quickly because shrimp thaws and cooks so easily.
- Shrimp- we used medium 38-45 shrimp count raw shrimp, peeled and deveined with the tails off. The prep time will be much quicker if the shrimp are cleaned and pre-peeled otherwise you should remove the peels and tails before starting. Thaw your shrimp in cold water before beginning. Any small-medium shrimps will work.
- Buttermilk- works like a marinade and tenderizer. It helps the cornstarch breading to stick better and creates a better crust. Don’t soak for too long buttermilk is acidic and shrimps don’t need too much time to tenderize.
- Cornstarch- is a super simple breading used a lot in Chinese cuisine. It makes light and crispy shrimp quickly.
- Oil- that is mildly flavored and able to tolerate a temperature of 375°F is ideal. Pour 2 inches of oil into a deep pot and preheat oil over a steady medium heat. I use 2-3 cups of sunflower oil but you can use peanut oil, canola, or vegetable oil.
- Bang Bang Shrimp Sauce- is so easy to make! All you need is mayo, Sriracha, sea salt, and Thai sweet chili sauce (Mae Ploy brand is my favorite),
Bang Bang Shrimp without Buttermilk?
How To Make Bang Bang Shrimp:
The key to making crispy shrimp is soaking the shrimp briefly in buttermilk and then dredging them into cornstarch. This creates a better body in the coating. Be sure to use a clip-on pot thermometer to keep the oil steady at 375°F. This will help you keep track of the temp throughout frying as you don’t want to go too low to absorb too much oil or too high to burn. I would fry shrimp in deep cookware like a pot or Dutch oven and use a slotted spoon to easily remove shrimp.
- Make Bang Bang Sauce: combine the mayo, sweet chili sauce, sriracha, and salt. Give it a good whisk and cover it with plastic wrap so it doesn’t oxidize until you’re ready to use it. Pop it in the fridge if you need to.
- Marinate the shrimp in buttermilk for at least 10 minutes to tenderize and soak. Meanwhile, you can preheat the oil to 350-375°F.
- Breading- remove the shrimp from the buttermilk and allow any excess to drip off. Really wet shrimp can clump up the breading so drip off any excess (don’t wash). Dredge into the cornstarch and shake off any excess starch (this helps keep the oil clean from bits of the breading that may burn later in the oil).
- Fry the shrimp in batches working with 6-8 shrimp at a time. It takes about 2-3 minutes to deep fry shrimp. I wouldn’t coat more shrimp at a time as the cornstarch seeps into the shrimp and makes it lose its crust.
- Place the shrimp onto a paper towel-lined plate so the shrimp doesn’t get soggy.
- Transfer the warm shrimp to a large mixing bowl. Add the sauce and toss to coat or use a rubber spatula to mix in the the bang bang sauce. You want to do this when it’s still warm to create a creamy crispy crust.
Breading Tip: Put corn starch in a zip-lock bag then add drained shrimp, close and shake.
What to Serve with Bang Bang Shrimp:
Wondering how to serve Bang Bang Shrimp? This sauce can be added to chicken, salmon, shrimp, and pasta salad! Many folks have gotten creative and turned these into eggrolls, rice bowls, and healthy shrimp salad (using an air-fryer)! It can easily transition from an appetizer to a main course depending on how you make it. To serve it as a starter simply arrange bang bang shrimp over a bed of green leaf lettuce and garnish with thinly sliced chives or green onions.
- Make it healthy- by making a gluten-free breading of almond flour and parmesan cheese (this is Keto-friendly too)!
- Chicken and Shrimp- make it with a combo of poultry and seafood! You may need to double the sauce and then serve it over a bowl of cooked brown rice. Add your favorite salad or taco toppings and drizzle with more sauce!
- Bang Bang Shrimp bowl- turn this into an entree and make a salad bowl! Top bang bang shrimp over romaine lettuce, cucumbers, diced tomatoes, scallions, avocados, and sesame seeds. You can also use a coleslaw cabbage blend as the base instead of lettuce and use this as a taco filling!
- Shrimp with bang bang sauce would be good over pizza, sandwiches, or with any fried food! It would be great with a big side of French Fries!
- Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos- fill these in soft flour or corn tortillas with a squeeze of fresh lime juice. All you need is shredded cabbage or lettuce, a tomato, and fresh herbs like cilantro or parsley!
Tips for Making Bang Bang Shrimp:
- Don’t oversoak the shrimp in buttermilk it is delicate and shouldn’t need to be marinated in buttermilk for more than an hour. Allowing it to sit any longer can make the shrimp chewy and tough and the acid can begin to cook the shrimp after a while.
- Try to drip off any excess buttermilk before dredging in the cornstarch, this will prevent clumps in your coating and cornstarch.
- Keep the oil at a steady 350-375°F for golden results. You don’t want to burn or have soggy shrimp. It’s important not to overcrowd the deep-fryer too as that can drop the oil temperature.
- Toss the fried shrimp with the bang bang sauce warm, this creates a creamier coating.
- The bang bang sauce for shrimp should be covered with plastic wrap when storing. Mayonnaise can oxidize when sitting out so, keep the sauce refrigerated and well-covered.
- Make it easy bang bang shrimp by using deveined and peeled shrimp with tails off. Frozen shrimp come in different sizes and options, you can save yourself a lot of time by buying pre-peeled shrimp.
This is one of our easy shrimp recipes! Have you made this Bang Bang shrimp, rate and leave a comment below to share your feedback!
More Asian Recipes To Make:
If you love Chinese food, here is a collection of recipes with Asian flavors! I love take-out favorites that I can make at home for my family!
Bang Bang Shrimp
Equipment
- 1 Dutch oven pot (for deep frying)
- 1 slotted spoon
- 1 dinner plate lined with paper towels
- 2 mixing bowls (for marinating and dredging)
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 8 oz medium shrimp peeled and deveined, tails removed
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup cornstarch
Bang Bang Sauce:
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 1/2 Tbsp sriracha
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
Instructions
Directions:
Make Bang Bang sauce: in a small bowl mix the mayo, sweet chili sauce, sriracha, and salt. Cover and keep refrigerated until needed.- In another small bowl marinate the shrimp in buttermilk for 10 minutes. Preheat the oil to 375°F in a Dutch oven pot over medium heat (2-3 inches of oil is ideal.)
- Remove the shrimp from the buttermilk and drain off any excess liquid.
- Dredge them into the cornstarch and shake off any excess starch. Arrange 6-8 shrimps on a cutting board working in small batches.
- Fry the shrimp until they float to the top and get golden (2-3 minutes). Transfer shrimp to a plate lined with paper towels to briefly drain off excess oil.
- Toss the fried shrimp in the sauce while still warm to absorb the sauce.
- Serve over a bed of lettuce and garnish with green onions.
