We love eating at Bonefish Grill and are crazy about their Bang Bang Shrimp. When served as an appetizer, Bonefish Grill nestles their shrimp in a bed of lettuce. They, also, serve it as an entrée in tacos. My husband loves Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos, so I have been re-creating and perfecting this recipe.
While many taco recipes call for shredded cabbage, I like nestling my shrimp in a bed of lettuce just like Bonefish. I garnish it with chopped tomatoes, pickled jalapeño slices, and chopped green onions and drizzle it with a bit of Mexican crema. If you haven’t tried crema, you really should. It is a creamy and slightly tangy condiment similar to sour cream. It is a delicious accompaniment to any Mexican dish.
You can serve this recipe in corn taco shells you purchase from the supermarket if you like, but my husband really prefers flour. It is easy to heat flour tortillas in the oven and mold them into taco shells. Directions for doing this are at the end of the recipe.
My husband gave this recipe a 10! I think I finally have it done pat.
Carol Ann’s Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos
Makes 8 tacos
For the sauce:
½ cup mayonnaise
4 tablespoons Thai sweet chili sauce
2 teaspoons Sriracha®, or to taste
1 tablespoon honey
In a small bowl, place mayonnaise, Thai sweet chili sauce, Sriracha, and honey and whisk to combine. Cover sauce and refrigerate until ready to serve shrimp.
For the shrimp:
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined, with tails removed
1 cup buttermilk
In a medium bowl, place shrimp and buttermilk. Marinate shrimp in buttermilk for 10 to 15 minutes.
To bread the shrimp:
1 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon large grind black pepper
1 cup milk
1 large egg, beaten
In a shallow bowl, combine cornstarch, onion and garlic powders, paprika, chili powder, salt, and pepper. In a shallow bowl, combine milk and egg.
Canola oil for trying
When ready to fry shrimp, dip shrimp in the cornstarch mixture and then in the milk mixture.
In an electric skillet or large frying pan, place oil about ¼- to ½-inch deep over a medium high heat (about 350 degrees F). To tell is oil is hot enough to fry, sprinkle a few drops of water into the oil. If it sizzles, the oil it hot enough. Fry shrimp for 1 ½ minutes on each side, or until golden brown. (If the oil boils vigorously, it is too hot. Turn down the temperature.) Drain fried shrimp on a rack or paper towels.
When all shrimp have been fried, place them in a bowl and toss with desired amount of sauce.
For serving:
Oven fried flour tortillas or taco shells (see instructions below to turn flour tortillas into taco
shells)
Shredded lettuce
Carol Ann’s Bang Bang shrimp
Chopped tomato
Pickled jalapeño slices
Chopped green onions
Mexican crema for drizzling
Fill taco shells with lettuce, top with shrimp, garnish with chopped tomato, pickled jalapeño slices, and chopped green onions. Drizzle with Mexican crema.
Note: For an easier meal, use corn taco shells that you purchase at the supermarket. We prefer flour. Turning flour tortillas into taco shells is really quite easy.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray flour tortillas with cooking spray. Place each tortilla spray-side down, over 2 rungs of the oven. Bake for 5 minutes, or until tortillas are done to your liking. Serve immediately. Cooked this way, flour tortillas have a nice taco shape and are crispy and delicious.
Tips on selecting shrimp: Fishermen put shrimp on ice as soon as they are caught. This preserves the shrimp, freezing them so they are just-caught fresh until they are thawed. The fresh shrimp you see on ice in the seafood counter at your supermarket were most likely once frozen and are thawing in the counter. The longer they are in the counter, the less fresh they will be. Unless you know that the fresh shrimp you are buying is fresh off the boat, frozen shrimp is a better choice. Do not purchase frozen shrimp that have dry spots on their shells. This is a sign of freezer burn.
To thaw frozen seafood or fish, place it in the refrigerator overnight or place fish in its package in a large bowl in the sink. Fill the bowl with cold water and keep a slow stream of cold water running into the bowl. Removing fish or seafood from its package and thawing it directly in cold water may damage its color and flavor.
Carol Ann
Carol Ann Kates is the award-winning author of cookbook, Secret Recipes from the Corner Market and Insider Grocery Shopping Secrets. She’s an expert in how to shop, select, and store produce for maximizing home cooking outcomes and minimizing time and money spent. As a former supermarket and deli operator, Carol Ann shares grocery-insider wisdom—the same expertise you used to receive when patronizing a mom-and-pop establishment. Contact her at CarolAnn@CarolAnnKates.com and explore her website, www.CarolAnnKates.com.
Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved Carol Ann Kates
Carol Ann Kates 