These Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos are a Bonefish Grill impersonator. Gray shrimp is tossed in a spicy Sriracha and Chili-garlic sauce. Consume immediately – you won’t want to wait anyway!

Life as a military spouse has taught me some important lessons. The most important thing? You always have to be creative.

Whether it’s arranging a bedroom wardrobe in Europe or figuring out the best way to send my homemade Pico De Gallo to my husband in South Korea, I’ve learned to get what I need (or want) if it’s not always available.

The double-edged sword of life as a military spouse is that you can travel the world, but you are far from the comfort of your home. We were living in Germany when I fell in love with Bonefish Grills Bang Bang Shrimp ® .

I first tried it during a visit to the USA, but guess what Germany does not have? You guessed it!

I was craving this shrimp when I was pregnant with our twins, so I put on my culinary cape and started creating my Version of the dish.

What is Bang Bang shrimp?

The first Star of this dish is the fleshy and crispy shrimp. For these Tacos, I like to use extra-large shrimp, sometimes called “26-30”, in reference to the number of shrimp in a pound. To make it easy and save time, I buy them peeled and pitted with tails removed. Playing with shrimp tails bothers you if you try to enjoy these delicious Tacos.

The other Star of this recipe is the slightly spicy Sauce made from Mayonnaise-the coup in the coup, I would call it. Crispy shrimps are thrown into this creamy Sauce just before serving. You can adjust the heat by reducing (or increasing!) the Amount of Sriracha in the Mixture.

How to get extra crispy shrimp

You can not bypass frying for the crispest version of this shrimp.

• Flour + Cornstarch: Use a combination of flour and cornstarch for extra crispy breading. It fits under the sweet and spicy sauce.
• Drying and frying: after breading, place the shrimp on a refrigerated rack before frying. This gives the breading a chance to “dry out” and gives the shrimp even more crunch.
• Maintain your temperature: use a thermometer to make sure you are frying at the right temperature.

Maintaining this temperature throughout cooking is also important. The shrimp is fried at 350°F, so it is recommended to use a fried thermometer to keep its oil at this temperature.

Batch frying: overfilling the pan is a sure way to reduce the temperature of your oil (resulting in a wet and oily breading). Try to keep the batches on the smaller side to maintain the right temperature. One Handful after another (about 7 or 8 Shrimp) is Usually good.

Make-Ahead Sauce

You can prepare the Bang Bang sauce a day or two in advance. Keep it covered in the refrigerator until it is ready for use.

Leave the Sauce at room temperature while the shrimp are roasting so that it can warm up. In this way, you will not have any warm shrimp left after throwing them into the Cold Sauce from the refrigerator.

How to serve shrimp Bang Bang

I like to add cabbage chops to my Tacos to get a contrast in texture and soften the heat of the Sauce a little. The prawns are served in warmed flour tortillas; however, if you want to reduce carbohydrates, you can serve them in lettuce leaves instead.

I top my Tacos with thinly sliced radishes and Jalapeños, limes, chopped coriander and green onions. Letting my team adjust their Tacos is always a success.

Tip for Leftovers! If you know that you have extra shrimp left, do not throw them into the Sauce. Store fried Shrimp and Sauce separately. When ready to eat, place the leftover Sauce on the counter to return to room temperature while heating the oven to 200°f. Reheat the shrimp in the oven for 15 minutes, then combine the Sauce and shrimp and eat as directed.

Ingredient

For the Bang bang sauce:

• 1 cup Mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup garlic Chili sauce
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha Sauce, optional

For the Prawns:

• 1 1/2 pounds extra large (26-30 Count) shrimp, peeled and deveined
  
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 Teaspoon Freshly ground black pepper
• 6 cups vegetable oil for Frying

To Serve:

• 10 taco-sized flour tortillas, warmed (or Bibb lettuce leaves)
• 8 ounces shredded cabbage, about 3 cups
• Radishes, thinly sliced
• Finely sliced Jalapeño peppers
• Sliced green onions
• Chopped Coriander

Method

Making the Bang Bang Sauce:

In a bowl, whisk together the Mayonnaise, Chili-garlic sauce and Sriracha until smooth. Store in the refrigerator for up to two days before use.

Marinate the prawns:

In a separate bowl, marinate the shrimp in the buttermilk for 20 minutes.

Prepare your shopping cart:

Combine the flour, cornstarch, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.

Place a cooling rack on a plate on which you can place the breaded shrimp before frying (this contributes to a crispy coating of the shrimp).

Also install a drip station by lining another plate with a thick layer of paper napkins. (Or if you need to put another cooling shelf on the plate, it’s even better!)

Set the oven to 200°F.

Shrimp bread:

While the oil is warming up, drain the buttermilk and add the shrimp in batches to the flour mixture. Shake off the excess flour and arrange the shrimp on the cooling rack to “dry” while you heat your frying oil.

Heating the oil:

Place a thermometer in a wide and deep pan like a Dutch oven and add the oil. Heat over medium heat until the oil reaches 350°F (this takes about 20 minutes.)

Fry the Shrimp:

Add a handful of shrimp to the hot oil and, after a minute of frying, use a slotted spoon to stir and separate the shrimp. Roast for 4 to 4 and a half minutes or until the prawns are golden brown.

Keep the shrimp warm and continue to fry:

Remove the prawns from the oil with a slotted spoon and place them on your drainer/pan. Place the cooked Shrimp in the hot oven.

Continue to fry the remaining shrimp in batches. Don’t forget to let the oil return to 350°F between batches.

Shrimp sauce:

After all the shrimp have been fried, throw everything into 1 cup of Sauce. Set aside the remaining Sauce to drizzle over the Tacos.

Assemble the Tacos:

Fill the warmed tortillas with a handful of crushed cabbage, then cabbage with shrimp, then more Sauce (if desired). Garnish the Tacos with sliced radishes, Jalapeños, green onions and chopped cilantro and serve.

These Tacos are best enjoyed immediately.