Bang Bang Shrimp Everyone Will Love || Sauce Made From Scratch

Bang bang shrimp is crispy on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside. It’s rolled in a creamy sauce, that is pleasantly sweet with just the right amount of spicy kick.

This dish is easy to make from scratch, and everybody loves it.

It’s one of those dishes that you really can’t get enough of … and you don’t really want to either.

The dish was made popular by a restaurant called Bonefish Grill. There are none of these restaurants where I live. So, I have never had their version of the sauce.

I have had plenty of bang bang sauce made by other establishments. But, I’ve never found one that I really like. I’ve eaten many that are tasty, yet none that are ‘off the charts’.

That’s why I created my own. I think it’s perfect. I hope you do too.

WHAT IS BANG BANG SHRIMP?

This dish is comprised of deep fried shrimp rolled in a sweet and spicy sauce that keeps you coming back for more. And each bite you take is better than the last.

The shrimp is soaked in buttermilk, covered with a light coating of cornstarch, and then lightly deep fried. And the sauce is thick, creamy, and clings to the shrimp perfectly.

Bang bang sauce is usually made with a blend of mayonnaise, sweet thai chili sauce, and sriracha sauce. Today, I am going to show you how to make it from scratch.

You can use the mayonnaise recipe from the blog to keep that ingredient from scratch. I recommend making your own, but store bought mayonnaise will work as well.

The ingredients for the sweet thai chili sauce are incorporated into the recipe.

And the sriracha sauce will have to be purchased from a store. This sauce is made with a red jalapeno chile pepper, and I am assuming most people don’t have those on hand.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR THIS RECIPE

There are a few ingredients needed to make this bang bang shrimp that you may not have in your kitchen.

You will be able to pick them up at just about any grocery store. If you happen to have an Asian market in your area, I suggest you stop there to snag them. They will likely be less expensive there.

Here’s a list of what you’ll need for this recipe …

• MAYONNAISE – Make your own mayonnaise if you can. Any mayonnaise will work. This ingredient gives the sauce it’s creamy consistency.
• WATER – Fresh well water will give the best results in this recipe. Avoid chlorinated water.
• RICE VINEGAR – Adds a little tang to the sauce.
• SUGAR – Contrasts with all of the tangy and spicy ingredients in the recipe in the best of ways.
• CRUSHED RED PEPPER – Gives the sauce some bite.
• SRIRACHA SAUCE – Adds a little more bite, along with that signature flavor that sriracha is known for.
• FISH SAUCE – Gives a little umami flavor to the sauce.
• GROUND GINGER & GRANULATED GARLIC – Great seasoning combo for this dish.
• CORNSTARCH – Used in the sauce to help it stick to the shrimp. And used as a coating for the shrimp for frying.
• SHRIMP – Well … what would bang bang shrimp be without shrimp?!?!
• BUTTERMILK – Used to soak the shrimp. Provides a tangy flavor.
• OIL – Use a light oil for frying
• SHREDDED LETTUCE – This dish is commonly served on a bed of lettuce. This ingredient is completely optional, but highly recommended. The shrimp is absolutely delicious eaten with the lettuce, almost like a salad.
• SCALLIONS – Chopped scallions are used to garnish this dish. But they actually provide a very nice flavor addition in each bite. It is highly recommended that you use them.

HOW TO MAKE BANG BANG SHRIMP

Bang bang shrimp is quick and easy to make. There is a full step-by-step recipe at the end of this post, for your convenience.

Following is a brief overview of what you can expect when you make this dish.

You will want to start by soaking the shrimp in buttermilk for about an hour.

While the shrimp are soaking, you can make the sauce. Then it will be ready to roll the shrimp in when they come out of the frying oil.

To do that you will simply add all of the ingredients to a bowl and whisk them together well.

When the shrimp are done soaking, drain them and coat them in cornstarch. This makes them ready to fry.

Fry the shrimp in hot oil until they are lightly cooked. Don’t leave them in too long. Shrimp takes just minutes to cook.

Remove them from the oil and set them on a paper towel lined plate to drain. Allow them to drain for just a few minutes. Don’t let them sit too long or they will get cold.

Roll them in the sauce, and serve over a bed of lettuce. Add a few sliced scallions to garnish the dish.

HOW TO SERVE BANG BANG SHRIMP AS AN APPETIZER

As I mentioned earlier, bang bang shrimp was made poplular by a restaurant chain called Bonefish Grill.

It is my understanding that if you order this dish at this restaurant it will be served to you on a bed of lettuce, and garnished with scallion slices.

This is how I prepared it for this blog post. And I absolutely loved it. I will likely always serve it this way.

The scallions are considered a garnish in this dish. However, they contribute a great deal to the overall flavor profile. And I highly recommend including them.

And the bed of lettuce turns this dish into a salad of sorts. Generally, when things are served on a bed of lettuce, it’s not worth messing around with eating the lettuce. You just eat what’s on top.

In this case, a bite of lettuce with each shrimp is a very good thing. No dressing needed. The bang bang sauce does the trick.

HOW TO SERVE BANG BANG SHRIMP AS A MAIN DISH

There are many ways to make bang bang shrimp a main dish on your table. Below are a few suggestions to get you started serving this amazing dish for dinner …

• Serve it over a bed of rice; white, brown, wild, or flavored.
• Put it in a taco with lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, black olives, and scallions.
• Serve it over a pasta dish. You can make a simple pasta with olive oil based sauce and serve it with bang bang shrimp on top. Or you can whip up a creamy cajun sauce for your pasta, and top that with this dish.
• Add it to the top of your favorite stir fry.
• Put it in a wrap. You can use the same, or similar ingredients, to the ones suggested above for tacos. Or you can make an asian coleslaw, or farmhouse coleslaw, to go in the wrap.
• Serve this dish as a basket, simply add some french fries and coleslaw and you’re set. Or up the game with these garlic asiago potato wedges.

VARIATIONS FOR THIS RECIPE

If you want to enjoy the delicious flavor of bang bang sauce, and you don’t have any shrimp in the house, you can use this sauce on other dishes as well.

It’s really great with chicken. You can bread and fry your chicken first. Or you can simply grill it and toss it in the sauce.

You can even use this sauce for your favorite veggie dishes if you like. It’s especially suited to deep fried veggies; like, cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, and mushrooms.

However, as good as this sauce is on chicken and veggies, it was made for seafood. That’s where it really shines. Use it to top your next fish dish or serve it alongside a plate of seared scallops.

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