What is Bang Bang Shrimp?
If you’ve ever been to a Bonefish Grill you will have undoubtedly tried their Bang Bang Shrimp. It’s their famous deep-fried shrimp appetizer that has a creamy spicy mayonnaise-based sauce on top and it has grown to have a bit of a cult following. Before I ever went to a Bonefish Grill I had a friend ask me if I knew how to make Bang Bang Shrimp. That, in fact, was the reason I went to Bonefish for the first time. I didn’t have an answer for my friend, but once I discovered it was a deep-fried dish I didn’t really think about it again.
Bang Bang Sauce
The bang bang sauce is very simple. It’s simply mayonnaise, sweet Thai chili sauce and sriracha hot sauce – all whisked together. Couldn’t really be any easier. If you wanted to make the sauce lighter, you could substitute Greek yogurt for the mayonnaise, but it won’t be quite as authentic at the original version. As for the shrimp, you need to dredge it properly (that means flour first, then egg, then crumbs) and adding a little cornstarch to the breadcrumbs helps give the shrimp extra coating and crunch. Then, it’s a straight road to the finish line with a spritz of oil and your air fryer doing the rest.
Air Frying Shrimp
Air-frying shrimp is easy and quick. How long it takes really depends on how big the shrimp are, but the nice thing about shrimp is that they come with their own “I’m done” indicator – they turn pink. That’s a little more difficult to see when you bread the shrimp, but give them a little squeeze and if they feel firm, they are cooked through. If you liked this recipe for air-frying shrimp, you will probably also like the air-fried coconut shrimp recipe which uses a similar easy method.
How to Serve Bang Bang Shrimp
Serve these with little forks for people to spike their shrimp off a family-style serving platter or plate them on individual appetizer plates lined with lettuce leaves, serving 4 to 5 shrimp per person.
While I haven’t used the air fryer for this (I will now), I have made this with a few changes – we prefer the spicy Thai Chili sauce. Add hot sauce to the mayomix, put teh cornstarch in with the flour, not the breadcrumbs and also add some cayenne to the flour. Okay, we like it kicky.
You are the best..Thank you so much for coming into my world! Had trouble trying to copy the air fryer chart….could not download it with out adding another program to do it. Anyway of printing it without having to download yet another program?
Hugs, Miami Marilyn
Hi Marilyn. You should be able to simply download the chart without another program, but I expect it depends on what operating system you are using, what version of operating system, etc… I’m no computer tech guru, I’m afraid. Usually, it simply downloads to a download folder and then you can open it and print it using the default software set up in your computer. Wish I could be more helpful. 😬 ML
My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed this, and are excited to have access to bang bang shrimp now that we live so far from Bonefish Grill. The outside texture was perfect, and the sauce was amazing. I am new to air frying, and wonder how I might modify the recipe so the shrimp might be less firm? I would hate to sacrifice the crispness but wonder if anyone has tried less time or perhaps a lower temperature? Thanks for sharing this great recipe!
Could coconut or almond flour be substituted for the regular to make it lower in carbs? Thanks.
Sure. I’d go for the coconut flour.
The batter was too thick. Flavor was just not similar to what Bonefish restaurant serves. My kids did not like it either. 🙁
Hi LG. This recipe doesn’t actually have a batter – the shrimp are breaded instead by dredging in flour, then coating with egg and then coated with breadcrumbs and cornstarch – so it’s not exactly like the deep-fried version at Bonefish. I’m sorry you and your kids didn’t like it. Maybe trying it again with the dredging instructions would be more successful for you.
ML
We tried this tonight with a few changes. We used chili sauce instead of Thai sauce. We also used avocado mayo and Panko breadcrumbs. We used medium size shrimp instead of extra large. The recipe called for 400 degrees but our air fryer maxed out at 390 degrees. So we set the time just as the recipe called for. The batter turned out crispy and the shrimp were firm. The sauce was good but we would really like to use Thai sauce and Italian breadcrumbs next time for the right recipe flavor. This recipe is well worth another remake.
I followed the plans as described. The batter was too thick and the shrimp were rubbery. However, the sauce was delish. I did the second batch with just cornstarch, salt n pepper, and reduced the cooking time to 5 mins. The second batch turned out spectacular. I didn’t make any changes to the sauce because it is very tasty. Tossed them on a bed o lettuce, I raised my whisky glass, give them a toast!
WAKÍČIYATKANJ!
Am anxious to try these, but wondered if the shrimp should be raw or cooked before breading?
Hi Pat. Bread the shrimp raw and then pop them into the air fryer.
I don’t have an air fryer or IP. How is the best way to cook this?
If you don’t have an air fryer, the best way to cook this would be to deep fry it, but you could try baking it in the oven at 425ºF for about 10 minutes.
Can you use frozen shrimp
Yes you can use frozen shrimp but you would need to defrost it first. If you are referring to frozen breaded shrimp, you can use that as well and cook it from frozen at 400°F for about 9 minutes. Then toss them in the sauce from the recipe.
Does the shrimp need to be raw or cooked?
Hi Sydney. This recipe is made with raw, peeled and deveined shrimp.
This is so delicious. I used panko bread crumbs and 1 Tbls of arrow root in place of cornstarch. I’ve over cooked shrimp before in my air fryer, so I did 5 min at 400 and 1 min to heat up and my large shrimp turned out perfectly. I was so pleased with how crunchy they turned out. I served it over Trader Joes stir fry cauliflower rice. Will definitely make this again.
I don’t use 2 of the ingredients. The Thai sauce or sriracha sauce. I love Bang Bang shrimp but is there something a little less hot I could use so as not to have purchased 2 items I probably will never use again?
Hi Sandra. You might find that you’ll use the sweet Thai chili sauce on other things if you do get some – it is a great dipping sauce. If you don’t want to buy it or the sriracha sauce, try any hot sauce and honey mixed together. Combine the honey and hot sauce until you like the level of heat and flavor and add that to the mayonnaise.
Im looking for your recipe for country cook cherry bites that was on facebook recently
Hi Janet. I’m afraid I think you must be thinking of someone else. I don’t have recipe for country cook cherry bites. I do have a recipe for cherry cheese streusel tartlets that you can see here: https://bluejeanchef.com/recipes/cherry-cheese-streusel-tartlets/
hi i was just wondering if anyone else had the problem of there still being flour/cornstarch left on the shrimp after cooking? I followed the instructions and dusted them off so there wasn’t a lot but they came out of the fryer with some patches of white dust (flour or cornstarch). I oiled them also so i’m not sure why this happened. All in all this recipe was great although I did add some seasoning to the shrimp / the coating itself for a little more flavor without the sauce. Thanks again for a great recipe!
Hi Sarah, you do need to generously spritz the shrimp with oil to coat them before air frying. Any white coating left at the end is a spot that didn’t get coated in oil. You can also give them a spritz during the cooking process if you see some dry spots.
Phenomenal !!! Have made this 3 times now exactly as specified, but doubled the recipe, and it has been hit every time👍 Everyone that I have served it to has asked for the recipe. Thank you Meredith for your concise , easy to follow directions and for sharing your expertise! I am a seasoned cook and am no stranger to the kitchen or entertaining but was a little mystified by the air fryer. Also, purchased your book Air Fry Everything and am loving those recipes as well!
Thanks, Nancy. I’m so happy you’re aboard the air-frying train!
While I am a seasoned cook I’ve been a little intimidated by the air fryer. I thought I would give this recipe a try since we alway enjoyed Bang Bang Shrimp at Bonefish. I didn’t have spray canola oil, only regular canola oil so I just lightly spooned a little on each shrimp. I thought of using olive oil but was afraid it might burn so I didn’t. It turned out wonderful! My husband went back for seconds. Definitely will be making it again. Look forward to your recipes. Thanks for introducing me to air fryer recipes!
Very good recipe. Loved the sauce for the shrimp! Will definitely make this again!
Made this tonight. It was fantastic! So easy and tasty!