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You are going to love this light and crispy Bang Bang Shrimp copycat from Bonefish grill. The sauce is incredible. We love spicing it up with a little extra Sriracha.
Table of Contents
- Ingredients in Bang Bang Shrimp
- Making Bang Bang Shrimp at Home
- Bang Bang Chicken
- The Secret’s in the Sauce
- Cooking Variations (Bake or Air Fry)
- What to serve with Bang Bang Shrimp
- Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Great Shrimp Recipes
- How To Make Bonefish Grill’s Bang Bang Shrimp
- Bang Bang Shrimp Recipe
This Bang Bang Shrimp tastes just like the popular dish found at the restaurant chain Bonefish Grill. Crispy fried shrimp tossed in a spicy, creamy sauce is a delicious appetizer or even main course when served with rice and a salad. The sauce is super easy to make, and combines sweet chili sauce with a touch of honey for sweetness. It’s always a favorite every time we go to Bonefish Grill, and now that we can make it at home, it’s a highly requested favorite all the time!
Ingredients in Bang Bang Shrimp
Even though Bang Bang Shrimp seems like an explosion of delicious flavors, the actual ingredients are actually really simple!
- Shrimp
- Egg & milk mixture (for breading)
- Breading mixture: flour, Panko bread crumbs, basil, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper (you can even add a little paprika for a smoky flavor)
- Spicy Mayo Sauce: Mayonnaise, sriracha, sugar, and rice vinegar
- Oil for frying
Making Bang Bang Shrimp at Home
This Bang Bang Shrimp recipe is simply fantastic! Bang Bang Shrimp is an appetizer served at Bonefish Grill and I LOVE it. It is always hard for me to justify buying appetizers at restaurants. They are usually so overpriced for what you get. Most of the time I will buy it once and if I love it, I will go home and duplicate it so I can make way more for the same price. Even though this is typically served as an appetizer, I usually serve it as a main dish with rice and steamed veggies.
Bang Bang Chicken
If you want to make it with chicken (the way my kids like it best) just use little pieces of chicken instead. I cut it up in 1-2″ pieces then bread and deep fry just as in the recipe below. You simply just swap the shrimp out for chicken. It’s that easy!
The Secret’s in the Sauce
For batches of the bang bang sauce, I have made it slightly different each time. I use whisk Thai sweet chili sauce (like Mae Ploy brand) instead of Sriracha if I am feeding it to my kids (and then pour on the Sriracha on my own dish). If I am just making it for the hubs and me I double the Sriracha. One time I did half Sriracha, half sweet chili sauce. You be the judge on how much heat you can handle. In my opinion the original recipe isn’t that spicy but I am a big fan of spicy, so again, you be the judge and make changes accordingly.
This recipe makes a lot of sauce. If doubling the recipe, only make 1 ½ times the sauce.
Cooking Variations (Bake or Air Fry)
If you don’t have a deep fryer or want to make the cooked shrimp a little lighter… preheat oven to 350-degrees. Heat about ¼ – ½ c. oil in a large skillet or frying pan to 350-degrees and fry shrimp on each side for a minute or two until coating is golden brown. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. Check for doneness (you want your shrimp to be pink and cooke through). You can also cook in an air fryer. Add the breaded shrimp to the air fryer basket and spray generously with cooking oil. Air fry at 400-degrees F for 7-8 minutes for large shrimp (21 to 25 count) or for 6 minutes for medium-sized shrimp (31 to 40 count).
What to serve with Bang Bang Shrimp
Turn this copycat bonefish grill bang bang shrimp appetizer into a full meal by pairing them with noodles to make a bang bang shrimp pasta. Or serve alongside any of these side dishes:
- Fried rice
- Grilled pineapple
- Garlic noodles
- Cauliflower rice
- Wrap in lettuce leaves
- Mango salsa
- Zucchini noodles
- Stuffed mushrooms
- Cucumber salad
- Steamed vegetables
- Jasmine rice
- Coleslaw or Asian slaw
Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos
Want to switch it up and try something new? Use leftovers to make tacos! Simply toss the shrimp in the bang bang sauce and serve with corn tortillas. Add some finely chopped cabbage, a squeeze of lime juice, and garnish with green onions. Trust me, these will quickly become your favorite way to make shrimp tacos!
“That sauce makes the recipe!! It adds so much flavor! My family won’t eat shrimp, so we tried it with the chicken and it was a hit!”
Krysten
“Thank you so much for sharing this amazing bang bang shrimp recipe! Will surely have this again! It’s really easy to make and it tasted so delicious! Highly recommended!”
Alyssa
Frequently Asked Questions
Bang bang shrimp is a crispy shrimp fried in a creamy buttermilk and cornstarch coating, then tossed with a spicy mayo sauce made from Sriracha, mayonnaise, sugar (or sweet chili sauce) and a little vinegar. It is often garnished with green onion and a squeeze of fresh lime.
It’s called “Bang Bang” shrimp because the heat from the Sriracha sauce gives it a little “bang” of heat.
Though they are similar, the two are not the same. Bang Bang Sauce has a brighter flavor and has more of a spicy punch. Yum Yum sauce is more mild and has a hint of tomato flavor, almost closer to fry sauce.
Read More: 33+ Easy Dinner Ideas for Busy Weeknights
More Great Shrimp Recipes
Shrimp is often overlooked, but you can make easy and absolutely delicious shrimp meals in no time! Try some of our favorite recipes!
How To Make Bonefish Grill’s Bang Bang Shrimp
Bang Bang Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1 pound medium raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 8-12 cups vegetable oil, for frying
Spicy Sauce
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 4 teaspoons Sriracha sauce, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
Breading
- ½ cup flour
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon dried basil
Egg Mixture
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 cup milk
Instructions
- Combine all spicy sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and set aside.
- Combine all breading ingredients in a shallow bowl. Set aside.
- Combine beaten egg with milk in a shallow bowl. Set aside.
- Bread the shrimp by dipping each in breading, then egg, then breading again. Arrange the coasted shrimp on a plate and pop them into the fridge for at least 20 minutes. This step will help the breading to stick to the shrimp when they are frying.
- Heat oil in a deep fryer to 350 degrees F. Use the amount of oil required by your fryer. When oil is hot, fry shrimp for 2-3 minutes each, or until golden brown. Drain on a rack or prepared plate.
- Prepare a rack or a plate with paper towels to drain fried shrimp on. Set aside.
- When all the shrimp has been fried, place the shrimp in a large bowl. Spoon about ¼ cup sauce over shrimp and stir gently to coat.
Quick question, maybe I am missing something. When all is done it says “spoon 1/4 cup of sauce over shrimp”. Why am I making this much sauce if I only need 1/4 of it?
It’s easier to make this amount of sauce with the ratios of ingredients. You can use the leftovers over rice or to dip veggies in!
This is a family favorite. The crispy shrimp or chicken is heavenly!
That sauce makes the recipe!! It adds so much flavor! My family won’t eat shrimp, so we tried it with the chicken & it was a hit!
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing bang bang shrimp recipe! Will surely have this again! It’s really easy to make and it tasted so delicious! Highly recommended!
Can you cook these in an air fryer?
I haven’t tried it in the air fryer, but I am sure it would work! Let us know how it goes if you try it!
That is a very good tip especially to those new to the blogosphere.
Simple but very accurate information… Many thanks
for sharing this one. A must read article!
Oh I must make this asap. Sounds so delicious and it’s perfect to serve for family dinner. Love the sauce. Just yum! Saved the recipe!
My family loves this recipe! So delicious!
I think this recipe would be great , I tried it with coconut flour and porkrines insteadnof Panko. This DOES NOT work! You must need to use the carbs. Just information. ALl of the crust just stayed in the oil. I even left them in the fridge for 30 min. Thanks for your recipes though. We have loved the ones we have tried.
So sorry it didn’t work out right. Wondra flour might be a good alternative too. I have never used pork rinds before. Great idea!
Here is the bang bang shrimp recipe(well one I found on the internet)that we can try and cook with.