There are those nights where my husband I just look at each other and agree..."let's eat after the kids go to bed". That usually means a nice steak but sometimes it's just a meal that we want to savor; enjoy warm and quietly with an adult beverage. Bang Bang Shrimp definitely qualifies! It's a multi-step preparation and tastes best hot. It's creamy, crunchy & spicy but the best part is that this recipe can easily be adapted for the health conscious! Grab a fork and a glass of wine...you're eating like a grown up tonight!
Ingredients:
- about 40 medium cooked shrimp, peeled & deveined
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 4 T sweet Thai chili sauce
- 2 T Sriracha sauce
- 4 tsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup Panko
- 1/2 cup corn starch
- vegetable oil for frying
Directions:
Sauce: Combine the mayo, chili sauce, Sriracha and vinegar in a small bowl and set aside.
Heat about 1/4 inch of oil in a large nonstick skillet on medium high heat.
Panko Breading: Let the shrimp soak in a bowl of milk while you prepare a bowl of Panko and place the corn starch in a large Ziploc bag. Remove the shrimp from the milk and place into the bag with cornstarch before closing and shaking to coat each piece. Then quickly dip the coated shrimp back into the reserved milk, then into the bowl of Panko. Coat each piece thoroughly.
Working in small batches of about 10-15 shrimp at a time, fry until golden brown (about 2 minutes per side, depending on how high the heat is). Remove with a slotted spoon and let rest briefly on a paper towel lined plate until all shrimp are browned.
Finally, serve the shrimp in individual bowls, spooning on as much sauce to coat. Serve over lettuce or shredded cabbage, topped with diced scallions, or just as is (my favorite)!
Reduced calorie substitutions:
Use plain Greek yogurt for mayonnaise. Do not use the cornstarch/Panko dredging process. Instead, sauté shrimp in 1T olive oil in a nonstick pan JUST until warm (taking care not to over cook), toss in the sauce to taste, eat as lettuce wraps.