Bang Bang Shrimp

Remember when Jason was in SF and I was posting a lot of clean-eating, meatless recipes? Yeah, that all changed the minute he arrived in LA. We’ve been happily grubbing on these cheeseburgers, some fries, a whole pizza, and many of these finger-licking wings.

To add to this artery-clogging food list, I made some crazy fried shrimp the other day with a chili paste based sauce, which is similar to the Sriracha cream sauce I posted the other day but this one isn’t as sweet and instead, has more heat involved.

Now you should know that this isn’t your ordinary fried shrimp dish with some sauce drizzled on top. No, these shrimps (Is that the plural of shrimp?) are double coated in a spice-filled panko topping mixture, which ensures that crunchiness once they come out of that piping hot oil. Plus, the spicy chili paste sauce is the absolute perfect dipping sauce for these babies. I’ve tried them with homemade ranch, roasted red pepper cream sauce and Sriracha cream sauce and none of them compared to the former. (Yes, we had another taste test of dipping sauces, which is extremely important research as Kathryn from london bakes pointed out.)

As much as I love all these comfort food type dishes I’ve been making lately, I really need to incorporate some clean-eating recipes here and there. My waistline is not happy, and my skinny jeans are just TOO tight!

Would it be wrong to blame Jason for this?

While you ponder on who should be to blame, let’s first make this awesome dish by starting with some fresh shrimp. I love getting mine at Costco because they have these GORGEOUS prawns for $9.99/lb.

Go ahead and peel/devein them, my least favorite thing to do.

Now we’ll combine the egg and milk - this will be the glue to hold up the breadcrumbs.

Add the peeled shrimp and give it a good stir to make sure they’re all coated.

Next we’ll make the breadcrumb mixture by combining the flour, panko, onion and garlic powder, basil, salt and pepper.

Throw half of the breadcrumb mixture into a Ziploc bag along with the shrimp. Give it a good shake to make sure they all get coated.

Then we’re going to coat them again in the egg mixture.

Throw the rest of the breadcrumbs into another Ziploc bag along with the shrimp and give it another shake. I tried doing it in a bowl to see which method was easier for the shake-and-coat and the Ziploc method was so much easier and cleaner. Plus, this looks kind of gnarly.

Once that’s done, we’ll put the double-coated shrimp in the fridge for about 20 minutes or so - that way it ensures the coating to stay on the shrimp during the frying process.

Now we’ll make the sauce by whisking together some mayo, chili paste, rice vinegar and sugar. Be sure to start with 2 teaspoons of the chili paste before adding more for extra spiciness.

Next we’ll fry the shrimp in some peanut oil until they get nicely browned, about 2-4 minutes.

Look how crisp they get! Double-coating is definitely the way to go.

Drain them on some paper towels to get rid of the excess oil.

Drizzle on the sauce and eat!

One year ago: Dutch Baby (Oven Pancake)

Bang Bang Shrimp (adapted from The Cooking Bride):

Yields 3-4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 2-4 teaspoons chili paste, such as sambal oelek
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• Peanut oil, for frying

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg and milk. Add the shrimp and gently toss to combine.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, panko, onion and garlic powder, basil, salt and pepper.

Divide the mixture into two, adding one mixture into a gallon-size Ziploc bag. Add the shrimp and shake until thoroughly coated.

Return the shrimp to the egg mixture and gently toss to combine.

Add the remaining panko mixture into another gallon-size Ziploc bag. Add the shrimp and shake until thoroughly coated.

Cover and place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.

To make the sauce, whisk together the mayonnaise, Sriracha, rice vinegar and sugar; set aside.

Heat peanut oil in a Dutch oven or heavy stock pot to 350 degrees F. Add the shrimp, in batches, turning halfway, until golden brown, about 2-4 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

Serve immediately, drizzled with the sauce or alongside as a dipping sauce.

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