Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos

A little bit sweet.  A little bit spicy.  A little bit crunchy.  All-over yummy. 

 The idea behind the shrimp in this recipe comes from the Bang Bang Shrimp appetizer on the menu at Bonefish Grill.  Sweet/spicy goodness.  I decided to try making it myself, and then decided it would make fabulous tacos.

Google is always my friend when it comes to finding out how to make something.  After reviewing several "copy cat" recipes, I came up with this one.  [EDIT: I've noticed that this recipe gets Google'd a lot, so I should reference that this is not a true copy-cat recipe; its my variation, so you will not find this to be exactly like that at the restaurant.]

A couple tips to begin: 1) Frozen shrimp is measured in size by how many shrimp are in a pound.  I generally use 60-80 (medium) shrimp for this recipe (meaning there are 60-80 shrimp per pound).  2) Its easiest if you buy the shrimp already peeled and de-veined.  But make sure the shrimp you buy is RAW (grey-ish in color, not pink).

Here's what you'll need:
Raw shrimp, about 12 (if using 60-80 shrimp)
3-4 Tbsp Corn Starch
1 Tbsp Lemon Pepper (I like to use the Mrs. Dash kind with no salt)
1 1/2 Tbsp Chili Powder
1 tsp Salt (omit if your lemon-pepper contains salt)
1 tsp Ground Black Pepper
Thai Sweet Red Chili Sauce
Diced Fresh Tomatoes
Diced Avocado
Shredded Cheddar
2 flour tortillas (small/fajita size)


Rinse thawed shrimp and pat dry with paper towels.  In a plastic zipper baggie, mix together corn starch, lemon pepper, chili powder, salt & pepper.  Close baggie and shake to mix.  Add shrimp to bag and shake to coat.  Remove shrimp from the bag with your hands, and shake off excess coating mixture.

Saute in non-stick pan heated to medium to medium-high, with a small amount of oil (about a Tbsp - enough to make the coating crisp, but not enough to "deep-fry" the shrimp).

Cook for a couple minutes, then turn each shrimp with a fork.  Cook an additional couple minutes, until the shrimp is cooked through (shrimp cooks quickly).

Squirt some Thai Sweet Red Chili Sauce into pan over shrimp.  I'm not certain how much, but see the picture to the left to get an idea:

Toss shrimp in Chili Sauce to coat.  I tried to get a picture of me doing this by tossing the shrimp in the skillet, but, well, that's not easy to get a picture of.  If you've not yet mastered that skill, feel free to use a spoon.  Make sure to move the skillet off of the burner so that, while the shrimp stays hot while you're chopping the remaining taco toppings, it will not continue to cook.

Chop tomato and avocado into a small dice and shred the cheese.  

A tip for cutting the avocado: Once you halve the avocado, cut while still in the peel, then remove with a spoon.  I like to add a little bit of salt, pepper, garlic powder and a couple drops of lime juice to the avocado.  This is to guacamole what pico-de-galo is to salsa.  



Warm tortillas in the microwave about 20 seconds, and proceed to build your tacos.

Want even more yummy goodness?  Heat 1-2 Tbsp oil in a skillet, and fry the tortillas a few (10-20) seconds on each side.

IN A NUTSHELL:

Raw shrimp, about 12 (if using 60-80 shrimp)
3-4 Tbsp Corn Starch
1 Tbsp Lemon Pepper
1 1/2 Tbsp Chili Powder
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Ground Black Pepper
Thai Sweet Red Chili Sauce
Diced Fresh Tomatoes
Diced Avocado
Shredded Cheddar
2 flour tortillas (small/fajita size)

Mix dry ingredients in plastic zipper bag, add shrimp and shake to coat.  Saute in about 1 Tbsp oil, coat with Thai Sweet Red Chili Sauce.  Dice tomatoes and avocado, shred cheese.  Warm tortillas and put it all together.  Sweet... Spicy... Crunchy goodness.


NOTE: Making more than 2 tacos?  You don't necessarily need to increase the dry ingredients.  This mixture will probably coat enough shrimp for several tacos.