Crispy panko king prawns smothered in a creamy, spicy bang bang sauce.
This dish makes such a fantastic lunch or appetizer!
I'll show you how to make these baked OR fried!
This dish takes me right back to our holiday in Florida a few years ago. A stop off at Bonefish Grill on a day out - we started our meal with Bang Bang Shrimp, and wow! So delicious!
I was reminded of them when we had a similar version in our hometown recently - served from a hatch at a restaurant (I love how restaurants have adapted so brilliantly to lockdown conditions) so we could enjoy them by the sea.
I couldn't wait to recreate them at home!
📋 What do we need for the prawns?
For the Bang Bang Sauce
🔪 How to make Bang Bang Shrimp
**Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.**
- First off make the sauce by simply mixing the sauce ingredients together (see the recipe card for quantities).
- Pat the prawns dry, then coat them in cornflour, following by a mixture of egg and buttermilk. Finally dredge in seasoned panko.
- Fry the prawns in a large frying pan in around 120ml (1 cup) of oil, turning once until golden brown.
- Drain on some kitchen roll and serve on a bed of crispy lettuce.
👩🍳PRO TIP If you want to bake the prawns instead of frying them, add 2 tbsp of olive oil to the panko mixture and mix well, then dip in the buttermilk/egg mixture (no need to dip in cornflour first), coat in the seasoned breadcrumbs and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 7-8 minutes, until the breadcrumbs are golden.
Drizzle on plenty of the bang bang sauce, plus serve with extra for dipping. I like to sprinkle with chopped spring onions (scallions) and a little dried chilli and/or finely chopped fresh red chillies.
So moreish! And that bang bang sauce works great on burgers, fish fingers and as a sauce for ham, chicken or salmon sandwiches.
I also have 2 other variations of this, my veggie-friendly Bang Bang Cauliflower and my baked Bang Bang Chicken.
📺 Watch how to make it
🍲 More fantastic prawn/shrimp recipes
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Bang Bang Shrimp
Ingredients
Crispy Shrimp:
- 225 g (8oz) King Prawns - shells removed and prawns deveined
- 2 tbsp cornflour - cornstarch
- 120 ml (½ cup) buttermilk
- 1 egg
- 150 g (3 cups) panko breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp garlic salt
- ½ tsp celery salt
- ¼ tsp white pepper
- 120 ml (½ cup) sunflower oil
Bang Bang Sauce:
- 120 ml (½ cup) mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
- 1 tbsp sriracha chilli sauce
- 1 tsp honey
To Serve:
- 1 romaine lettuce - shredded
- 2 spring onions - scallions chopped
- 1 tsp dried chilli flakes or 1 fresh red chilli - thinly sliced
INSTRUCTIONS
- Start by making the bang bang sauce. Place the mayonnaise, sweet chilli sauce, sriracha and honey in a small bowl and mix together, then put to one side while you make the crispy shrimp/prawns.
- Pat the king prawns dry using kitchen roll/paper.
- Place the cornflour in one bowl.
- Place the buttermilk and egg in a second bowl and lightly whisk to combine.
- Place the panko, paprika, salt, pepper, garlic salt, celery salt and white pepper in a third bowl and mix together.
- Dredge the king prawns in the cornflour, then dip in the buttermilk mixture to coat and finally coat the prawns in the panko mixture. Place the coated prawns on a plate.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add the prawns.
- Cook for 3-4 minutes, turning once, until golden brown. Then remove from the pan and place on a plate lined with kitchen roll to soak up any excess fat.
- Place the shredded romaine on a serving plate, top with the crispy shrimp/prawns and drizzle over 3 tbsp of the bang bang sauce.
- Sprinkle on the chopped spring onions (scallions) and the chilli flakes and serve.
Video
✎ Notes
By using raw prawns, you're cooking them once, then reheating them once. If you were to be using ready-cooked prawns, that means they'd be cooked before buying, cooked again with the recipe and then reheated again. That's too many times to reheat from a food safety point of view. So I don't recommend that. If you did want to cook ahead, use raw prawns, cook, cool quickly, then cover and refrigerate for up to a day, or freeze in an air-tight container or bag (you may want to freeze for a couple of hours on a tray first, then transfer to a bag to be sure they don't stick together). Reheat the prawns in the oven from the fridge or from frozen, on a baking tray. Make sure the prawns are in a single layer. Heat at 200C/400F until piping hot throughout. I find this takes about 3-4 minutes from the fridge or 7-8 minutes from frozen.They'll go a little darker then they were when they were first fried. They should still have a nice crispy coating. Nutritional information is approximate, per serving (this recipe serves 4). This calculation assumes approx 3 tbsp of oil is absorbed during cooking and all of the bang bang sauce is used.
Nutrition
Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.
Clare Underhill says
If baking in the oven, what temp for a fan oven please.
Maggie Holliday says
I'm not a big fan of seafood.....but u have to admit....these are absolutely gorgeous....ive just made them for tea oh my.....they just moreish ......Deffo making these again.....so easy to make....mmmmm and the bang bang sauce....delicious.
Carol says
I haven't got any buttermilk and want to try this tonight. Would it make any difference if I used half-fat milk instead?
Nicky Corbishley says
You can use half fat milk that's been mixed with a tablespoon of lemon juice - it makes a great replacement for buttermilk.
Sue Painter says
Wow! Nicky and Chris the prawns are amazing! Really love them! Had no sriracha sauce (rural France) but had some Korean spicy sauce which I used instead and it was delicious too! Thank you for such a great dinner!! Served with chop salad and the inevitable home made chips! 😁😁