These bang bang shrimp tacos are simply the best combination – crunchy, salty, sweet, spicy, and creamy all-in-one taco! The shrimp are oven-fried, drizzled with sweet and spicy bang bang sauce, and then topped with crunchy broccoli slaw.
There’s this local restaurant in Charleston called the Angel Oak, which is off the beaten path in outer West Ashley, and they make bang bang shrimp bao buns. Whenever I eat something at a restaurant I love, I immediately begin to theorize how I might be able to recreate it at home. I decided to make them into tacos since tortillas are more readily available to me. Plus, I have a thing for crunchy shrimp tacos, including this Air Fryer Coconut Shrimp Taco.
I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to nail the bang bang shrimp tacos on the first try! Also, this recipe is for tacos and not bao buns, but you certainly could steam up some bao buns and substitute for the flour tortillas.
Ingredients
Slaw: For the slaw, you’ll need broccoli slaw or your favorite slaw mix. Thinly sliced bell peppers also get added into the slaw, but if you’re pressed for time, you could skip them. The slaw dressing is made from lime juice, apple cider vinegar, salt, honey, and cilantro.
Shrimp: The crispy shrimp are dredged in flour, eggs, and crushed cornflakes. Crushed cornflakes are my favorite way to make oven-baked breaded meat or seafood super crispy!
Bang bang sauce: It’s simply made from mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce, and sriracha. You can adjust the sriracha depending on how spicy (or not spicy) you like it.
Tortillas: My preference will always be flour tortillas, but my husband always prefers corn tortillas. My ultimate favorite is to use my homemade yogurt flatbreads to sub in for the tortillas.
How to Make Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos
I like to start making bang bang shrimp tacos by making the slaw first so that the slaw can marinate while the shrimp are cooking. For the dressing, you’ll simply whisk together the lime juice, apple cider vinegar, salt, honey, and cilantro. Then pour the dressing on the slaw and thinly sliced bell peppers.
To cook the shrimp, you’ll use the oven for baking the shrimp in the cornflake crust. When you bread the shrimp, you’ll put the flour, eggs, and crushed cornflakes in three separate bowls. I like to use just one hand to bread because it can make your hands really messy, and you’ll have the other hand free and clean. You’ll dredge the shrimp in the flour first, then eggs, and lastly, the crushed cornflakes. You use flour so that the eggs have something to stick to, and then the crushed cornflakes will stick to the eggs. I like to spray the shrimp with a bit of cooking spray or brush with some oil before baking.
While the shrimp cook, you’ll mix together the mayo, sweet chili sauce, and sriracha for the bang bang sauce. When the shrimp are done, you’ll layer the shrimp, slaw, and bang bang sauce in the tortillas.
Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 bag broccoli slaw 12 oz. bag or another favorite slaw mix
- 1 bell pepper thinly sliced (optional)
- 2 tbsp. lime juice (or the juice of 1 lime)
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tbsp. honey or sugar
- 2 tbsp. cilantro chopped
- Cooking spray or other oil for brushing
- 1 lb. shrimp large, deveined and shelled
- ⅓ cup flour
- 2 eggs beaten
- 3 ½ cups crushed cornflakes
- 4 tbsp. mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp. sweet chili sauce
- 2 tsp. sriracha or to taste for desired spiciness
- 12 to tortillas corn or flour, warmed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Place slaw mixture and bell pepper slices (if using) in a bowl. In a separate small bowl, whisk together lime juice, apple cider vinegar, salt, honey, and cilantro. Pour mixture over slaw and toss. Set aside.
- Spray sheet pan with cooking spray or line with silicone baking mat.
- Place flour, eggs, and crushed cornflakes in 3 separate bowls.
- Working in batches, dip shrimp in the flour, then the egg, then the crushed cornflakes, coating the shrimp all over. Place shrimp on the sheet pan, evenly spaced apart.
- Once all shrimp are placed on a sheet pan, spray shrimp with cooking spray or brush with oil, place pan in the oven and bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven, flip shrimp, spray with cooking spray or brush with more oil, and place back in the oven for 5 minutes or until shrimp are opaque when pierced with a knife. Remove from oven.
- While shrimp are cooking, mix together mayo, sweet chili sauce, and sriracha in a small bowl for the bang bang sauce.
- Assemble tacos by layering warm tortilla shell with slaw, then crispy shrimp, followed by a drizzle of the bang bang sauce. Serve extra slaw on the side. Serve immediately.
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