I discovered that we had an air fryer stowed away in the house and I have not been that excited since 2019, really. So naturally, I started brainstorming what I should make first. After I saw some thawed out shrimp that needed to be eaten; I decided to make bang bang shrimp. The ~healthier~ version of Bonefish Grill's well-loved/best-selling appetizer. So if you have an air fryer hanging around that you do not know what to do with or just feel like making yourself delicious shrimp, read on!
Ingredients:
1 pound large, peeled, and deveined raw shrimp
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon adobo seasoning
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3 eggs, beaten
½ cup cornstarch
1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
¼ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup sweet Thai chili sauce
3 tsps sriracha hot sauce
2 scallions, chopped
Instructions:
Set up a dredging station for the shrimp: Combine the cornstarch, salt, and seasonings in a plastic bag. Beat the eggs together in a medium bowl. Pour the breadcrumbs in a shallow dish. First, add the shrimp to the bag of cornstarch, seal the bag, and toss the shrimp around to coat them evenly. Remove the shrimp from the bag, shake off any excess flour and toss them with the egg to coat on all sides. Lastly, add the shrimp to the breadcrumbs, and gently press the crumbs onto all sides of the shrimp.
Spritz the shrimp with canola oil and air-fry in single layer batches at 400ºF for 6 minutes. Turn them over, spritz with oil again and air-fry an additional 2 minutes.
While the shrimp is air-frying, combine the mayonnaise, sweet Thai chili sauce and sriracha sauce in a large bowl, whisking until smooth. Season to taste.
Transfer the shrimp to the bowl with the bang bang sauce. Gently toss to evenly coat the shrimp and then transfer to a serving platter or place into tortilla's to make tacos with fresh coleslaw, onions, and avocado. Top with chopped scallions and serve immediately.
Chef's Notes:
Season the cornstarch mixture to your liking. Add or remove out whatever you do/don't like.
If you do not have an air fryer you can fry the shrimp in canola oil at 350º F and cook for 1-2 minutes until shrimp are golden brown.