Bang Bang Shrimp

I should preface this post by saying that I have never eaten at Bonefish Grill, where this is apparently a menu item. Our favorite local restaurant has an appetizer called Boom Boom Shrimp for which the menu description only says "You know the story. We stole it and made it better." Having heard a few times just how great these shrimp were, we decided to try them, even though we really didn't know what to expect at all. We were quite pleasantly surprised at what we received, fried shrimp coated in a sweet, creamy, rich sauce with a lot of Asian zing to it. When we asked what the "story" was behind them, that's when the owner told us that he improved upon the Bang Bang Shrimp from Bonefish Grill. I had no idea what ingredients the original recipe would include, much less this modified version, but I knew I wanted to try to make it at home because it was extra tasty.

I found several "copycat" recipes for Bonefish Grill's Bang Bang Shrimp, all slightly varied. I took the basic, shared components--mayonnaise and Thai sweet chili sauce--and ran with it. You can fry your own shrimp if you like, but I chose to use frozen popcorn shrimp that I just had to pop in the oven because I wanted a quick and easy weeknight meal. While it's really intended to be an appetizer, we served this up with a salad and some crusty bread, and it made a great dinner that only takes a few minutes to make. I should also note that I wanted our shrimp to be pretty saucy, but if you like yours to be a bit more lightly coated, you could just double the amount of shrimp and it would still be enough sauce to lightly coat them all.


Ingredients

1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoons onion powder
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup Thai sweet chili sauce
Dash lemon juice
1/2 pound fried shrimp
2 tablespoons minced chives


Directions

Combine garlic, onion powder, mayonnaise, chili sauce, and lemon juice in a bowl and mix well to combine.

If you're using frozen shrimp, bake them according to package directions. If you're frying your own shrimp, drain them well on paper towels before using. Allow shrimp to cool for a few minutes before coating with sauce mixture. (If they're too hot, the sauce will run off of them too much.) Toss to coat evenly. Top with chives and serve warm.


Servings: 2


Recipe adapted from Bonefish Grill.