Taco night gets a serious upgrade when shrimp is involved. Not just any shrimp — crispy, golden, buttermilk-soaked, flour-and-cornstarch-dredged shrimp, tossed in a creamy sauce that hits sweet, tangy, and spicy all at once, then piled into warm tortillas with crunchy cabbage and fresh toppings. Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos are one of those meals that feels like a restaurant treat but comes together in your own kitchen without a whole lot of drama.
The Story Behind the Sauce
The sauce is what everything else is built around, and it deserves that position. Bang bang sauce is a mix of mayonnaise, chili garlic sauce, and a touch of sriracha — creamy, a little sweet, with a slow heat that builds rather than punches. It has become a cult favorite in home cooking circles because it is genuinely simple to make, and it works on almost anything fried.
The name bang bang is sometimes traced back to a Sichuan street food dish, but in the American home kitchen it has taken on a life of its own — synonymous with that particular mayo-based sweet-heat combination that shows up on shrimp, chicken, and tacos all over the country. Once you make a batch of this sauce, you will start finding excuses to put it on other things.
What Makes This Recipe Work
Three things set this version apart: the buttermilk soak, the flour-and-cornstarch coating, and the smart handling of the sauce.
Soaking the shrimp in buttermilk before breading does two things — it tenderizes the shrimp slightly and gives the coating something to cling to. The coating itself is a mix of all-purpose flour and cornstarch, which creates a lighter, crispier shell than flour alone. Cornstarch fries up thinner and crunchier, and it helps the crust stay that way even after you toss the shrimp in sauce.
The other smart move here is dividing the sauce in two. One cup goes directly on the cooked shrimp, coating every piece in that creamy, spicy goodness. The rest gets reserved for drizzling over the assembled tacos. That second hit of sauce over the top means every bite from first to last has the full flavor you came for.
Making the Recipe at Home
Here is everything you need and how to put it all together.
For the bang bang sauce:
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup chili garlic sauce
- 1 teaspoon sriracha (optional)
For the shrimp:
- 1 1/2 pounds extra-large shrimp (26–30 count), peeled and deveined
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 6 cups vegetable oil for frying
To serve:
- 10 taco-sized flour tortillas, warmed (or Bibb lettuce leaves)
- 8 ounces shredded cabbage (about 3 cups)
- Thinly sliced radishes
- Thinly sliced jalapeño peppers
- Sliced green onions
- Chopped cilantro
- Whisk the mayonnaise, chili garlic sauce, and sriracha together in a bowl until smooth, then set aside
- Submerge the shrimp in buttermilk and let them soak for 20 minutes
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, salt, and pepper
- Set up a cooling rack over a sheet pan for the breaded shrimp, and a paper towel-lined pan nearby for draining after frying — set your oven to 200°F to keep cooked batches warm
- Heat the vegetable oil in a deep, wide pot over medium-high heat, using a thermometer to bring it to 350°F — this takes about 20 minutes, so be patient
- Drain the buttermilk from the shrimp, then toss them in batches through the flour mixture, shaking off any excess, and arrange on the cooling rack to dry slightly while the oil finishes heating
- Add a handful of shrimp to the hot oil at a time; after one minute, stir and separate them with a slotted spoon — they tend to stick together; fry for 4 to 4 1/2 minutes until golden brown
- Transfer cooked shrimp to the draining rack and keep them in the warm oven while you finish the remaining batches, letting the oil return to 350°F between each one
- Once all the shrimp are done, toss them all together with 1 cup of the sauce; save the remaining sauce for drizzling
- Fill warmed tortillas with shredded cabbage, pile on the sauced shrimp, drizzle with more sauce, then top with radishes, jalapeño, green onions, and cilantro
The crowding issue is real — too many shrimp in the oil at once drops the temperature and turns your crispy coating into something soggy and pale. Work in small batches and give each piece space. It takes a bit longer but the texture difference is completely worth it.
Adapting the Recipe
If frying feels like too much on a Tuesday night, the shrimp can be cooked in a hot skillet with a little oil instead. You will not get the same full crunch, but the sauce is so good that it carries the dish even when the shrimp are pan-seared rather than fried. An air fryer also works well — coat the shrimp the same way and cook at 400°F until golden.
For a lighter version of the sauce, swapping half the mayonnaise for Greek yogurt keeps the creaminess while cutting some of the richness. The texture is slightly thinner but the flavor stays close to the original.
If flour tortillas are not your thing, Bibb lettuce leaves make a great low-carb alternative. They hold everything together well, and the cool, crisp lettuce actually plays nicely against the heat of the sauce and the warm shrimp. Corn tortillas are another option for anyone who prefers them — lightly charred over a gas flame or in a dry skillet adds a subtle smokiness that pairs well with the sweet heat of the bang bang sauce.
Serving and Enjoyment
These tacos are best eaten right away. The moment that fried shrimp sits for too long it starts to lose its crunch, especially once it is sauced. This is not a dish you want to make ahead and let rest on the counter — get everyone to the table before you assemble.
Set up the toppings in small bowls and let people build their own if you are feeding a group. Shredded cabbage goes down first as the base, then the shrimp, then more sauce, then whatever garnishes appeal. The radishes add a peppery crunch, the jalapeño brings fresh heat, the green onions add brightness, and the cilantro ties everything together with that distinct herbal note.
This is a casual meal — the kind you eat with napkins close by and no apologies for the mess.
Storage and Leftovers
If you end up with leftover shrimp, store them separately from the tortillas and toppings in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two days. The shrimp will not be crispy after refrigeration, but they are still very good. Reheat them in a hot oven or air fryer rather than the microwave if you want to recover some texture — the microwave will just steam them soft.
The bang bang sauce stores beautifully on its own for up to two days in the fridge. Make a double batch while you are at it — leftover sauce is excellent on grilled fish, roasted vegetables, or even as a dipping sauce for fries.
FAQ
Can I use frozen shrimp?
Yes, frozen shrimp works well here. Thaw them completely in cold water, then pat them very dry before the buttermilk soak. Excess moisture is the enemy of a crispy coating.
How spicy is this dish?
The base sauce with just chili garlic sauce and no sriracha is quite mild — sweet and tangy with a gentle warmth. Adding the sriracha pushes the heat up noticeably. Start with half a teaspoon if you are not sure, then taste and adjust.
What oil is best for frying?
Any neutral oil with a high smoke point works fine — vegetable, canola, or peanut oil are all good choices. Avoid olive oil, which burns at frying temperatures.
Why do my shrimp stick together in the oil?
Shrimp tend to clump right when they hit the oil. The fix is to stir and separate them within the first minute of frying, before the coating sets. After that, they stay individual.
Can I make these gluten-free?
Replace the all-purpose flour with a gluten-free flour blend or simply use all cornstarch for the coating. The texture will be slightly different — a bit more delicate — but it still fries up well. Use tamari instead of any soy-based ingredients in the sauce if needed.
Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos are the kind of meal that turns an ordinary evening into something people talk about afterward. The combination of textures — crunchy shrimp, soft tortilla, crisp cabbage — and that sauce hitting every register of flavor at once makes it genuinely hard to stop at one taco. Make the sauce the night before, do your prep in the afternoon, and when dinnertime comes, all you have to do is fry and assemble. That kind of payoff for a weeknight is hard to beat.
Ingredients
Method
- Make the bang bang sauce:
- In a bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, chili garlic sauce, and sriracha together until blended. Store up to two days in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Marinate the shrimp:
- In a separate bowl, marinate the shrimp in the buttermilk for 20 minutes.
- Prepare your breading station:
- Combine the flour, cornstarch, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl.
- Set a cooling rack on top of a sheet pan on which to place the breaded shrimp prior to frying (this helps achieve a crispy coating on the shrimp).
- Set up a draining station as well by lining another sheet pan with a thick layer of paper towels. (Or, if you have another cooling rack to set over the sheet pan, that’s even better!)
- Set the oven to 200°F.
- Bread the shrimp:
- While the oil heats, drain the buttermilk and toss the shrimp, in batches, in the flour mixture. Shake off any excess flour and arrange the shrimp on the cooling rack to “dry out” while you’re heating your frying oil.
- Heat the oil:
- Place a thermometer in a wide, deep pot, such as a Dutch oven, and add the oil. Heat over medium-high heat until the oil reaches 350°F. (This will take about 20 minutes.)
- Fry the shrimp:
- Add a handful of the shrimp to the hot oil, and after a minute of frying, use a slotted spoon to stir and separate the shrimp; they like to stick together. Fry for 4 to 4 1/2 minutes, or until the shrimp are golden brown.
- Keep the shrimp warm and continue frying:
- Remove the shrimp from the oil with a slotted spoon and place them on your draining rack/pan. Place the cooked shrimp in the warm oven.
- Continue frying the remaining shrimp in batches. Remember to let the oil come back up to 350°F in between batches.
- Sauce the shrimp:
- Once all of the shrimp has been fried, toss it all in 1 cup of the sauce. Reserve the remaining sauce for drizzling on top of the tacos.
- Assemble the tacos:
- Fill the warmed tortillas with a handful of shredded cabbage, then top the cabbage with the shrimp, then more sauce (if desired). Garnish the tacos with sliced radishes, jalapeños, green onions, and the chopped cilantro, then serve.
- These tacos are best enjoyed right away.
Notes
1085
Calories
61g
Fat
93g
Carbs
40g
Protein
