Copycat Bonefish Grill Bang Bang Shrimp | That’s right! It’s a throwdown. Me vs. The Bonefish Grill’s Bang Bang Shrimp. I dedicate this throwdown to my sister-in-law, who I once saw scarf down an entire order of Bang Bang Shrimp in 2.5 seconds, with my own eyes.
And we have a long history with this restaurant. It’s where we ate right before my husband proposed! The only drawback is that Bonefish Grill Bang Bang Shrimp is just too good to share, and ordering a separate appetizer for everyone is not good for the moneybags if you know what I mean.
So even though it is a tough competition, I’m up to the challenge of a copycat recipe because I could eat them every day of the week!
What is Bonefish Grill Bang Bang Shrimp?
If you’ve never had the Bang Bang Shrimp from Bonefish Grill, let me tell you about their most popular appetizer–at least in my family’s opinion. It’s tender shrimp coated in crispy breadcrumbs and a sweet and spicy, creamy sauce with just the right amount of chili heat. That’s where it gets the name “Bang Bang.”
But I figured that Bonefish Grill Bang Bang Shrimp really can’t be that hard to make since they serve it as an appetizer and it comes out pretty quick. It is similar to a popcorn shrimp covered in a creamy, spicy sauce.
What is in Bang Bang Shrimp sauce?
When I started experimenting, I figured that some of the spicy flavor could come from sriracha, a Thai-originated hot sauce made from peppers, vinegar, garlic, sugar, and salt. This stuff is like Asian ketchup with a kick, making so many things more delicious.
The sweet component to the sauce and those little red pepper flakes come from sweet Thai chili sauce, like the kind many places serve with their wontons and egg rolls. You can get this gorgeous mixture of sweet and heat at most grocery stores in the international aisle.
So we know the red heat comes from the chili sauce and sriracha, but it turns out kind of pale orange with a creamy texture that’s all thanks to mayonnaise. I used Japanese kewpie mayo, which is smoother and creamier than regular mayonnaise, made with rice wine vinegar instead of the distilled vinegar in the traditional kind we spread on our ham sandwiches.
But regular mayo will work fine if that’s what you have! With a dash of rice wine vinegar, the sauce is complete.
How to make Bang Bang Shrimp
In a bowl, whisk together your rice vinegar, mayonnaise, sriracha, and sweet Thai chili sauce until it turns a lovely pale orange color.
Pro tip: Use a big enough bowl that you can easily toss the shrimp in after it’s fried. While your shrimp are deep frying, the sauce just gets tastier and tastier as it sits.
Next, soak your shrimp in a medium bowl of milk and prepare your dredging station. You’ll need to fill one dish with panko bread crumbs and another with corn starch.
When you’re ready, shake off the excess milk, completely coat the shrimp in the corn starch, go for ANOTHER dip in the milk, and then roll around in the bread crumbs.
Remove shrimp and arrange on a baking sheet to ensure they have plenty of room. This also makes for easier clean up.
Now it’s time to fry. In a large skillet, add your oil and heat until a thermometer reaches 300 degrees.
Carefully fry the shrimp until golden brown, making sure you add them in batches so they don’t lower the temperature of the oil.
With a slotted spoon, place the cooked shrimp on a paper towel lined plate so they can drain. Add the fried shrimp to your sauce and stir until evenly coated.
Now you have a delicious appetizer you didn’t have to pay $7 for, that you can make in your own kitchen any time you want!
What if I don’t eat shrimp?
If you don’t like fish or you’re allergic, this dish would also taste great with diced chicken thighs. For a vegetarian Meatless Monday dish, you can also make it with cauliflower florets. OMG now I need to go make that!
How to serve Bang Bang Shrimp
As an appetizer, this recipe goes perfectly on a bed of mixed greens or shredded cabbage with chopped scallions and cilantro on top. Like the greens, a little bit of lemon juice also cuts through that creaminess in the best kind of way.
It would also be tasty over an Asian slaw like this one from The View from Great Island. The greens add a fresh component that gives it a little somethin-somethin.
You can make this shrimp recipe a main course by serving over your favorite rice, cauliflower rice (The Minimalist Baker has an excellent tutorial), or in a tortilla topped with slaw for Taco Tuesday.
I bet it would also be divine turned into a pasta with rice noodles, greens, and THAT SAUCE!
Why I love Bang Bang Shrimp
In every bite, you get a perfect balance of crispy and creamy, meatiness from the shrimp, then spicy and sweet. That’s why so many people are bananas about it! And I think I cracked the code, because this dish turned out to be one of my favorite copycat recipes to date.
If you’re having an Asian-themed dinner night, this Bonefish Grill Bang Bang Shrimp copycat recipe would make the perfect appetizer for an Asian chicken bowl, served alongside some kimchi Korean pancakes, or part of a game day or movie night spread with sweet and spicy Asian chicken wings.
more seafood love
Copycat Bonefish Grill Bang Bang Shrimp
Crispy panko bread shrimp tossed in a spicy and creamy bang bang sauce. Save the drive and make bang bang at home.
Ingredients
- 12 oz medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 6 teaspoons sweet Thai chili sauce
- 3 teaspoons sriracha sauce
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup corn starch
- shredded cabbage (optional)
- scallions (optional)
Instructions
- In a bowl combine mayonnaise, sweet Thai chili sauce, sarachi chili sauce, and rice vinegar. Whisk together until well combine, set aside.
- Soak shrimp in a bowl with the buttermilk. Prepare a bowl with panko bread crumbs and another with corn starch. Dredge the shrimp in the corn starch, then again in the milk and finally in the panko bread crumbs, set aside.
- Heat a large skillet of oil until it reaches 350 degrees. Drop shrimp in and fry until golden brown. Remove from oil with a slotted spoon. Drain fried shrimp on a plate lined with paper towels.
- In a large bowl combine fried shrimp with prepared sauce until evenly coated. Pile high on a bed of shredded cabbage and garnish with scallions.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 428Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 59mgSodium: 815mgCarbohydrates: 41gFiber: 2gSugar: 4gProtein: 11g
I love the bang bang shrimp at the Bonefish but unfortunately I live in the Netherlands. I googled this recipe and I hope it will turn out a bit the same.
I’ll keep in touch.
This recipe is missing the savory flavor that the Bang Bang shrimp at Bonefish have. I figured out what it is: Hoisin sauce. Add in some of this and it adds that extra dimension of flavor. Mystery solved! Hoisin sauce can be found in the Asian food aisle or a specialty asian grocery store.
We made this for dinner tonight and it was GREAT! Thank you so much for this fantastic recipe!! All the ingredients were so easy to find, I love recipes that are no-fail.
Really great copy cat recipe. Normally I never take the time to write back to someone about a recipe they posted but I felt I had to this time. I’ve tried other variations of bang-bang shrimp recipes but they never measured up to Bone-Fish original receipe. We had just been to Bone Fish a couple of days ago and this was every bit as good. I think the Asian White Vinegar was the missing ingredient. This gave just a slight “tang” that others failed to capture. One thing I did do that you don’t mention is I made my sauce a couple of hours before I cooked the shrimp to let it blend the flavors. Great Job!!! Your’e husband must be a very lucky man.
Excellent recipe! I’ve had this three times in the last three weeks. Thanks for posting it!
I just prepared it with CHICKEN! Turned out SPECTACULAR. I’ve never been to Bonefish Grill since there’s none @ Puerto Rico. Whenever I enter the blog looking for a recipe there’s a highlight of a comment in this recipe. I’m rehearsing appetizers for Super Bowl and decided to give it a try. Don’t know if any of the guest is allergic to shellfish so I figure if I use chicken (scallopini) it would be a nice twist for the standard buffalo boneless wings! Thanks for another great fool-proof recipe!
I just made this for New Years Eve. HUGE HIT and now have to make it for dinner tonight
I made this for dinner and LOVED it! It tastes just like the bang bang shrimp from bonefish grill. I got lots of compliments 🙂
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS RECIPE!!! 🙂 I have only had bang bang shrimp once in my life, but have searched all over the internet until I came across your fabulous recipe. I only changed two things-I used jumbo cooked shrimp as I didn’t have any raw and since I didn’t have any rice vinegar, I omitted that. The cooked shrimp deep fried turned out just fine. Your recipe was super easy to follow (thanks for the pictures too!) and it turned out fabulous. Everyone thought it was a hit, I will be sure to try it with raw shrimp and the rice vinegar next time. Thank you again!
ive heard that they put a little garlic and citrus (orange zest i believe) in the sauce too! love me some bang bang! for only 5bucks on wed i am finding it hard to be motivated to make it myself! but good to know anyways!
I forgot to mention, for all the people who have to eat a gluten free diet- Bonefish has.an awesome gluten free menu- it is a seperate menu you can ask for it. The best kept secret is the gluten free chocolate cake served.with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce – the BEST dessert I ever had! It’s not on the regular menu but you can order it. If you could copycat that recipe, I may stay in all winter!
Ok – it’s settled once and for all- this is it folks- this recipe is THE copycat-tried them all last night and we just went to Bone Fish last weekend- so I had my favorite app of all time fresh in my head. First, the frequently published recipe with just cornstarch is horrible-
I tried it- yuck! Secondly, it can’t be right because my brother has celiacs and ordered it
Gluten free and it was bare shrimp with the sauce – no crisp whatsoever- they could of used corn starch because there is no gluten in it, but there is gluten in breadcrumbs (wheat). I only added an egg to the milk (was already in there per another recipe)- my husband and.my friend who dined with us both said this one was spot on! I had to take more shrimp out of the freezer to make more once the kids found it! All I can say is Thank You! Fantastic recipe- you nailed it!
I decided that I wanted to try your sauce but did not have shrimp available tonight. I used popcorn chicken instead and it was very yummy!
Had these at the Saint Ambroise restaurant in Granby Quebec. Been loving them since.
JUST LIKE THE REAL THING! I did add a little soy sauce to it and I swear it was just like the restaurant! My family loves them and I am happy I found your receipe!
I just made these and they were Banging good!! I did add a bit of soy sauce … Yummy!
I tried it, this is not a knockoff of the Bonefish. It lacks the taste which Bonefish has.
I wish you had posted all the comments including the ones which are not positive, they would have saved me time & money.
Some in our family are gluten free so will have to grind up gluten free bread toasted for the crumbs. They do have some g free crumbs in certain stores. thanks for the recipie. Love it and them. Alice
Bone Fish Grill’s Bang Bang Shrimp is my favorite appetizer E V A H!!!
I’m definitely going to make this soon. Thanks!!
I just made this using this recipe. ididnt have any rice wine vingar but it was still so good plan on making it for me and my honey as apptizer for valentines day. thanks so much for recreating. sincerly foodie
Thanks for the post and pictures ~ you did a great job!
We (hubby and I) love to see if we can copycat our favorite dishes at home with much success! Haven’t attempted this one yet —So glad you figured this one out for us!!
Can’t wait to make it — taking it to a dinner party tomorrow night — hope it is the “hit of the night”!!
This not only looks tasty…it IS tasty! I’ve made this several times using this recipe and my family scarfs it down! The only thing I do differently is that I add extra Siracha. We like things extra “hot”. Many thanks!
Used your recipe for a Christmas Eve initiation of a new deep fat fryer, and I have to say it was incredible. The sauce is spot on to Bonefish! Thanks so much for posting!
We made it with Chicken and it was a huge hit!!
wow. this shrimp dish made me sooooo hungry !!!!!
We just ate at Bone Fish for the first time last night. Everyone else at the table (7 of us) recommeded this Shrimp we got two orders and ate every bite. It was so wonderful. I have been looking for the recipe all morning. I canot wait to surprise my husband and make this. Thanks a lot.
Just had Bang Bang Shrimp for the first time, so I’m trying to hunt down a recipe for it. I’m confused by “sarachi” sauce – do you mean Sriracha?
Some other recipes suggest using a little Peanut Butter, or Peanut Satay Sauce as the “secret ingredient” – what do you think?
Thanks!
Yeah that is what I meant. 😀 I don’t know about the peanut butter. I think it would be tasty but it would be a little different from bang bang.
Thanks for the clarification – I thought there was *another* sauce I need to find.
I think I’ll try without the satay sauce first and see if it needs something more.
I have been working on this for a while. I think if you try this recipe for the sauce you will say that the “secret ingredients” are indeed concentrated lemon juice and white vinegar.
1 cup mayonaise
3 tablespoons thai chili garlic sauce (i use rooster brand)
1 tablespoon sweet thai chili sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons concentrated lemon juice
3/4 teaspoons white vinegar
Just made these tonight. Worked perfect even with frozen breaded shrimp. Thanks!
Made this tonight and it was great! Used coconut milk and peanut oil, I will cut down on the mayo next time, had to add more sweet and hot sauce to cut the mayo taste, maybe a light mayo would have worked better. A very good recipe and now I’m a fan of panko crumbs, thanks for posting this!
Hello, I just want to say that I have tried the bang bang shrimp and I love it I made this for a party and everyone was asking for the recipe. Thank you for sharing your recipe
I made this tonight and wow!!! This is perfect!
The heat was on!! I love how crispy the shrimp came out!
Thank you!
Perfect! This is one of my favorite things to eat out and you nailed it! Thank you!
Hi, I stumbled upon your site sometime in the fall when i was searching the web for bang-bang shrimp recipies. I found yours and saved it.
Just last weekend we decided to give it a try, and i cant believe we waited so long. they were awesome. thanks for doing all the work to figure it out! they were so good we made them the next day too.
Great job, very nice site.
just cooked the bang bang for the whole family. I used frozen shrimp and followed the recipe. As I was cooking for six I used roughly 70 shrimp, some were golden brown and some not. I didn’t have a thermometer to check temperature. I noticed you recommended using a skillet, just curious, is that better than using a saucepan. I could only only find sweet chili sauce at our local Asian store, is there a difference. It was very helpful to have the photos very easy to follow for a novice cook like myself. Thanks.
Where do you find Sweet Thai Chili Sauce at? And do you have to use Panko Bread crumbs, or can you substitute with regular bread crumbs? I don’t know what the difference between the two is, probably because I’ve never heard of Panko Bread crumbs before. 🙂
You can usually find both in the Asian aisle of your local grocery store. If you can’t find them there you can try a local Asian market. It is best to use panko bread crumbs because they are lighter and toast better then regular bread crumbs. Using regular bread crumbs can make them lumpy and heavy. I use panko in almost any breaded meal because it’s so much lighter and crispier then regular bread crumbs. If you can’t find sweet thai chili sauce, you can also try sweet and sour with some chili or sarachi mixed in.
Hope you enjoy them!
We just had dinner there tonight, for my husband’s company Christmas party (I know, a little late…they are always super busy during the holidays and always have the party in January) and I was finally able to get my bang bang shrimp fix on. I don’t even like spicy food but I can put these away! Probably my all time favorite restaurant dish ever. So glad to find this recipe so I can make them at home. We have tight moneybags these days too, but I don’t want to wait another year to have this dreamy, creamy, firey taste of heaven! If I wasn’t still stuffed from dinner…oh yes, I’d make me some right now!
Thank you so much for figuring this out and posting it! I cannot wait to try it. This has to be my all time favorite thing to eat out!!!
Just found this recipe and cannot wait to try it! Just had these at BF last night and just have to have more. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!!
I just wanted to let you know that I added 2 T of soy sauce to the recipe and it was awesome!
I tried this for my wife and myself on Tuesday night. It was wonderful indeed !!! I made the sauce (excellent too). I battered the shrimp, then placed them in the fridge until deep fryer was ready (and the phone stopped ringing :-), fried them up and they were delicious. I placed them on a bed of Herb mix salad greens and Grilled asparagus. I also like controlling how much or little sauce is added as the shrimp are so flavorful on their own. I will make it again tonight and dip the shrimp in coconut milk. thanks very much
Mmm, that looks awesome!
It’s so funny you just blogged this, because I’ve been craving my own favorite bang bang all week – Cheesecake Factory’s Bang Bang Chicken & Shrimp. I think I’m going to create my own real soon!
The Cheesecake Factory’s bang bang shrimp and nowhere near, even close to the same thing as the bang bang shrimp at Bonefish. I worked at the Cheese for 5 years and so many people would order it and think its like Bonefish’s and be so disappointed.
Actually the recipe is posted on recipezaar.com They dredge the shrimp in cornstarch and then fry it up. You got it right though with the Siracha and Mayo. I too love the Bang Bang Shrimp @ BF, they now have them in tacos! If you haven’t tried their Mussels, you must! They are to die for!
I had the tacos for the first time a month ago, and they are WONDERFUL! I’m actually tempted to try and replicate them with this recipe.
These look just like the real thing! My hubby LOVES Bonefish, and would eat Bang Bang Shrimp everyday. Can’t wait to try!
this is one of my favorite dishes too! the last time i went the waiter gave me the recipe and i make it all the time now too!!
Is the recipe the waiter gave you the same as the one above?
Is this the same recipe that the waiter gave you?
This looks fabulous and I have all the ingredients. Might be dinner tomorrow night!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
You know, I don’t like the shrimp at Bonefish Grill. I know, I’m sorry. It just always has the off taste that you sometimes get with shrimp at some restaurants. BUT your recipe seems awesome and since it’s made at home with whatever shrimp you buy, you can avoid the off taste! Yay!!
You know, I know the taste you’re speaking of. I eat it so much (it seems)… It’s almost a metalic type taste ans sometimes it’s noticeable and sometimes it’s not. Is it really the shrimp? Or could it be the re-used grease it’s fried in? OR is it that the shrimp are tossed in a metal bowl of sorts that give it that taste? I’m really not sure, but again, I don’t ALWAYS taste that wierd taste when I’m at the restaurant (which I’m found at-usually on a wednesday-$5.00 bang bang-after I’m done shopping at the mall…which can be so tiring you know 😉 ). So, here I am, on the hunt for a copycat recipe because I’m craving it badly but am not able to go over there for a while… So far, this looks like one of the more worthy copycat recipes to try!
It is the shrimp. Frozen shrimp are the usually the culprits. Fresh shrimp, I don’t get the same taste from.
Looks REALLY tasty! Way to go figuring it all out on your own. Do you think I could use coconut milk to soak the shrimp, or would that be too strong of a flavor?
That actually sounds pretty tasty! I would give it a try and see what happens. It’s definatly not going to be unediable, so you might as well give it a try. No fear! Let me know how it goes, you know how we feel about coconut over here. 😀