One of our favorite restaurants is Bonefish Grill. I know it’s a chain and all, but it’s just good, and the Bang Bang Shrimp leaves me wanting more- every time. A couple of years ago, Birdbelly Husband surprised me and made a copycat version at home. It was definitely a winning recipe and occasionally when all I need (yep, need.) is Bang Bang shrimp, the home version hits the spot! It was just last year that we wanted to take the copycat appetizer into a main course, and since Bang Bang Tacos are a thing, we thought we could do it too!
For the tacos, we wanted to include our favorite seafood taco toppings, as well as some new tricks I had up my sleeve. Birdbelly husband LOVES red cabbage, so much so that as I was chopping it, he was eating it just as quick. So next time I buy a head of cabbage and think to myself, “How will I ever eat all of this?” I need to remember…he will eat it, LOL! But I like the red cabbage for two reasons, color and crunch! I love the crunchiness that cabbage lends to a seafood taco, and the color, it’s just unreal, so gorgeous! Along with the cabbage, I needed a little extra freshness, so I created a simple tomato salad and an avocado crema.
I think I have talked about it before, but one of my favorite things Birdbelly Husband and I do together is to prepare a meal. Most of the time it is just me in the kitchen, because I just love it so much, and need to do everything on my own. But every once in a while, we plan a meal that we are equally experts in, and then we spend the evening cooking together. I just find it so fun, therapeutic, and rewarding. A great date night idea. That is exactly how this meal came to be, Birdbelly Husband was the lead on the shrimp, and I had salad, sauces, and toppings. 🙂
I hope you enjoy Birdbelly Shrimp Tacos with Tomato Salad and Avocado Crema!
The Process:
Shrimp cooks very quickly, so the first thing you need to do is prepare all of your toppings. You can do your topping prep earlier in the day as well. This will save a little chaos in the kitchen when it comes to frying the shrimp.
First up the Avocado Crema:
In a Blender combine, avocado, sour cream, milk, lime juice, salt/pepper. Blend until smooth.
You can add additional tablespoon(s) of milk if you want it slightly thinner.
Next up, Tomato Salad:
I’m calling it a ‘Tomato salad,’ because it’s not quite Pico, but not just diced tomatoes.
Dice tomatoes and onions and combine in a bowl. Add a squirt of lime, salt, and freshly cracked pepper. Toss together.
Last up for prep, is Cabbage:
If you didn’t buy pre-shredded red cabbage, you gotta do it yourself. Now, I use a mandolin for this, but a good ole Chef’s Knife will work.
Break the cabbage down; I do this by cutting the core off of the bottom first, and then cut into four manageable pieces. The quarters of the cabbage will be easier for your mandolin, if using, or knife. Now cut into thin pieces, and chop down further into whatever size pieces you would like. I like them pretty small since I am using street taco size tortillas.
Lastly, dice green onion, white and green parts and set aside. Using kitchen shears is the easiest way to do this!
OK! Prep done, now its time to get into the star of the show, SHRIMP!
Prepare your dredging station. In one bowl/plate whisk together two eggs, in another bowl/plate mix cornstarch, garlic powder, salt/pepper.
Start by coating the shrimp in the eggs, then in the cornstarch mixture, and set aside on a plate.
Continue until you have all of your shrimp coated.
Heat the oil to 350. We deep fried ours, but you can shallow fry them and flip halfway.
Work in batches and fry all of the shrimp. Shrimp fry very quickly, 2-3 minutes total. If you are shallow frying 1-2 min per side.
After removing the shrimp from the oil, place them on a paper towel lined plate, to remove excess grease.
After all of the shrimp has been fried, mix together your “Bang Bang” sauce, in a large bowl. Place all of your fried shrimp in the bowl, and gently toss to coat!
If you want to add a level of heat to the shrimp, add in 1 tsp to 1 tbsp of Sriracha (depending on preference). Even though these shrimp are “Bang Bang,” they are in no way hot.
AAAASSSSSEMMBLE!
Assemble the tacos and enjoy! I prefer my tortillas slightly toasted. You can grill them, cook in a bare skillet, or warm in the oven or microwave.
I hope you enjoy this recipe. It is near and dear to my heart for so many reasons, and a perfect way to have restaurant tacos at home!
Recipe
Shrimp Tacos with Tomato Salad and Avocado Crema
Bring restaurant tacos, HOME!
Ingredients
"Bang, Bang" Shrimp
- 1 lb Raw Peeled Shrimp
- 2 Eggs
- 1 1/2 c Cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Pepper
- 12 oz Franks Sweet Chili Sauce
- 1/4 c Mayo
Tomato Salad
- 3 Ripe Roma Tomatoes diced
- 1/4 c Red Onion diced
- 1 tsp Lime Juice
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Fresh Cracked Pepper
Avocado Crema
- 1 Avocado
- 3/4 c Sour Cream
- 2 tbsp Milk
- 1 1/2 tbsp Lime Juice
- 1/4 tsp Salt
Additional
- Green Onion
- Red Cabbage
- Soft Tortillas
Instructions
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Avocado Crema: In a blender, combine all crema ingredients and blend until smooth. Refrigerate until needed.
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Tomato Salad: Dice Tomatoes and red onion, and toss in a bowl with lime juice, salt/pepper. Refrigerate until needed.
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Red Cabbage/Green Onion: Wash, and chop to the desired size. Set aside.
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Shrimp: Heat oil to 350 and prepare dredging station with whisked eggs in one plate/bowl, and cornstarch, garlic powder, salt/pepper in another. Dip raw shrimp in eggs first, then in cornstarch mixture, set aside, repeat until all shrimp is coated.
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Fry in batches: 2-3 minutes if deep frying, 1-2 minutes per side if shallow frying.
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Remove shrimp from the oil and place on a paper towel lined plate until all are fried.
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In a large bowl combine Sweet Chili Sauce and mayo, mix well. Add in the fried shrimp and toss to coat.
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Assembly: Optional: grill or heat tortilla shells. In each shell start with cabbage, then tomato salad, then shrimp, then Avocado Crema, and finally green onion
xoxo,
birdbelly
