Bang bang shrimp tacos have been on my to-make list for a while now, but something was holding me back. They just didn’t feel quite special enough. Something felt like it was missing. We all know I love to recreate restaurant-style favorites at home, so I knew these had potential. And that sweet, spicy, and creamy bang bang sauce sounded pretty darn delicious. It has sweet Thai chili sauce, which is always a favorite. But when recipes don’t feel exciting enough, I usually hold off on making them or just forget about them altogether. So sometimes they never see the light of day, but other times, I’ll finally figure out that one missing element. And that’s what happened with these tacos. My cousin Maggie and I were walking to dinner in Vail the other night when she mentioned that she really wanted me to make fried avocado tacos. When she mentioned it, I dismissed the idea, because to be completely honest, I’ve never understood why you’d fry an avocado. It’s awesome just as is, you know? But the next day, I saw bang bang shrimp on my recipe list and something about the idea of the crispy avocado with the saucy shrimp sounded like perfection. And then, I was excited. Which was awesome, because recipes have been tricky lately. Obviously, I made the tacos, and happily, they turned out sooo good. The avocado adds just the right amount of crispiness to the saucy shrimp. It’s a different taco, but it sure is delicious.
The details
Start with the sauce. Bang bang sauce is usually mayo, sweet Thai chili sauce, and hot sauce. I doubled the sweet Thai sauce and used an avocado oil-based mayo. You could also use yogurt, but I do think mayo is probably best here. I also added a zest of lime. This gives the bang bang sauce just the right amount of zing. For the shrimp, it’s actually pretty simple. Traditionally, restaurants will deep fry the shrimp and then toss them with the bang bang sauce. But I really hate frying, so I simply dipped the shrimp in flour and pan-fried them. It worked pretty perfectly, with no fried taste, which we prefer. And then the avocado. It’s coated in Panko bread crumbs and then pan-fried. Truly soo delicious. The avocado on its own is reason enough to make these. Crunchy outside, so creamy inside.
Finish them up
Layer up some shredded lettuce or cabbage, cilantro, and then the fried avocado. Add the saucy shrimp, then drizzle over extra sauce. Looks fancy, and like these tacos took hours to prepare, but in reality, there’s nothing fancy about them. Again, these aren’t traditional. Or even made in the traditional way of bang bang style shrimp. But they are fun, and they’re pretty darn delicious! Looking for other taco recipes, try these: Crispy Braised Chipotle Beef Tacos Mushroom Al Pastor Tacos with Garlic Lime Special Sauce Crispy Chipotle Sweet Potato Tacos with Lime Crema Lastly, if you make these Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos with Fried Avocado, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
