Dynamite shrimp appetizer is a fun and easy battered shrimp recipe coated in a Sriracha spicy mayo sauce! With the quick homemade dynamite shrimp sauce that is flavorful and spicy!
What is Dynamite Shrimp Appetizer?
Dynamite spicy shrimp appetizer is a delicious Japanese food invention. Since it appeared on PF Chang’s menu, it became an instant favorite. And this homemade shrimp delicacy is all about the spice – the spicy mayo sauce!
This is a mouthwatering appetizer for any main course, for example Cajun Shrimp Pasta. And if you love Japanese side dishes – go for Hawaiian Shrimp as well!.
Is It Spicy?
Yes, it is! Yet you can always adjust the heat a bit with the amount of Sriracha sauce you will add. Actually I had only added a couple of teaspoons of Sriracha to the sauce.
You can definitely go less or more than that. The right amount of spice for the people enjoying it is the balance we seek. So I do recommend that you add what you like, for that kick and the amazing color just like how you get it from PF Chang’s.
If you prefer a milder appetizer, you can easily cut the cilli sauce in half.
Is This Dynamite Shrimp Recipe Deeply Fried?
The traditional dynamite shrimp IS deeply fried, however I am firmly against any deep frying. My version uses avocado oil AND a carbon steel pan to achieve enough heat without deep frying.
So the answer is No, this is not a deep fried shrimp recipe!
How Do You Make Dynamite Shrimp?
As I mentioned before, dynamite shrimp is all about texture and spice. To achieve both we need to create an amazing shrimp coating and a beautiful shrimp sauce!
- First, you batter the shrimp in corn flour. This flour will give it a nice yellow tone. And a perfect crisp texture.
- Then, fry it until golden. And by the way – you don’t even have to use a wok! I used this inexpensive 12 inch carbon steel skillet. Yes – Lodge makes carbon steel pans now. Who would’ve known? And as a bonus, it works like a wok!
- Always use a high smoking point vegetable oil. I used avocado oil and I didn’t add much. About 3 tablespoons.
- Lastly, you will make dynamite shrimp sauce. This spicy sauce is what makes the dynamite!
- Simply mix mayonnaise, sweet chili sauce, Sriracha and honey. This is the exact combination that makes the perfection!
How to Defrost Shrimp
- First things first, let frozen shrimp submerge for 10 minutes in cold tap water using colander.
- After 10 minutes, you will lift the colander and take all the shrimp out of the water and change the water in the bowl.
- Re-submerge the shrimp!
- You will leave it in cold water for another 10 to 20 minutes.
- By now the shrimp should be completely defrosted and still cold.
- Lastly, drain and pat them dry before cooking
How to Fry Shrimp in Pictures
First, you will prepare the batter from corn flour and then coat the shrimp in it.
Then you will fry the shrimp in a large skillet. You can use cast iron skillet if you don’t have a wok. For example, I used a carbon steel skillet.
The next step would be to prepare the dynamite shrimp sauce and coat your shrimp in it. Pretty easy so far! I used a large bowl to coat my shrimp in the sauce.
Use a plain spoon to mix!
Substitutions
Corn Flour
I highly recommend to use corn flour for the batter, however you can prepare delicious shrimp appetizer without any batter by using this learn how to cook shrimp article. If you love Asian Food, you will surely recognize the sharp flavors in both versions!
Soy Sauce
If you would like to make this homemade appetizer gluten-free, use Tamari Sauce or Coconut Aminos instead.
For low sodium version – use low sodium soy sauce.
How Do You Store Dynamite Shrimp
I recommend refrigeration for up to 1 week and no freezing! We don’t want to eat mushy shrimp.
Dynamite Shrimp Appetizer
Ingredients
Sauce:
- ½ Cup Mayo
- ⅓ Cup Sweet Chili Sauce
- 2 tablespoon Sriracha, (or any chili sauce)
- 1 teaspoon honey
Shrimp:
- 1 Egg, (whisked)
- 1 teaspoon Soy Sauce
- ⅔ Cup corn flour
- ½ teaspoon Sea Salt
- ½ lb. Shrimp, (Peeled and deveined, medium in size)
- 1 Scallion, (for garnish)
Optional Add-Ons
- Lettuce, (whole pieces)
- Scallions, (finely chopped)
Instructions
Sauce
- In a bowl, using a whisk mix mayo, sweet chili sauce, sriracha and honey together until well blended.
Shrimp
- Add egg to the large bowl and whisk slightly. Add soy sauce.
- Spread corn flour and salt on a different plate.
- Next drain the shrimps and add to the mixing bowl with the egg. Mix shrimps with an egg well.
- Add shrimps covered in egg one by one to the plate with corn flour, making sure to coat each shrimp with flour.
- Heat oil in a frying pan and fry the shrimps on medium heat, about 1 minute per side. For a total of 2 minutes. Don’t overcrowd the pan. I cooked my shrimps in 2 batches. Remove from oil immediately and drain on a paper towel.
- Toss the fried shrimps into the bowl with sauce and mix with a spoon. Serve garnished with spring onions. Transfer the remaining sauce into serving bowl or cocktail glass.
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only. This information comes from online calculators. Although whatsinthepan.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
Very easy! Enjoy!
This was AMAZING. The shrimp was crunchy and it was perfect.
Crunchy shrimp sounds great right now:). Glad you made it and enjoyed it.
I made this recipe and it was delicious! I omitted the honey from the sauce and used part tempura and part panko breadcrumbs instead of corn flour. The shrimp were still crunchy the next day!!! Will definitely be making this again!
Lucille – great to hear that it worked with the substitution of panko/tempura and crunchiness the next day! And thank you so much for the 5-star rating!
i AM MAKiNG THiS iN 2021 XD
Perfect choice for 2021!
Amazing, thank you for sharing! We did tempura, only because we didn’t have corn meal.
Amazing! Tempura batter works too!
Hi
Can I replace corn flour with something else?
Thank you
You can use wholemeal almond flour (not the white blanched version).
THe shrimp was crispy and the sauce so rich and perfect!
I’ll be making it with sriraracha cilli sauce to make it even spicier.
nice looking shrimp there. I will be making it for New Years.