Firecracker Shrimp Made in 15 Minutes

This firecracker shrimp is lightly breaded, crisped to perfection, and tossed in a sweet and spicy homemade sauce. And it's super versatile; it can be eaten as an appetizer, side, or main dish. Plus, it takes under 15 minutes to make the whole thing!

My Take On Firecracker Shrimp

If you've never made firecracker shrimp before, you're in for a treat - it is one of the most straightforward and flavorful shrimp recipes you can make.

I mean how can you beat a seafood recipe that tastes out of this world and also takes less than 15 minutes to put together?!

All you have to do is coat the shrimp in some egg and cornstarch, cook it for a few minutes, mix the firecracker sauce into it, and it's done. Yep, it's as easy as that!

In fact, it's so easy that I usually enlist my 2-year-old to help prep/cook it with me.

Now, just so you know, I love eating this spicy shrimp over a bed of white rice to balance out the flavors - the rice absorbs some of the spiciness. Buuuut, if you want to take the heat up a notch, you can pair the shrimp with this cajun fried rice. My dad loves hot stuff so that's what he usually does.

Having said that, you can totally eat this firecracker shrimp recipe all by itself and enjoy it as an appetizer or side too.

Ingredients 

One of my favorite things about this shrimp recipe is that it's made using a bunch of common household ingredients. I almost always have all of them on hand and you probably will too.

Anyway, here's what you'll need for the shrimp:

• ½ pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, tail on
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp. oil for frying
• Salt and pepper to taste

And for the sauce:

• ¼ cup sweet chili sauce (or thai sweet chili sauce)
• 2 tbsp. lime juice
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. hoisin sauce
• 1 tbsp. sriracha sauce
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced

Optional ingredients for serving:

• Rice
• Sesame seeds

Now, just so you know, the majority of the spiciness in the sauce comes from the Sriracha. So, if you want to bring down the heat, you'll want to use less than one tablespoon of it - or none of it. However,  if you want to take it up a notch, you can use some more for an extra kick in this fried shrimp. 

By the way, if you end up with some leftover shrimp you can put it to good use by making one of these recipes:

• General Tso shrimp
• Sweet and sour shrimp recipe
• Red Lobster shrimp scampi

What Shrimp Are Best For Firecracker Shrimp

Let's talk about the star of this recipe - the shrimp. 

When you go to pick out your shrimp, I suggest looking for wild-caught shrimp. This shrimp will have a cleaner, sharper, and deeper shrimp flavor. 

Now, you may be wondering if you should use fresh or frozen shrimp, and the short answer is that you can use both. 

Just keep in mind that fresh shrimp have already been thawed, and are typically stacked on ice in the grocery store, which means that they are losing their freshness by the hour. 

So unless you are going to cook the shrimp you buy that day, I suggest buying frozen shrimp. You will have more time to use it, and the shrimp will have an overall better taste, cook better, and have a better texture.

With that said, if you do buy fresh shrimp, just make sure you use it within two days. 

How To Thaw Frozen Shrimp 

If you are going to use frozen shrimp, you will want to make sure that it is thawed correctly. 

Thawing frozen shrimp is super easy - just fill a large bowl with cold water, seal the shrimp in a Ziploc bag, and place the bag in the bowl of cold water.

Then, you'll want to let the shrimp sit in the bowl for about 10-20 minutes - or until they are fully thawed. Once they defrost, you can place the shrimp on a plate lined with paper towels and pat them dry. 

And that's it - your shrimp are ready to go!

How To Make Firecracker Shrimp

Now it's time to make some firecracker shrimp!

Fifteen minutes is all you'll need to have some amazingly crisp, sweet, and spicy shrimp. 

Step 1: Prep

Start by putting salt and pepper on your shrimp to taste, and then dredge each one in the corn starch.

Once the shrimp are coated, you can set them aside.

Next, heat a skillet over medium-high heat, and cover the surface with oil. While the skillet is heating up, you can make the sauce to get it ready to go for later.

So, to do that, whisk together all of the firecracker sauce ingredients in a small bowl until they are well combined, then set the sauce aside.

Step 2: Cooking The Shrimp 

By now, the skillet should be hot and ready to go. 

So, you'll want to whisk your egg in a medium-sized bowl, then dip your shrimp in the egg, and coat each piece in it - shaking off any excess egg. 

Next, transfer the shrimp to the skillet and make sure each piece is lying flat on the skillet's surface - and cook the shrimp for about 2 minutes on each side. 

Now, after the shrimp is cooked, you can transfer them to a plate lined with a paper towel. 

Step 3: Sauce It Up

Before you mix in the sauce, carefully wipe out the skillet.

Then, when that's cleaned out, put the skillet back over medium-high heat, and pour the sauce into the skillet. And you're then going to bring the sauce to a boil. 

Once the sauce is boiling, add the cooked shrimp back into the skillet and move them around with a spatula to thoroughly coat each piece of shrimp in the sauce. 

After the cooked shrimp are covered in the sauce, top it with some sesame seeds and serve with some rice and veggies.

My Recommendations For Storing The Firecracker Shrimp

Okay, so you made your firecracker shrimp, and you loved it so much that you want to save some.

If you have any leftover shrimp, you can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days. 

However, if you want to keep it for longer, you can store your cooked shrimp in the freezer in an airtight container or freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months. Just make sure the shrimp has cooled completely before transferring it to one of your storage units.

My Recommendations For Reheating Cooked shrimp

To reheat your shrimp and maintain the crunchy exterior, you have two options. 

The first one is to reheat the fried shrimp in the oven at 300°F. To do this, lay out a large piece of aluminum foil over a baking sheet. Then, place the shrimp in a single layer on top of the aluminum foil, and gently cover the shrimp with the remaining aluminum foil.

Bake for 15 minutes, checking the shrimp halfway through. 

Another way is to reheat the shrimp in a pan on the stovetop. Just heat a pan coated in oil over medium heat, and then once it's hot, add the shrimp to it in a single layer and heat it for just a minute or so. Then, flip the shrimp, and heat it for the same amount of time on the other side. 

My Final Thoughts

Well, that's how to make firecracker shrimp in just 15 minutes.

Next time you want a crispy shrimp recipe that has a little heat to it, you have to give this a try! I know it's a crowd-pleaser every time I make and I'm sure it will be when you make it too.

Anyway, I hope you like this firecracker shrimp as much as we do at our house.

As always, if you make it, leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts.

More Shrimp Recipes

If you love shrimp, we have a ton of other easy shrimp recipes on the blog for you to try next!

Here are some of my favorites:

• Olive Garden shrimp alfredo
• Benihana fried rice
• Texas Roadhouse grilled shrimp
• Panda Express honey walnut shrimp
• Vietnamese shrimp toast
  
• Shrimp pasta
• Panko fried shrimp