30-minute sweet and spicy fried shrimp

Why families will enjoy this recipe

Our fried shrimp recipe is a great option for families with kids because it's quick and mostly uses pantry staples. 

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The shrimp cook in just a few minutes, making it a perfect meal for busy weeknights. Peeling and deveining the shrimp takes the longest of all the preparation time, but you could do this earlier in the day to save some time. 

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You can use fresh or frozen shrimp. If you use fresh shrimp, you will likely want to cook it within 1-2 days of buying the shrimp. If you use frozen shrimp, make sure you allocate about 10 minutes to thaw (or thaw in the refrigerator the day before). We recommend using frozen shrimp so you have more optionality on when you want to cook it during the week. Because it uses mostly pantry staples, this is a great dish to spin up without having to worry about ingredients spoiling.

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We recommend allocating a half pound of shrimp per person if serving as the main dish. If serving as a side dish, 1 pound of shrimp will feed 3-4 people. The recipe can be doubled if you need to feed more people. Doubling the recipe will add extra time, notably the time deveining and peeling a second pound of shrimp.

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If serving as a main dish and you are trying to feed a family of 4 or more, this recipe is on the more expensive side compared to other recipes from Maple. Shrimp is the most expensive part of this recipe, but otherwise it’s relatively inexpensive to make. We recommend paying extra for wild caught shrimp (usually pink, white, or brown in color). The farm-raised shrimp (typically black or grey in color) don’t pack the same flavor.   

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The dish is technically one-pot, but we don’t consider it a low mess recipe. Battering and frying shrimp can easily blow up your kitchen, with oil splattering and cornstarch spreading across the counter tops.    

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Feel free to play around with the sauce. You can adjust the heat to suit different ages, or ditch it completely and go with a mellow cocktail sauce, sweet teriyaki sauce, or creamy tartar sauce. 

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Picking the right pan for frying this recipe can be tricky. You want a pan that’s at least 3-4 inches deep so the oil doesn’t spill over the edges. We recommend at least a 12-inch skillet, 12 inch deep cast iron skillet, or 4-5 quart Dutch oven. A heavy-bottomed saucepan or sauté pan with deep sides can also work. Never fill the pan more than ½ full with oil. 6 cups of oil should stay well below the halfway mark in a 4-quart or larger pan.

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Instructions:

• Make the sauce
  
  • Mix the mayo with the sweet chili sauce in a medium to large bowl. You want a bowl large enough that it could fit a full pound of shrimp. You will later be tossing the shrimp in this bowl, so keep that in mind.

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• Heat the oil
  
  • In a large high sided skillet or frying pan, and the oil. Heat to 375 degrees.

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• Batter the shrimp
  
  • Place the deveined shrimp in a medium bowl.
  • Mix in the buttermilk and coat the shrimp. This is your wet bowl.
  • In a separate bowl, mix together cornstarch, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. This is your dry bowl.
  • Move each shrimp from the wet bowl to the dry bowl, ensuring that each shrimp gets fully coated in the dry mixture. 

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• Fry the shrimp
  
  • Fry the shrimp until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. It’s best to fry in multiple batches so the pan doesn’t get overcrowded, roughly 7-8 per batch. Stir the shrimp to keep them from sticking together. Be careful not to overcook as the shrimp will get rubbery.
  • Move the shrimp to a paper-towel lined plate.

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• Get sauced
  
  • Transfer the shrimp to the sauce bowl. Toss to mix.
  • Serve

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