Bang Bang Shrimp Fajitas with cilantro oil. Crispy fried shrimps tossed in a sweet and spicy bang bang sauce stuffed into warmed tortillas with melted cheese, sautéed peppers and onions and finished with a cilantro oil.

A fun take on some classic shrimp fajitas but instead taken up a notch with the crispy bang bang sauce. Super fun and tasty, I decided to take a restaurant-style favourite and turn it into some fajitas.

SHRIMP

I start off by tenderizing the shrimp in egg and buttermilk. This will help to keep it nice and moist and also help adhere the cornstarch blend. To keep it traditional, the shrimp is fried until golden and crispy and tossed in a quickly made bang bang sauce.

ASSEMBLE 

I know there are a few steps and things going on in the kitchen to make the fajitas but its all worth it in the end. I like to lay out the tortillas, top them with some cheese, place the onions and peppers over the cheese and finish with a few pieces of crispy shrimp. Throw it into the oven so that the cheese melts and everything sticks together. While its still hot and just coming out of the oven, I take my large metal spatula and use it to fold one edge over the other to seal them and hold and press it all together until it sticks. That way the fajitas are all assembled and you can just grab them and hold them in your hands to eat.

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Print Recipe

Bang Bang Shrimp Fajitas

Crispy Bang Bang sauced shrimp piled into flour tortillas served fajitas style with peppers and onions and finished with melted cheese and cilantro oil.

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Course: Mains

Keyword: bang bang shrimp, dinner, fajitas, mains, weeknight dinner

Servings: 10 fajitas

Ingredients

• 1 lb shrimp peeled, cleaned and devained
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• salt and pepper to season
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1-2 large yellow onions thinly sliced
• 3 mixed bell peppers thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese blend
• flour tortillas
• cilantro oil to garnish
• oil for frying

bang bang sauce

• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup sweet chili sauce
• 1/3 cup sriracha sauce

Instructions

• In a large bowl, whisk the egg, add the buttermilk and shrimp. Let rest for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oil in a large cast iron frying pan to fry the shrimp. Fill the pan roughly 2 inches up the sides.
• In a separate large skillet, heat some oil and butter. Sautee the onions until soft and tender for about 10 minutes. Add the mixed bell peppers and continue to cook stirring occasionally until the peppers are tender.
• On a baking dish or large shallow bowl, combine the cornstarch, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, oregano and season with salt and pepper. Pull the shrimp out of the wet mixture and toss directly into the cornstarch blend. Toss with hands ensuring to fully cover.
• Once the oil is nice and hot and reaches 350 degrees F, fry the shrimp until light and golden on both sides. Cook shrimp for about 2-3 minutes. Do in batches until all the shrimp has cooked.
• Combine mayo, sriracha, and sweet chili sauce to make the bang bang sauce. Once all the shrimp is ready, toss in the sauce.
• Set the oven to 400 degrees F. On a large baking dish lined with parchment paper, in a single layer, lay the tortillas ensuring not to overlap, add a small handful of shredded cheese, top with the cooked onions and peppers and lay 3-4 shrimps per tortilla in the centre.
• Bake until the cheese is melted about 4-5 minutes, remove from heat and use a large spatula to fold one edge over to close the tortillas. Hold and press for 15 seconds until they hold together.
• Serve immediately topped with cilantro oil and more bang bang sauce. Enjoy!