Firecracker shrimp are jumbo shrimp wrapped with green onion in thin wheat-flour spring-roll wrappers, then fried until golden. The shrimp tails stay exposed, making each roll easy to pick up and giving the appetizer its firecracker look. Serve them hot with a bright, spicy Ginger Fish Sauce for dipping.
Season the peeled, deveined shrimp with salt, sugar, pepper, and garlic powder. A few shallow cuts along the inner curve help keep the shrimp straight as they cook. Cut the green onions to about the length of the shrimp, then mix cornstarch with water to make a thin paste for sealing the wrappers.
Use thin wheat-flour spring-roll wrappers for a crisp result; the recipe notes that they’re thinner than egg-roll wrappers. Cut the wrappers into triangles, add a piece of green onion and a shrimp near one corner, and roll tightly with the tail extending beyond the edge. Brush the opposite corner with cornstarch paste to seal each roll.
Fry in oil heated to 375°F, cooking five or six shrimp at a time until golden, about five minutes. A deep-fry thermometer helps you monitor the oil temperature. Transfer the cooked shrimp to a rack set over a baking sheet to drain briefly, then serve them hot with the dipping sauce.
For make-ahead prep, assemble the rolls and refrigerate them for up to six hours before frying, or freeze them for up to a month and fry from frozen. The recipe also notes that already-fried shrimp can be reheated in a 350°F oven. This batch makes six servings and works well as a party appetizer or a shareable starter.
Related Appetizer Recipes:
- Slow Cooker Mahogany Chicken Wings
- Marinated Portobello Mushrooms
- Cheesy Cauliflower Tots
- Mini Buffalo Chicken Balls
Firecracker Shrimp
- Total Time: 1:00
- Yield: 6 1x
Ingredients
- 24 jumbo shrimp (16 to 20 per lb.), deveined and peeled, tails left on
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 bunch green onions
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch or tapioca starch
- 1 15–oz. pkg. square (about 7 in.) thin wheat-flour spring-roll wrappers*
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- Ginger Fish Sauce, thickened
Instructions
- To keep shrimp straight, make several shallow crosswise nicks on their inner curved sides with a knife, being careful not to cut through shrimp. Put in a bowl.
- Mix together salt, sugar, pepper, and garlic powder. Sprinkle onto shrimp and toss gently to coat.
- Cut green onions into lengths roughly the same length of the shrimp and put in a small bowl. In another small bowl, mix cornstarch with 3 tbsp. water to make a thin paste. Stack 12 spring-roll wrappers, cut them in half diagonally into triangles, and cover with a damp kitchen towel to keep from drying out.
- Pour enough oil into a 6-qt. pot to come 2 in. up sides and insert a deep-fry thermometer. Heat over medium-high heat to 375°.
- Meanwhile, working with 1 triangular wrapper at a time, lay 1 piece of green onion and 1 shrimp on a narrower corner of wrapper, with tail of shrimp extending over edge. Brush opposite corner with cornstarch slurry. Tightly roll wrapper once over shrimp and green onion. Fold the middle point of the triangle over shrimp and green onion, then finish rolling to seal. Repeat with remaining wrappers, shrimp, and green onions.
- Fry shrimp 5 or 6 at a time until golden brown, about 5 minutes. With chopsticks or long tongs, transfer to rack set on a baking sheet. Let drain briefly, then serve hot, with Ginger Fish Sauce.
Notes
- Make ahead: Through step 5, up to 6 hours, chilled (pat dry before frying), or 1 month frozen (fry straight out of freezer). You can also fry shrimp the day before and reheat 15 minutes in a 350° oven (does not work for shrimp fried from frozen–they toughen).
- Note: *Spring-roll wrappers made of wheat flour (rather than rice flour) are thinner and end up crisper than egg-roll wrappers; find at Asian grocery stores. That said, you can use egg-roll wrappers, but fry to a dark golden brown so they’re crisp all the way through.
- Prep Time: :55
- Cook Time: :05
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Fried
- Cuisine: Chinese