Sweet and Spicy Shrimp Tacos are an easy weeknight dinner made with sweet chili sauce, Sriracha and lightly floured shrimp, ready in 20 minutes. One pound of shrimp fills six to eight tacos and serves four. Romaine and corn are the only toppings.
The flour here is a dusting, not a batter, and the strainer step is what makes it one. I shake the shrimp in a lidded bowl with flour, then tip the whole lot into a sieve and shake again. What stays on is barely visible, which is exactly the point.
The pan comes off the heat before the sauce ever touches the shrimp, and that order matters. Sweet chili sauce is mostly sugar, so it scorches in seconds over a live burner. Off the heat it coats and clings instead, and the crust underneath survives.
Sweet and Spicy Shrimp Tacos
Course: MainCuisine: MexicanDifficulty: Easy4
servings30
minutes40
minutes300
kcalMedium shrimp are the right size here, because large ones are awkward to eat folded into a taco-size tortilla. Half a cup of sauce to a pound of shrimp is a light coating on purpose, so make extra for the side.
Ingredients
- For the Shrimp:
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 cup flour, for dusting
2 tablespoons olive oil
- For the Sauce:
1/2 cup sweet chili sauce
2 teaspoons Sriracha sauce
- To Assemble:
6 to 8 taco-size flour tortillas
1 cup Romaine lettuce, chopped
1 cup corn kernels
2 green onions, sliced
Directions
- Mix the sauce: Add the sweet chili sauce and Sriracha to a bowl and stir to combine, then set aside.
- Dust the shrimp: Peel and devein the shrimp and dry them well, then add them to a large bowl with a tight-fitting lid. Sprinkle the flour over the shrimp, cover and shake well. Pour the shrimp and flour into a strainer and shake off all the excess: you want a very light coating, almost a dusting.
- Fry in a single layer: Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the olive oil, and when the oil is hot, add the shrimp in a single layer. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until lightly browned and crispy.
- Sauce off the heat: Remove the pan from the heat, pour the chili sauce and Sriracha mixture over the shrimp and stir well to combine.
- Build the tacos: Add a little lettuce to the bottom of each tortilla, followed by some corn. Top with a few pieces of shrimp and sprinkle with green onions.
The source publishes no nutrition and carries no star rating, so the calorie figure is estimated from the ingredients at four servings. Taco count varies with how generously you fill them.
Three things will cost you the crunch if you get them wrong.
FAQs
Do I have to dry the shrimp first?
Yes, and this is the step people skip. Wet shrimp turn the flour into a paste that slides off in the pan, so pat them properly with paper towel. Frozen shrimp hold a lot of water, which means thawing them fully and drying them twice.
Half a cup of flour for one pound of shrimp?
Almost all of it goes in the bin, which is why the quantity looks wrong. You need enough volume in the bowl for the shrimp to tumble and coat evenly, then the sieve takes the rest back. Maybe two tablespoons actually end up in the pan.
My shrimp steamed instead of browning.
Picture the pan: if the shrimp were touching, they released water faster than it could evaporate and poached themselves. Cook in two batches with space between each one, even though it takes longer. A skillet that is properly hot before the oil goes in also helps.
How spicy is it really?
Two teaspoons of Sriracha in half a cup of sweet chili sauce lands mild, closer to warm than hot. Sweet chili sauce is sugar-forward and mostly cancels the heat out, so taste the mix before it goes on. Double the Sriracha if your table likes it sharp.
Can I use cabbage instead of romaine?
Shredded cabbage holds up better under a warm, saucy filling and will not wilt the way lettuce does. Romaine is the lighter choice and keeps the focus on the shrimp, which is the original intention. A dressed slaw changes the dish more, as this smoky chipotle coleslaw shows.
Can I grill the shrimp instead?
Grilling and flour do not mix, since the coating burns on the bars before the shrimp cook through. Skip the flour entirely if you want to grill and brush the sauce on at the end. That is a different dish, built the way these taco seasoned grilled shrimp are.
