This Thai Firecracker Shrimp recipe has marinated shrimp wrapped in egg roll wrappers and then fried until golden brown and crispy served with a pad thai sauce for dipping. An awesome appetizer that’s so easy to make!
Why This Thai Firecracker Shrimp Recipe Is So Good
- Deceptively simple 5-ingredient appetizer, can be made ahead and frozen
- Pad Thai sauce + fresh basil + peanuts + shrimp
- Ingredients are pantry/freezer friendly, whip up last minute!
- A popular appetizer, everyone loves.
Ingredients For This Firecracker Shrimp Recipe
- Large, tail-on, shrimp
- Eggroll/ springroll wrappers
- Pad thai sauce
- Chopped peanuts
- Fresh basil
How To Make This Thai Firecracker Shrimp Recipe – Step by Step
- Shell the shrimp, leaving the tail on. Pat the shrimp very dry with a towel or paper towel. With a small knife, make three shallow, parallel slits along the inside curve of shrimp, just nicking the shrimp in place to “straighten” out the natural curve of shrimp. This will help keep the shrimp nice and straight when frying.
- Line up the shrimp on a plate, tails all facing one direction. We’re going to marinate the shrimp, without getting the tails wet. Spoon the prepared Pad Thai sauce over the shrimp, avoiding the tails. Let marinate for a few minutes.
- In the meantime, let’s prepare to wrap and roll. Cover the defrosted spring roll wrappers with damp towel. Have your water + cornstarch ready. Place a shrimp on the wrapper, add a sprinkle of peanuts and basil and roll the shrimp up in the wrapper (see pictures for rolling instructions). Keep the wrapped Firecrackers under plastic wrap while wrapping the rest to prevent drying.
- When ready to cook, heat oil in wok, deep fryer or pot to 375F. Carefully slide a few Firecracker Shrimp into the hot oil and fry until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Drain.
An Easy and Popular Appetizer
The most popular appetizer that I make on television is Firecracker Shrimp, with only 3 main ingredients that are pantry and freezer ready, it’s an impressive appetizer that you can make last minute. I’ve changed up the recipe to add a Thai flavor, with prepared Pad Thai Sauce (from jar), shrimp, chopped peanuts, fresh basil and spring roll wrapper.
Can You Freeze These Thai Firecracker Shrimps?
These Thai style Firecracker Shrimp can be prepared ahead of time, frozen then fried (direct from freezer to fryer) in 5 minutes. We make a big ol’ batch and freeze them for easy homemade appetizers.
How To Roll Thai Firecracker Shrimp Video + Recipe
Top Tips For This Thai Firecracker Shrimp Recipe
- Leave the tail on the shrimp and don’t put marinade on the tail.
- Keep the freshly rolled firecracker shrimps under plastic wrap, to keep them from drying
- Nicking the shrimp with a few slits from your kitchen knife will “straighten” out the natural curve of shrimp. This will help keep the shrimp nice and straight when frying.
- Sprinkle with chopped peanuts
More Asian Appetizers
- The original Firecracker Shrimp Recipe
- My Mother’s Famous Chinese Egg Rolls Recipe
- Thai Lettuce Cups
- Sticky Asian Chicken Wings
Have you tried this Thai Firecracker Recipe? Feel free to leave a star rating below and I’ve love to hear from you in the comments!
Thai Firecracker Shrimp Recipe
This Thai Firecracker Shrimp recipe has marinated shrimp wrapped in egg roll wrappers and then fried until golden brown and crispy served with a pad thai sauce for dipping. An awesome appetizer that's so easy to make!
Ingredients
- 1 package frozen Asian spring roll wrappers defrosted, cut in half diagonally (make triangles)
- 1 pound raw tail-on shrimp
- 3 tablespoons prepared Pad Thai sauce
- 1/4 cup water + 1 teaspoon cornstarch or other starch in small bowl, whisked
- 1/2 cup unsalted shelled roasted peanuts, chopped
- handful fresh basil chopped
- cooking oil for frying (about 3 cups)
Instructions
- Shell the shrimp, leaving the tail on. Pat the shrimp very dry with a towel or paper towel. With a small knife, make three shallow, parallel slits along the inside curve of shrimp, just nicking the shrimp in place to "straighten" out the natural curve of shrimp. This will help keep the shrimp nice and straight when frying.
- Line up the shrimp on a plate, tails all facing one direction. We're going to marinate the shrimp, without getting the tails wet. Spoon the prepared Pad Thai sauce over the shrimp, avoiding the tails. Let marinate for a few minutes.
- In the meantime, let's prepare to wrap and roll. Cover the defrosted spring roll wrappers with damp towel. Have your water + cornstarch ready. Place a shrimp on the wrapper, add a sprinkle of peanuts and basil and roll the shrimp up in the wrapper (see pictures for rolling instructions). Keep the wrapped Firecrackers under plastic wrap while wrapping the rest to prevent drying.
- When ready to cook, heat oil in wok, deep fryer or pot to 375F. Carefully slide a few Firecracker Shrimp into the hot oil and fry until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Drain.
Notes
Leave the tail on the shrimp and don't put marinade on the tail.
Keep the freshly rolled firecracker shrimps under plastic wrap, to keep them from drying
Nicking the shrimp with a few slits from your kitchen knife will "straighten" out the natural curve of shrimp. This will help keep the shrimp nice and straight when frying.
Sprinkle with chopped peanuts
Nutrition
Calories: 365kcalCarbohydrates: 41gProtein: 19gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 180mgSodium: 911mgPotassium: 123mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 450IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 120mgIron: 4mg
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Thanks so much for such a through recipe!
I do have a question and concern about the basil leaves being frozen. Do they not get freezer burned or immediately dark/wilted? And how long can I keep these in The freezer for?
Roll them up in side a couple sheets of papertowles and put inside a sealed sandwhich bag then fridge
I love all your recipe they are easy to make and they are so good Yummy.
We are going to a shrimp party, everyone has to bring a different shrimp dish I have been looking for a special recipe to be different from all the others and this looks like just the thing to make. thanks!
Great video! It was my first time on your site and I love it.
I like SPICY Thai food! What might a add to the filling to give it some kick?
Thank you.
How tasty! I have had these at so many restaurants and I know they don’t have all that tasty stuff inside the wrapper. I think I am going to be in heaven when I make these on Monday. We are heading to the Gulf Coast and the shrimp there is off the chain!!! #BP
What size shrimp do you use??
I like using medium to large shrimp.
Can I prepare the shrimp a day or two before I fry them or will they dry out too much? Can I keep them covered or in plastic to retain moisture. I am trying to prepare ahead for a party
Terry – That should be fine. Cover very well with plastic – squeeze out as much air as possible (air + wrapper will dry out)
You can flash fry them( half cook) and store them till you are ready to fry again
Can I use peanut butter? I like the taste of it but, not the crunchy bites of the peanuts.
Yes that’s fine!
I’m having dinner party this Sunday night….May I make these the day before (fry) and just heat in oven before serving? I’m trying to do in advance as much as possible….I get it that I can freeze…but I won’t have time to make these until the weekend…Advise please! Thanks
Hi Lyn, so sorry I couldn’t get back to you earlier. I’m currently traveling, filming a cooking video.
Yes, you can make is the day before and heating the oven before serving. Put the firecracker shrimp on a baking sheet with
a rack to allow for air circulation. 375° for about 15 minutes should crisp them right up.
Made these last weekend and they were a big hit. They look exactly like the picture, are easy to make, and absolutely delicious! I used 16/20 shrimp (16-20 shrimp per pound) and Thai basil instead of regular basil. The Thai basil added just a hit of anise to the basil which worked really well with this recipe. I am also super thrilled to learn about the wrapper for these. I will never use anything but these ever again for egg rolls and such. Such a superior product that fried up super crispy and stayed that way. Awesome recipe and the tutorial was wonderful for all kinds of tips–loved it!
I love shrimps, making a tasty fire cracker out of shrimps makes it sound even more delicious. The Thai firecracker shrimp looks really tasty, i feel like having a bite, as soon as i go to the Asian market to get the spring roll, i’ll give this a trial.
You have nice little “Chef”
He can open a restaurant..
Hi Jaden,
These look yummy! Thank you for the recipe and video.
What is the dipping sauce they are served with? The same Pad Thai sauce?
Thank you and Happy Cooking!
That’s Thai Sweet Chili Sauce that you can find at most markets
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmm looking YUMMY and simply delicious! Gotta try them today!
I absolutely LOVE these shrimp!!! So much better than regular fried shrimp, and so easy to assemble. I’ve made many variations of these using different sauces on the inside. Another favorite of mine is to skip the sauce completely, and just give the shrimp & wrapper (still unrolled) a healthy shake or two of Old Bay seasoning. Next time I’m gonna add a small amount of fresh crab meat w/ the shrimp to mimic stuffed shrimp. MMMM!!!!
Those firecracker shrimp look so good!
Oh wow Jaden! This looks AMAZING! Pinning! I hope you have a Happy Easter and a blessed day!
Yum! I would have had to adopt Nathan’s “One for you….one for me” policy if I were serving these fire cracker shrimp!! I would have had a hard time resisting these!
Jaden, Did you use shrimp that was frozen or fresh. My reason for asking is most people don’t have access to fresh and if you wanted to make and freeze the fire cracker, it may not be wise to have defrosted frozen shrimp and then refreeze prepared cracker. What’s your take on that? Thanks.
Hi Ann, I use frozen shrimp. It’s okay to refreeze – I’ve never had any problems!
I predict that cute, adorable Chef Nathan will work for free next time because he had so much fun with Mommy Jaden and the other chefs! What fun that must have been for you to have him by your side!
I will look for the Asian spring roll wrappers (wrap and roll sounds like it ought to be a dance craze) and some pad Thai sauce, but since I also live in Florida, can you recommend which store might carry those? And a brand name for the Pad Thai sauce? We have Win Dixie, Publix, and Wal-Mart, and rarely, Hubs has a biz trip to Orlando or Jax, so he could look around for me and take a cooler. Don’t worry; I’ve asked for stranger things to be brought home from his trips. Most recently it was non-homogenized, but pasteurized without being ultra pasteurized, cream-on-the-top milk from Gainesville! (Boy, was it ever good!) These firecracker shrimp look way too good to not try! Thanks!
If you can’t eat peanuts what other nut would you recommend as a substitute? I would like to try this recipe . Thanks
Hi Judy! Just leave them out or substitute with chopped almonds or sesame seeds.
I had these on my last night in Thailand about a month ago. I loved them so much I took a pic with my iphone and made a note to make them when I got home. And then promptly forgot all about them. Until now. THX! ~ karen
Karen!!! Hugs to you from Florida. I have a prediction that we’ll finally get to meet up sometime this year 🙂
LOL. I was just thinking the same thing! Hope so. ~ karen!
That was a great instructional video! Thank you for detailed recipe, well done!
Will definitely try these at home!
Can I bake the firecracker shrimp instead of deep frying? If so, how long and at what temperature should i set the oven to? Thanks!
Hi! I’ve only fried them, so I don’t know how they’d turn out baked.
They probably could be baked if they are sprayed w/oil first and baked in a 375 degree oven for maybe 5 or 10 minutes.
That sounds right. To spray them with peanut oil or canola oil on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet, ensuring they do not touch each other, and baking them at 375 or 400 degrees until lightly browned should make for scrumptious snacking!
Hi there! I was wondering if you have a specific dipping sauce recipe for the firecracker shrimp?
I like using Sweet Chili Sauce just straight from the bottle for dipping sauce.
These look amazing! Thanks so much for sharing! I might have something new to add to dinner rotation with some rice and veggies on the side 🙂