These appetizers get their name from the fact when they are fried they look like an old-fashioned firecracker. I’ve been making these for a while, especially once my nieces discovered that they loved shrimp.
Now the pairing with the Taco Shop Avocado Sauce https://auntmomos.com/taco-shop-avocado-sauce/ was a purely accidental and a wonderful surprise. Normally you pair these with an Asian type of sauce … either salty, hot or sweet. I unfortunately at our older site of the winery discovered I had forgotten to buy those types of sauces for an event. The closest store to that site was The Fruit Basket which didn’t carry anything like that at that time, but he did carry the ingredients to the Taco Shop Avocado Sauce!
The hardest part of this recipe is actually wrapping the shrimp. The shrimp have a natural curl to them, and I usually try to break that by slightly bending it in the opposite direction. Be pretty careful, you can tear them in half by bending them too quickly, you should feel a ‘pop’ and then they will be straight and easier to wrap.
If you don’t have a fryer … that’s okay! I have one, and try not to break it out of storage unless I have a big project. I usually use a deep thick-sided pot with a candy thermometer … a few years ago I bought a high-sided cast-iron pot and it’s what I use for small batches of frying. Just never let it be unattended and place it on one of the back-burners for safety reasons. Don’t turn on the front burner to prevent flare-up of the oil. Front-burner placement of a fryer means that it can be knocked over and cover your feet and front of your body with hot oil … yeah, back-burners are a good idea.
Firecraker Shrimp
Ingredients
- 2 pounds of uncooked tail on 26/30 count per pound shrimp
- 1 package of wonton wraps
- 4 cups of vegetable oil
- Small bowl of water
Directions
- Step 1 If this description doesn’t make sense look at the photo for reference.
- Step 2 Place shrimp diagonally on the wonton wrap.
- Step 3 Dip your finger in the water and ‘paint’ water on tip of the wonton wrap closest to the former head of the shrimp.
- Step 4 Fold tip over body.
- Step 5 Then wrap farthest side flap over shrimp and roll shrimp so completely covered except for tail.
- Step 6 Heat oil to about 350 degrees in deep pot.
- Step 7 Place about six wrapped shrimp into the oil, after about two minutes, take out of oil when lightly browned and place on a paper towel covered dish to drain.
- Step 8 Shrimp may curl while cooking and that’s okay.
- Step 9 When finished plate with your choice of sauce for dipping.
