Fried Butterflied Shrimp

I made this batter and it was absolutely delicious! The only thing is is is way too much of the liquid batter for 1 pound of shrimp. If you scale it down to a 3/4 of a serving it will not leave you with a lot of excess cornstarch batter.

For an even crispier shrimp, dip the second time in Panko breadcrumbs. Panko crumbs are found in the Japanese section of the grocery store. They are very light and fry up beautifully golden and they are crispier than any breadcrumb I have ever tried.

My husband says this is the best shrimp he ever ate. ( including restraunts) I also cooked some scallops like this,and they were also wonderful. I did change a couple of things. 1/2 the water and corn starch, 2 eggs and salt for the wash. I also added about 1/4 cup of fine corn meal to the bread crumbs. I will make this often!!

WOW...I wish I could give this recipe more than 5 stars because it totally deserves it. I'm usually a failure at breading and frying food, but even I couldn't mess up this recipe!! The shrimp looked and tasted like restaurant-style fried shrimp and my entire family was impressed. The only thing I did differently was to mix the cornstarch with the bread crumbs (instead of with the egg and water) and to add a few spices to the bread crumbs (salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder). Also, cut down the water to about 1 cup because 4 cups is way to much. TRY THIS RECIPE!!!!!!!!! UPDATE: this breading is also great for mozzarella cheese sticks and chicken

I used 3/4 c. cornstarch, and water, 1 egg and about 1/2c flour, panko bread crumbs. OMG..........better than restaurant quality. I'd give them 6 * if I could

I have made this recipe many times and absolutely LOVE it. Reminds me of the great fried shrimp places in Chicago. I never bother butterflying the shrimp. Like many, I reduce the water and cornstarch in half. I add a little Louisiana Hot Sauce to the wash as well. For the crumbs I've used saltine crumbs, bread crumbs (I add a little corn meal for extra crunch) and Panko, alternately. They are all good! I always add a little extra spice to the crumbs - usually some garlic powder and paprika. Although I love Panko crumbs, they tend to not stick very well and often wash off on the 2nd breading. Let the shrimp dry a bit after the first dip and the breading will stick better. Make sure your oil is the correct temperature and let them get a nice golden brown which seems to take about 3 minutes. I drain them on a rack over a brown paper bag for a couple of minutes then put them on paper towels in the oven at 150 degrees while I prepare the rest. Serve with some home-made cocktail sauce (ketchup & horseradish)and some Sweet Restaurant Slaw from this site and it's just like Hanson's Fish Market on Harlem Ave! (of course, you have to serve it in a brown paper bag!;-)

Substitute beer for water for a great beer batter recipe.

I usually pay attention to the reviews and adjust the recipe accordingly but somehow I missed the water suggestions. Way too much water, definetely reduce it. If you follow the recipe as stated, you can't double dip. Upon dipping your shrimp the second time around, the liquid mixture just removes the first coat you put on. Just don't coat a second time, it turns out fine. I didn't have any fresh breadcrumbs so I very lightly toasted 6 slices of bread in the oven, then ran them throuh the food processor. I also added salt, pepper and dried parsley to the breadcrumbs. It was excellent.

This recipe turned out great! I followed others' advice and reduced the water and cornstarch, and added some onion salt, cornmeal, paprika, pepper, and garlic powder to the breadcrumbs. The shrimp were nice and crunchy, with a nice flavor, not "floury" like other recipes for fried shrimp that I've tried! Thanks for the great recipe!

I reduced the water and cornstarch in half as well as adding 1/4 cup of fine cornmeal with the breadcrumbs as suggested below and the outcome was wonderful! The whole family enjoyed and not a single leftover! Thank you for this added tip it really made the recipe perfect. Sarah

Too much liquid, couldn't get the breadcrumbs to adhere to the shrimp, even with all of the dipping. No salt or seasoning in the recipe. One of the strangest recipes I have ever tried. Was something left out? One quart of water, yikes...

Terrific recipe! I'm usually not a great fan of fried foods, but we were doing steak & shrimp night for my father-in-law's birthday dinner so I needed a great recipe. They turned out wonderfully crispy and golden brown. Had no problem double dipping them in the batter - and I think this contributed to the wonderful crispiness. The breadcrumbs didn't come off at all after the second dip, though I did let them set for about 5 minutes after the first dip cycle. The only changes I made were: 1. cut water & cornstarch in half (but I left egg count the same) 2. added about 1/4 cup of cornmeal to the breadcrumbs 3. added a tablespoon or so of cajun seasoning. I also used fine grain, store-bought breadcrumbs (1/2 plain, 1/2 seasoned) instead of making my own. This is actually the first time I've ever deep fried shrimp. I was thrilled with how they turned out and got tons of compliments. Thanks so much for sharing!

These are, without question, the best fried shrimp EVER! I followed the recipe as written with one small revision...I used panko break crumbs for the second coating. CRISPY & DELICIOUS. I made 2 lbs. for just me and my husband, and we ate all of them!

I added some seasonings to the breadcrumbs and it was great. Thank you!

I bought home a pound of fresh shrimp and was looking for a great breaded/fried recipe.. This recipe is FANTASTIC! My daughter and I loved the texture and crispiness of the batter, and the batter does stay on perectly! I followed the other suggestions and cut the water and cornstarch in half..also used Panko Breadcrumbs...PERFECTO! will make this recipe ONLY from now on~ Thank YOU!

These shrimp are great!!!! I made them for the first time last night and enjoyed everybite. This will be the only recipe I use for fried shrimp now. The flavor was good and it wasn't an overload of breading. I did however, dip my shrimp once in the coating and let them sit several minutes just to make sure the coating wouldn't come off while cooking and I added seasoning to my bread crumbs. This one's a keeper!

Just LOVE this recipe! I make something different at least 1x a week. Came across this and my husband and I just love it. I make it about 2x a month. Thanks for sharing this receipe.

This is great. There isn't anything that I have found to make that tasted this good. One of my FAVORITE seafood meals. Thanks for the post.

Yes way too much batter, definitely adjust per other reviewers. For those who had dipping problems, don't double dip, let first coating dry before second dip. I didn't butterfly my shrimp but left the tails on for easier dipping. I used small deep bowls (like cereal bowls) held the shrimp by the tail dipped in batter then crumbs and laid to rest on a cooling rack. I season my crumbs with Old Bay and Seasoned Salt. Looking forward to trying with Panko.

I used corn meal instead of bread crumbs for this recipe, and it was delicious!! I will definitely make again!! Maybe next time, I will try the bread crumbs!!

Bit disappointed with this recipe. Loved the butterfly idea and the cornstarch coating, to which I only used two cups of water and one cup of cornstarch. If using fresh breadcrumbs, as the recipe states, they need to be highly seasoned (which I did) or they would be incredibly bland. Unfortunately, I don't think that fresh breadcrumbs are the way to go. I use fresh for many recipes, but I wish I had used either dry crumbs or panko. The shrimp weren't nearly as crispy as I would have liked them to be. Will try again though and thank you.

Recipe was perfect as is and I did not change a thing with the batter. I did let shrinp set in fridge until slightly chilled before dipping in batter the 2nd time. For comparison I also made part of the batch using Panko for the second dip and felt that they turned out too too crispy/crunchy.

This should be wonderful using Panko breadcrumbs! I can hardly wait to try it!

Very good

this is the best recipie for fried shrimp, thankyou!

The batter for this was ridiculous. I used 1/3 of the water and it was still really runny. I was left with way too much of it and threw a bunch out. The dry mixture is fine but I've had better recipes which used Panko instead and/or also had some unsweetened coconut shavings in it which made it more delicious.

I halved the batter recipe and added about 1/4 cup Old Bay seasoning. I only dipped and breaded shrimp once instead of twice since the breading was overpowering the shrimp. Sooooo good!!

All I can say is YUMMY! And all my family could say when they had this was the same thing! It's a bit messy making these but its so worth it! I served this with an Asian sweet and sour sauce recipe I got online. The batter is just fantastic, highly recommended!

Wonderful! Much better that what you get in a restaurant!

I halved the recipe as did many others trying this recipe. I added cornstarch to the seasoned breadcrumbs as well as garlic powder, seasoned salt, tarragon and pepper. VERY GOOD!!!

This turned out excellent. I did exactly as the recipe calls for. Good with a Remoulade sauce on a poor boy!

Excellent. I read all the other reviews and took the advice of those who recommended adding spices to batter including corn meal, it was very crunchy and very flavorful, a bit too much I thought. I used 16-20 per pound-sized shrimp and it did overpower the shrimp. Smaller shrimp would be lost. Next time I will just go with plain breadcrumbs, but I will cut the water and cornstarch by a factor of 4 instead just cutting it in half. The measure the recipe calls for would cover 3 or 4 lbs easy.

Both husband and I liked this recipe and will use it again.

I fried shrimp with thawed, precooked shrimp from my freezer and they turned out delicious! I will use this recipe again

These were very delicious when I made them about a week ago and my husband keeps asking when I am going to make them again, guess what I am making for dinner tonight. Can't wait to eat them. YUMMY

Panko Bread Crumbs make a world of difference. I seasoned the shrimp with Old Bay before diping and coating with Panko. Only one coating is necessary. Restaurant Quality Fried Shrimp!

Simple and delicious. I think the water to cornstarch-egg mixture was too watery. Would probably reduce the water next time by 1/2 a cup.

I was just looking for a basic Batter To Adhere to The Shrimp, because I hadn't made Butterfly Shrimp in a while. This Recipe was Very Helpful. Though I changed to many things to list Thanks for the Basic Batter To Making Breading Adhere.. I've Added a Photo to My Finished Product. Thanks Again!

Delicious. About a quarter of the wash is plenty though.

Not my favorite. I did as suggested and seasoned my bread crumbs. I have another coating I prefer as this one you have to really watch, the bread crumbs burn easily.

Delicious! Added a little cajun spice to bread crumbs. The only fried shrimp recipe I use!

Perfect fried shrimp. I used a cornmeal flour for the first dusting and then finished with panko bread crumbs. They looked like they were from a restaurant!

Great recipes. I used Panko crumbs instead of bread crumbs. They came out very light and crispy. This recipe was perfect for two pounds of shrimp.

This is just what I was looking for. My kids do not like my fried shrimp because they are too spicy. This is perfect for them. I did use seasoned bread crumbs to add a little flavor and added the 1/4 cup of corn meal. I also halved the water and cornstarch as suggested. You should also halve the bread crumb mixture. I did about 2 1/2 pounds of shrimp and had at least half of the bread crumb mixture left. Adults will probably find this recipe bland. Just add garlic powder and paprika to spice it up.

My family is still talking about this one. I followed other suggestions about reducing water & cornstarch and adding pepper, season-all & garlic powder. This recipe will now replace my other batter recipes.

If it is on the menu, my husband usually orders shrimp when we go out to eat. I made this cutting the water and corn starch each by half and adding Tony Chachere's creole seasoning to the crumbs and he said "This is delicious, it's one of those things you would remember in a restaurant that would make you want to go back there." He was still talking about these the next day! Used Panko crumbs but ran out so switched to Progresso bread crumbs for subsequent batches. Also followed the advice of letting them dry out a bit between washings so that the breading from the first go round didn't wash off. I will definitely make these again. This was the first time I had fried shrimp and next time will go for bigger ones. These ended up like popcorn shrimp so it was lots more work.

Used Japanese Panko crumbs. Family liked this.

The batter was way too watery. The flour would not stick well because of the batter so the shrimp tough and uneatable.

My son and I made this last night and it was a hit. We did make some changes as was suggested by others, such as, cutting the water and cornstarch in half and adding more spices.

In all the years I have been married, I had never fried shrimp at home. I am not a big shrimp eater but my husband is. I used this recipe including the comments (1/2 the water) and it was great. I used seasoned breadcrumbs on half of the shrimp then used the cajun fish fry on the remainder. WOW!!! My husband is already asking when am I going to make it again. He said that it is better than any fried shrimp he's ordered at the restaurants. Thanks!!

The only reason this gets 4 stars is because the liquid stated in the recipe is a bit too much. I reduced it and only used 1C of water and 3/4C of cornstarch. I also used panko breadcrumbs instead of regular--there was also no need to double dip/coat the shrimp, they came out nicely coated the first time. Definitely a winner.

Changed the recipe quite a bit based on suggestions by other reviewers. Cut water and cornstarch by more than half. Used slightly less than 2 cups breading and added garlic powder, salt, cayenne pepper and black pepper. Only coated shrimp once. I friend about 1.5 lbs of shrimp and still had plent of batter left. So I used the same batter and breading for chicken tenders. I still had plenty left. Both shrimp and chicken tenders turned out wonderfully.

Well just made this tonight and rated it a 5! I had never made fried shrimp before at home.. I had to substitute flour for the bread crumbs due to I was all out and so I added 1 teaspoon of baking soda to the flour, I added seasoning to my flour, adobo, garlic salt, garlic powder pepper and rosemary just threw in about a teaspoon of each but the batter although I halved was amazing and this was the lightest fluffiest batter almost like between tempura and a batter.. everyone loved it and asked me to make it again tomorrow haha thanks for the idea!!

Excellent!!!!! I used japanese panko breadcrumgs. These were the very crunchy. My husband loved the coating. Very quick too.

This was soo good. I followed the recipe, only adding half McCormick's Seafood mix and half bread crumbs. No added salt. I did take the advice of others and halved the batter and still had too much. I making this again today. My hubby loved it.

Hands down, the most elegant, scrumptious, delectable fried shrimp I have ever eaten. Mine came out as beautiful as the photo too. Tips: 1) Cut water and cornstarch in half (everything else is fine); you will have a somewhat watery dip but a too-thick dip means you end up with too much breading and too little taste of the shrimp; 2) Double-dipping is a preferred method, as it creates the perfect amount of light/thin crunch; 3) Panko crumbs create the lightest, crispiest breading around. I seasoned mine with a sparse amount of fish rub; 4) If you are using frozen shrimp, run tepid water over them about 60 seconds. This will leave them semifrozen. It is far easier to make the butterfly cut when they're semifrozen instead of fully defrosted. I made a Thai chili/yogurt dip like that served in fine restaurants. I can't believe that these restaurant-quality fried shrimp were created in my own kitchen. Thank you Joy for this marvelous recipe.

We really liked these shrimp, but I would suggest a couple things for sure. First, the wash is very wasteful and I suspect not really even necessary. At least cut the water, egg and cornstarch in half so you don't waste as much. Next, add some sort of seasoning. We used italian bread crumbs and salt. Bet they would have been pretty bland without. I will certainly make these again. Very simple. PS. they took about 2 minutes for large size. So don't overcook

This if great, better than most restaurants. I would suggest as others, you don't need all that batter an add some spices along the way. The coating sticks to the shrimp very well but don't overload the frier for best results. Excellent!!

My husband and I really enjoyed this recipe. I took the advice of the previous reviewers and cut the water by half. I seasoned the shrimp and cornstarch mixture and used italian bread crumbs. I placed the batter and breadcrumbs in two zip lock bags and shook the shrimp in each mixture because I had medium sized shrimp. Really Good

This was superb! I followed others advice to use only half the amount of water and I used beer instead and added seasoning to the cornstarch (cajun seasoning, garlic powder, and onion powder. YUMU! Served it with steamed broccoli!

Wonderful. I have been searching for the perfect fried shrimp recipe. I will search no more. I agree way too much wash and way too thin. I cut the water down quite a bit. I added enough water to make the wash as thick as pancake syrup. It makes the bread crumbs cling to the shrimp better. I made fresh bread crumbs in my food chopper and tossed them in a little garlic powder and season salt. Then I lightly toasted them in the oven. Much better and cheaper than panko bread crumbs. I dipped the shrimp in the wash and rolled in the bread crumbs and into the fryer they went. My husband sayed it was the best fried shrimp he ever ate.

As updated and modified by other reviewers, this recipe makes a very light coating to help bring out the natural taste of fried shrimp. For a pound of shrimp, you can easily get by using 1 and a 1/4 cup water, 1 egg and 4oz. of cornstarch. It's a must to use Panko bread crumbs. (If you can't find that brand in your stores, put a slice of white bread through a small countertop food processor and lightly dry the flakes in a low heat oven or a microwave). As also mentioned, there's no need to double dip. Dip once in the wash and once in the bread crumbs and then right into the oil. Delicious!!!

These were great. I use Panko Bread Crumbs and they came out perfect. My son has asked me to make these for his bday dinner.

This recipe was excellent. My family loved the breaded shrimp - it was nice and light. The batter didn't hold the grease and it tasted nice and fresh - not greasy. I will definitely use this recipe again.

This was delicious, only change made was I used corn meal instead of starch as my batter...oops. However, they did turn out well. Served well along side Wasabi Cocktail Sauce, and they definitely don't last long. Had to make a second batch! Will be making these again though, definitely.

Good recipe, but I had to make so many changes (using previous reviewers' suggestions) that I can't quite give it 5 stars.

An absolute must to make half of the liquid portion. I halved the liquid and made 2lbs of shrimp with left over liquid. Very good batter.

Made this for Christmas, came out great. I made it ahead and reheated in the oven. Delish!

Restaurant style for sure! Thanks!

This recipe was perfect. I agree with another reviewer that the batter is too much for a pound of shrimp. I actually made 2 pounds of shrimp and still had leftover batter. I encourage everyone to try this easy recipe. Simply delicious. My son has already requested that I make this more often.

Very tasty! My boyfriend and I are addicted. I halved the liquid batter, but I still had a lot left. I used dried season breadcrumbs, like other have mentioned. The batter also works well with eggplant, chicken, and onions.

Delicious!!! - I cut the recipe in half and added old bay seasonings. - OH SO GOOD!

VERY GOOD.

I made this recipe without an additions just halfed the water and it turned out great. I think next time I will try it with just a bit less water to see how it is....but it was goooooood!

Tried for the first time , friends could not stop commenting that the taste is even better than the prawns prepared in a seafood restaurant.Did not change anything in the recipe.

The shrimp turned out tasty but I'm not overly impressed with this coating. It fell off of the shrimp at first, but when I kicked up the heat on the oil it held on better. However the increase in temp made the shrimp a little too brown and crispy in my opinion.

Very good, however I found that the 1 qt water was WAY too much. If I make this again I will use 1 C, and adjust other ingredients to fit.

I love this recipe, I did cut down on the water using only 1 cup, and I used seasoned bread crumbs. My picky kids ate every last one of them!

Great batter

this was such a simple recipe too and both hubby and me loved it! i changed some of the recipes a lil bit too. like water i just used a cup, i used all purpose flour instead of cornstarch and used ritz crackers instead of bread crumbs. i just basically used anything that i have on the cupboard!:) added some spices for the mixtures. turned out so yummy!!:)

great recipe, i added garlic powder to the bread crumbs. very easyband tasty

It's kinda hard to screw up fried shrimp but I really enjoyed this recipe. The breading is very durable and does not crumble as soon as you dip it whatever you dip it in. You can get away with half of the ingredients for the wash and I added about 1/4 cup of flour and some seasoning (garlic powder and black pepper to the bread crumbs. Make ya wanna smack your mamma!

I made the receipe as printed with one exception - I had no bread crumbs so instead, I used pep. farm stuffing mix (I grounded itin the food processor). My husband said it was the best fried shrimp he ever had! Awesome.

Well.......I followed this recipe exactly and for the first batch I fried, the breading came off. I also thought the shrimps were a little bland. For the second batch, I didn't use the cornstarch batter. I used a beaten egg as the batter, added corn meal to the breadcrumbs along with paprika, salt, pepper and garlic powder. I dipped the shrimp in the egg batter, then in the breadcrumbs mixture. This time the breadcrumb coating stuck to the shrimp and they were absolutely delicious!! Will make again.

I must say that I have tried a couple of recipes from this site and they were great. This fried shrimp recipe is a keeper. Well I scaled the water down and it was still to much. I also double breaded the shrimp and it was extra crispy, can't remember who it was but they said to use panko bread crumbs. I did I breaded with regular italian bread crumbs dropped the shrimp back in the egg wash and then dredged them in the panko. THEY WERE AWESOME. Nice a crispy just the way fried shrimp shoukd be. Thank you so much for this recipe

This is very good. My husband thought I bought the shrimps from a restaurant. I used 1 ½ cups of water and 2 cups of cornstarch per other reviewer and that was too much for 1lb of shrimps. Next time I will use ¾ cup of water and 1 cup of cornstarch. I added salt & garlic powder into the panko crumb. I did the second coat of the wash and crumb after I finished all the first coat of the shrimps to give time for the crumb to dry up. I also refrigerated the shrimps for half hour to help the breading stick on the shrimps when they are frying.

Like the others I reduced the water by half. Otherwise it is the perfect fried shrimp recipe!!!!

An absolute perfect breading for such a perfect seafood!! I would give this 10 stars.

This is absolutely the very best fried shrimp recipe I have eaten. However, I used panko bread crumbs as they are so light and crispy.

You definitely need to halve the batter. I added garlic powder and adobo to the batter. You only need to dip the shrimp. Twice is too much breading.

Shrimp were awesome! Will use this recipe again!

1/2 bread crumbs and 1/2 cornmeal, add 1 t garlic and onion powder to mix. roll last time in panko bread crumbs.

PERFECT! I've finally found the recipe for perfect fried shrimp! The only variance I made to this recipe was to add salt, pepper, and Old Bay Seasoning to the bread crumbs. My family loved these shrimp. They are definitely restaurant quality, if not better. Delicious!

My husband is a huge shrimp fan and he totally loved these! I used Italian style breadcrumbs and added some more seasoning for extra flavour. This one's a keeper!

OH my....yummy, yummy, yummy! Made a few changes per the reviews- 1 1/4 cups water, 3/4-1 cup of cornstarch, added some ground cumin, garlic powder and a pinch of cayenne pepper. I also used canned breadcrumbs and it was still great. I wanted a bit of sauce for these so I made the swet and sour sauce II from this site....oh boy, what a treat. Thanks for the great recipe Joy!

The first fried shrimp recipe my kids actually ate without complaint! My kids always pick the coating off of fried shrimp (they're weird; they don't know that the coating is the best part of fried shrimp) It was just a great recipe.

Awesome, very good..also made them a 2nd time with gluten-free panko bread crumbs and they were a huge hit

This is a GREAT recipe, love the taste. Thanks for sharing

This recipe is simple and delicious. I used only 1 cup water, 1/2 cup corn starch, and 1 egg, and still had plenty left over. This is way cheaper than buying the frozen butterflied shrimp. I will use this recipe forever!