Thai Shrimp in A Blanket (aka Crispy Firecracker Shrimp)

Thai Shrimp in A Blanket is an easy appetizer made with less than 10 ingredients! We use peeled and deveined shrimp, roll them up in a crispy spring roll wrapper, and fry them until golden! Serve with sweet chili sauce!

Crispy, crunchy, and so good!

These wrapped shrimp in a blanket, aka Thai Goong Hom Pha, aka crispy firecracker shrimp are the perfect appetizer for any party. If you’re hosting a New Year’s shindig, make these. If you’re in charge of Christmas appetizers, make these. Do you run the big game food list? Assign them or make them! They are going to fly off the plate in no time!

We start with a base of Vietnamese egg roll wrappers or spring roll wrappers and roll up fresh, cleaned, and seasoned shrimp in the center. Then it’s as simple as frying them up! 

We’ll serve this easy snack with Thai sweet chili sauce. Your guests will have their taste buds tingling with excitement! The combination of flavors is incredible. The dipping sauce is tangy and sweet, with succulent shrimp, and a crispy outer shell.

Have mercy! 

This is one delicious dish!

Ingredients for shrimp in a blanket:

• Jumbo shrimp: I like to use this size because there are typically 21-25 shrimp per pound. Size wise they work well in the wrappers. But also, since our shrimp roll wrappers have 50 sheets, we want to be able to use up all of them without having leftover spring roll wrappers. 
• Seasonings: You can play around with the seasonings on this Thai appetizer. I like to let the shrimp and the sauce do all the talking. I use a bit of kosher salt, black or white pepper, and some garlic powder. You can skip these if you’d like. The Thai shrimp rolls turn out fine without them too!
• Spring roll wrappers or pastry: If you’ve had crispy Vietnamese egg rolls or spring rolls, that’s exactly the pastry you need for these easy appetizer of whole shrimp! This recipe won’t work as well if you use the thicker egg roll wrappers. We need something thin and crispy for this. You can typically find spring roll wrappers in the freezer section of most Asian grocery stores. They are commonly used in Pakistani and Indian cooking as well, so don’t be afraid to check a local South Asian grocery store too. I use these for my mom’s samosa recipe!
• Large egg white: Just like for my mom’s samosa recipe, I use lightly beaten egg white as ‘glue’ to seal the firecracker shrimp rolls. the egg whites just pin one side of the spring roll wrapper to the other and keep it from coming apart in the fryer.
• Oil for frying: You can use any oil that has a high smoke point for this recipe. I typically don’t deep fry anything, nor do I own a deep fryer. I just add oil to a skillet until it’s about halfway full and gently lay the shrimp rolls away from me. They fry up in no time!
• Sweet Chili Sauce: this is the perfect dipping condiment for this recipe. I buy it from my local Asian grocery store but most mainstream grocery stores carry this sauce in the international aisle. Or purchase it here.

How to make firecracker shrimp:

1. Clean and peel the shrimp. If you’re using peel-on shrimp, start by peeling them. I like to use this tool to remove the gunk that runs through the back and underside of the shrimp. 
2. Score the shrimp. Once you’ve peeled and cleaned the shrimp, use a sharp paring knife to score the underside of the shrimp. This keeps them from curling up when they cook in the hot oil.
3. Season them. Add all the shrimp to a bowl, and season them with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Gently toss the shrimp with a wide spoon or tongs. I find it easier to season them and score them, but I know that requires a bit more work in terms of the assembly line. So feel free to do it this way or my way!
4. Wrap them up. It’s really hard to give instructions for this part, but I’ll try my best! Check out the detailed pictures. You want to place a sheet of spring roll wrapper, fold it to the halfway mark, and place a shrimp in the center. Tuck and wrap the spring roll wrapper so that the shrimp is as snug as a bug in a rug. Use the beaten egg white as ‘glue’ to hold the shrimp in the blanket.
5. Fry them. I like to fry these in a frying pan because it just makes things easier. Heat the oil in a skillet about halfway up and let it heat through to 350ºF. Top a few small pieces into the skillet and let them fry for 1-2½  minutes. Flip them around the halfway mark so that they brown evenly. The total time for frying depends on the size of the shrimp. Jumbo shrimp typically takes about a minute on each side for me. But it will depend if you’re frying from room temperature or from frozen.
6. Serve them. Remove from the skillet using tongs. Place them on a plate lined with a paper towel and allow them to cool for a few minutes. I like to serve them with Thai sweet chili sauce!

If you like this recipe, you might also like:

• Chicken Satay with Peanut Dipping Sauce
• Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings
• Sweet and Tangy Thai Cucumber Salad
• Chicken Puff Pastry (mouthwatering filling!)
• Fresh Ginger Sesame Tofu and Veggie Stir Fry

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Yield: Yields ~50 pieces

Thai Shrimp in A Blanket (aka Crispy Firecracker Shrimp)

Prep Time 45 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Thai Shrimp in A Blanket is an easy appetizer made with less than 10 ingredients! We use peeled and deveined shrimp, roll them up in a crispy spring roll wrapper, and fry them until golden! Serve with sweet chili sauce!

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Ingredients

• 2 pounds jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 (50 count) pack of Spring roll pastry (see notes)
• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten
• Oil, for frying
• Thai sweet chili sauce, for dipping

Instructions

1. CLEAN: Start by peeling the shrimp if they are peel-on and removing the gunk that runs through the back of a shrimp. I like to use this tool, it makes life so much easier.
2. SCORE: Once the shrimp are clean, you’ll want to score the shrimp on the underside using a paring knife. This keeps them from curling up when you fry them (see pictures.)
3. SEASON: In a bowl, combine the shrimp and season them with the salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Gently toss or stir so that the seasoning is evenly distributed.
4. WRAP: Place a sheet of spring roll wrapper in front of you diagonally. Fold the side closest to you up so the tip touches the center of the wrapper. Place a shrimp starting at the tip with the tail side hanging off the wrapper (see pictures.) Fold one side over the shrimp. Fold the center over the shrimp and tuck the sides in as you wrap to the other end. Dip your finger in the egg white and brush it on the end to help it stick to the wrapper. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and repeat with the remaining shrimp.
5. FRY: Heat a frying pan with oil about halfway up over medium-high heat. When the oil reaches 350ºF, gently lay 6-8 shrimp in a blanket in the skillet. Do not crowd the pan. Cook the shrimp for 1-2½ minutes, flipping them around the halfway mark so that the spring roll wrappers brown evenly.
6. SERVE: Remove shrimp to a paper towel-lined plate with tongs. Allow as much oil to drip off as you can in the pan before moving them. Let cool for a couple of minutes and serve with Thai sweet chili sauce.

Notes

• Spring roll wraps: There are various sizes and names for these. You want something about a spring roll size. I Use Spring Home TYJ brand but several others make them as well. You can also use Lumpia wrappers.

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