Steamed Buns With Grilled Shrimp and Sriracha Mayonnaise Recipe

Plump grilled shrimp are a perfect filling for steamed buns.

By
J. Kenji López-Alt
Kenji Lopez Alt
J. Kenji López-Alt
Culinary Consultant
Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site. He is also a New York Times food columnist and the author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science.
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Updated April 20, 2023

Why It Works

  • Treating the shrimp with salt and baking soda helps them stay plump and juicy and brown more efficiently as they grill.
  • Drying the shrimp out in the refrigerator gives them a jump-start on browning.
  • Squeezing the shrimp together on a skewer gives them less surface area, which helps them stay juicier as they cook.
  • Tossing them in a garlic- and chile-infused sauce after cooking offers more flavor than a marinade.

Sometimes I like to eat a giant pile of just one thing. Popcorn, chicken wings, nachos, and grilled shrimp come to mind. But sometimes I want those elements to play a supporting role in a larger dish—by incorporating them into a meal, I'm less likely to end up feeling over-winged or over-shrimped.

Close up of steamed buns filled with grilled shrimp, quick pickles, shredded cabbage, and sriracha mayonnaise.

Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt. Video: Natalie Holt

After several days of eating grilled shrimp virtually nonstop while developing my basic grilled shrimp recipe, I was ready to mix it up a little bit. My wife, Adri, even more so. When I go on an obsess-over-just-one-food bender, she's generally the one who has to suffer for it.

This dish of shrimp stuffed into a tender Chinese steamed bun with quick pickles, cabbage, and sriracha mayonnaise doesn't bear all that much resemblance to my simple grilled shrimp recipe, but the basic technique is exactly the same: Treat the shrimp with salt and baking soda (to help them stay nice and plump), arrange them tightly together on a couple of skewers to reduce their surface area, make sure they're completely dry before grilling, and, finally, grill them over insanely high heat. It's a method that works well no matter what you decide to flavor your shrimp with.

I really love how the salty, briny, sweet shrimp work so nicely with the vinegary pickles and crunchy cabbage. This sandwich is the whole deal—complementary and intense flavors and textures that elevate each other, creating a dish that is far more than the sum of its parts. I don't have any plans to open a shrimp shack in the future, but if I ever did, these steamed buns would be a shoo-in for the opening menu.

July 2015

Recipe Details

Steamed Buns With Grilled Shrimp and Sriracha Mayonnaise Recipe

Active 30 mins
Total 2 hrs
Serves 6 servings
Makes 12 buns

Ingredients

For the Shrimp:

  • 24 large shrimp, shelled and deveined

  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons (8g) kosher salt, plus more to taste

  • 1/2 teaspoon (3g) sugar

  • 2 medium cloves garlic, minced, divided

  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) canola or vegetable oil, divided

  • 1 small hot red chile, such as Thai bird, thinly sliced

  • 2 scallions, thinly sliced

  • Freshly ground black pepper

For the Sriracha Mayonnaise:

  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) sriracha, plus more to taste

  • 5 tablespoons (75ml) store-bought or homemade mayonnaise

  • 1 teaspoon (5ml) juice from 1 lime

To Assemble:

Directions

  1. For the Shrimp: Combine shrimp, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl and toss to coat. Thread shrimp onto sets of 2 skewers, alternating heads to tails and pushing shrimp so that they are nestled snugly together. Place 6 shrimp on each set of 2 skewers. Lay skewers on top of a baking dish so that shrimp are suspended above bottom of dish. Transfer to refrigerator and allow to rest for 1 hour. Meanwhile, combine half of garlic and half of oil in a small bowl. Combine remaining garlic, oil, chile, and scallions in a large bowl. Set aside.

    Five peeled shrimp are skewered together tightly with two bamboo skewers.

    Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

  2. Meanwhile, for the Sriracha Mayonnaise: Combine sriracha, mayonnaise, and lime juice in a small bowl and stir. Add more sriracha until desired level of spiciness is achieved. Cover and refrigerate.

  3. When shrimp are ready to grill, brush both sides with first garlic/oil mixture. Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and arrange coals on one side of charcoal grate. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill, and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Alternatively, set half the burners on a gas grill to the highest heat setting, cover, and preheat for 10 minutes. Clean and oil grilling grate.

  4. Place shrimp directly over hot side of grill and cook, turning occasionally, until shrimp are just cooked through and well charred, 4 to 5 minutes total. Transfer shrimp to a cutting board.

  5. Carefully remove skewers from shrimp and transfer to bowl with garlic/oil/chile/scallion mixture. Toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

  6. To Assemble: Spread 1 1/2 teaspoons (7ml) sriracha mayonnaise on the bottom of each bun. Top with pickles and shredded cabbage. Top with 2 shrimp each and close buns. Serve immediately.

Special Equipment

Grill, bamboo skewers soaked in water for 30 minutes

Notes

Chinese-style folded steamed buns can be found in the refrigerated section of Chinese grocery stores. To heat, line a bamboo steamer with perforated parchment paper or spray with nonstick spray. Arrange buns in a single layer without letting them touch and place steamer over a wok or pot of simmering water. Steam until heated through, about 2 minutes. Alternatively, place buns on a microwave-safe plate and cover with a damp towel. Microwave in 30-second intervals until heated through, about 1 minute total.

Read More

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
423Calories
17gFat
53gCarbs
14gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories423
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 17g22%
Saturated Fat 3g13%
Cholesterol 40mg13%
Sodium 1732mg75%
Total Carbohydrate 53g19%
Dietary Fiber 3g11%
Total Sugars 8g
Protein 14g
Vitamin C 14mg72%
Calcium 219mg17%
Iron 4mg21%
Potassium 278mg6%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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