Bang bang sauce is a creamy, sweet, and spicy mayo-based sauce flavoured with Thai sweet chili sauce and sriracha. It is a great dipping sauce that can be served with chicken wings, fish, veggies, or french fries. This Homemade bang bang sauce recipe is quick and easy, made with five simple ingredients; a jar of this spicy dipping sauce will keep in the refrigerator for about two weeks, so it is always handy when you need something quick to accompany your favourite appetizers.
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What is Bang Bang Sauce?
Bang bang sauce is a sweet and spicy mayonnaise-based condiment that can be used as a creamy sauce, dip, or spread.
The primary ingredients in this savory sauce are mayonnaise and sweet chili sauce. It also contains sriracha sauce for a bit of extra spicy kick. Other components often include honey and rice vinegar. Garlic is sometimes added but is optional.
Because this sauce contains a good amount of sweet Thai chili sauce and less sriracha, it is milder than spicy sriracha mayo. It is the perfect sauce for someone who wants a bit of heat but doesn’t like things too spicy.
Bang bang sauce is versatile and is especially great with deep-fried chicken nuggets, chicken tenders, or fried shrimp dishes. It is well known as the sauce the Bonefish Grill restaurant uses in its appetizer, Bang Bang Shrimp. This copycat recipe can be used to make your own bang-bang shrimp appetizer.
One of our favorite ways to use this condiment is as a dip with appetizers. The flavours in this delicious sauce pair well with crispy french fries, sweet potato fries, roasted potatoes, or tater tots. It is also a perfect drizzle on grilled or roasted asparagus spears or broccoli florets. Bang bang sauce, like yum yum sauce, can also be served alongside sushi.
This spicy mayonnaise can also be used as a spread and is a great option for sandwiches or grilled burgers.
Ingredients
Bang bang sauce is made with just five simple ingredients. You will need:
- Mayonnaise – Mayonnaise is the key ingredient. This gives the sauce its creamy texture. You can use regular, light, non-fat, or even vegan mayo.
- Sweet Thai chili sauce – This sauce is sweet and spicy, making up the bulk of the flavour in this bang bang sauce. You should be able to find it in the ethnic section of your grocery store.
- Sriracha sauce – This adds an extra kick of spice, along with a bit of garlic flavour. You can use more or less depending on your spice tolerance. If you want to keep the sauce milder, you can omit it.
- Honey – Honey helps sweeten the sauce and balances the spice. You can omit it if you find the bang bang sauce sweet enough after adding the sweet chili sauce.
- Rice wine vinegar – This helps bring everything together and balances the flavours. Rice vinegar is often used in sushi and can be found in the ethnic section of the grocery store. Because this recipe uses a small amount, you can use seasoned or unseasoned rice wine vinegar. You can use white wine vinegar if you don’t have either.
To add extra garlic flavour to your sauce, add some garlic powder or a small clove of fresh garlic.:
Pro-Tip: If you want to lighten the calories in this recipe, you can substitute plain Greek yogurt for the mayonnaise. The result will be a slightly tangier sauce, but it will work just as well.
Instructions
Making this homemade version of bang bang sauce is as easy as placing the ingredients in a small mixing bowl and stirring until combined.
You can enjoy this sauce immediately, but for an even better flavour you can let it rest in the refrigerator for an hour before serving. This will allow the flavours to blend.
Serving Suggestions
Bang bang sauce is a delicious condiment that can be used to flavour many of your favourite dishes.
One of the most common recipes using this popular sauce includes breaded shrimp or fried shrimp. The sweet and spicy sauce perfectly complements the sweet and salty shrimp.
You can also use bang bang sauce as a dip for chicken bites, french fries, tater tots or sweet potato fries.
It works well as a dipping sauce or drizzle for vegetables such as asparagus spears, or steamed broccoli florets.
Storage
This sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks in a small mason jar or any other air-tight container. If you need to store it for only a short time, it will keep fine in a small bowl covered with plastic wrap.
Is Bang Bang Sauce the Same as Boom Boom Sauce?
Not quite. Both bang bang sauce and boom boom sauce are mayonnaise-based sauces with chili sauce. They are both slightly sweet and spicy, but boom boom sauce has the addition of ketchup and usually contains added garlic.
The two sauces are often used interchangeably, and the flavour profile is very similar, with boom boom sauce being a bit tangier and containing a slight tomato flavour due to the ketchup.
If a recipe calls for boom boom sauce, you can usually substitute bang bang sauce without any issue, and which one you reach for is a matter of preference and the ingredients you have on hand.
FAQS
You can store leftover sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Small mason jars work well for this.
Bang bang sauce should keep for about ten days when stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. The time may be shorter if you use homemade ingredients, such as homemade mayonnaise.
More Easy Sauce Recipes
Recipe
Easy Homemade Bang Bang Sauce
Ingredients
- ½ Cup mayonnaise
- ¼ Cup sweet Thai chili sauce
- 2 tablespoon sriracha sauce or to taste
- 1 tablespoon honey or to taste
- 2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and stir until well mixed.
- Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.