These Spicy Shrimp Stacks are a fun twist on the spicy California roll topped with fresh guacamole, bang bang sauce and homemade mango salsa.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Frozen cooked shrimp – you can also try making these with salmon, tuna or your other favourite kind of sushi seafood.
- Nori sheet – soy bean sheets would also work but will have a different flavour or you can leave this out altogether.
- Wonton strips – tortilla strips would also work for this recipe.
- Sesame seeds – white or black sesame seeds would be good or you can leave these off altogether.
Bang bang sauce
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- Light mayo – you can use regular mayo but it’ll be higher in calories.
- Sweet chili sauce – leave out the sweet chili sauce and just use a combination of light mayo and sriracha.
- Sriracha – sambal oelek is the best substitute for sriracha sauce.
Guacamole
- Avocado – instead of making guacamole you can just use mashed avocado without any of the seasonings.
- Lime juice – freshly squeezed lime juice is best but bottled lime juice works too.
- Garlic – fresh minced garlic is best but jarred minced garlic will work in a pinch.
- Salt – to taste.
Mango salsa
- Mango – swap out the mango salsa for regular salsa or pico de gallo.
- Red pepper – or any other colour bell pepper like yellow or orange pepper.
- Red onion – white or yellow onion will work but will have a milder flavour.
- Cilantro – parsley would also be good or you can leave this out altogether.
- Lime juice – see substitution notes above.
- Salt – to taste.
Sushi rice
- Dry sticky rice – I highly recommend using sushi rice since it helps everything stick together.
- Salt – to taste.
- Rice wine vinegar – leave this out altogether for plain rice.
- Sugar – leave this out altogether for plain rice.
How to make shrimp sushi stacks
- Cook the sushi rice.
- Make the guacamole, mango salsa and bang bang sauce.
- Layer everything in a measuring cup.
- Dump the stacks onto a plate.
- Top with sauces and garnish with sesame seeds.
- Serve and enjoy!
Tips to getting the perfect shrimp stack
The actual dumping of the ingredients from the measuring cup is the hardest part of this whole recipe! It can be tough, but here are my best tips:
- Make sure to press down hard on all the ingredients to smush them together and encourage them to stay intact.
- Use a knife to loosen the outside edges of the stack while it's in the measuring cup.
- Dump the cup upside down with a plate underneath and bang the bottom of the measuring cup HARD so that the ingredients slide out.
- Worst case scenario, you can always shape the stacks after the fact with freshly washed hands.
Frequently Asked Questions
The mango salsa I use in this recipe is super easy to make. All you have to do is mix together the mango, red pepper, red onion, cilantro, lime juice and salt. If you want, you can also substitute the mango salsa for some regular fresh salsa or pico de gallo.
Bang bang sauce offers the perfect combination of spicy and sweet. It’s made of mayonnaise (I like to use low-fat mayonnaise to cut down on the calories), sweet chili sauce and hot sauce.
When it comes to these shrimp stacks, I suggest using sushi rice since it will help everything stick together. If you use a regular rice like white or brown rice, your sushi stacks will just fall apart. The sushi rice is super sticky so you can actually layer your ingredients and have them stay together.
Storing and serving
You can store any leftover stacks in the fridge for 2 or 3 days. After that, they probably won't taste as fresh. I serve them cold when I make them fresh the first time, and I serve them cold again when eating as leftovers. I doubt you will have much leftovers though, they're so good!
Freezing the sushi rice
If you'd like, you can make the sushi rice ahead of time for up to 6 months. Just follow the instructions on the package and then wait until the rice cools slightly before freezing in an airtight glass container or freezer-safe Ziploc bag. When you’re ready to make your shrimp stacks, pull the sushi rice out of the freezer and defrost it in the fridge overnight before making the shrimp stacks as directed.
More sushi-style recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- You can get sushi rice here.
- And a rice cooker makes meal prep so much easier! This is the one I use.
- I use the 1-cup measuring cup from this set – metal cups make it so much easier to dump all the ingredients out into a stack.
Spicy Shrimp Stacks with Mango Salsa
Ingredients
- 1 lb frozen cooked shrimp, defrosted and tails removed
- 1 inch sheet nori (seaweed (find it in grocery stores near the take to go sushi or Asian sauces aisle)
- 1 tbsp Wonton or tortilla strips for garnish
- Sesame seeds to garnish
Bang Bang sauce
- 1/2 cup light mayo
- 1 tbsp sweet chili sauce
- 2 tsp Sriracha
Quick guacamole
- 1 avocado mashed
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/4 tsp salt
Mango salsa
- 1 mango diced
- 1/4 cup red pepper diced
- 1/4 cup red onion diced
- 2 tbsp cilantro chopped
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1/4 tsp salt
Sushi rice
- 1/2 cup dry sticky rice
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp sugar
Instructions
- Add 1/2 cup dry sticky rice and 3/4 cup water to a rice cooker or small pot on the stove and cook until the liquid is absorbed. When rice is done cooking, mix in salt, rice vinegar and sugar. Set aside to let cool at least an hour before refrigerating or using, or make up to 2 days in advance and refrigerate until you go to assemble the stacks.
- Meanwhile, mix together ingredients for guacamole (or just use mashed avocado) and mix together mango salsa, along with bang bang sauce.
- Use a 1 or 2 cup measuring cup to spoon ingredients. NOTE: I used a 2 cup measuring cup and it was the perfect size for dinner – you can use a 1 cup measuring cup to make 4 stacks that are better suited to be served as an appetizer. Spoon mango salsa into measuring cup until a there is a thin layer, then spread the avocado mixture overtop. Layer with shrimp, then strips of nori, then sticky rice.
- Press down hard, then trace with a knife all the way around the measuring cup to loosen mixture. Tap on the top of the measuring cup very hard, dumping onto a plate, careful to make sure mixture remains in tact.
- Top mango salsa with crumbled wonton or tortilla strips, then drizzle bang bang sauce overtop using a plastic bag with a tiny hole cut out in a corner. Sprinkle with sesame seeds then serve and enjoy!
Lisa says
There are no istructions for the sushi rice beyond the ingredients. Normally making sushi rice is a bit tricky. Can you explain your method? When do the other ingredients go in, etc?
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Lisa – I’ve gone ahead and added more details, it’s in the recipe card!
Mary says
I might to be brave and try this for the family!
Janis says
How do you eat these? They seem like they would be quite a bit larger than say a traditional piece of sushi.
Taylor Stinson says
You can eat with a fork!
Debbie Malay says
Oh my gosh! Absolutely phenomenal!
Michele says
One of my favourite go to recipes when having company . Never fails to impress and definitely a family favourite .
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you love them so much! 🙂
Taryn says
Fabulous recipe. I have made many times for family and friends. Easier than sushi and just as satisfying.
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you have enjoyed 🙂
Shannon says
This recipe is my 19 year old daughters favorite thing I make for dinner!
I love it too
Thank you!
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy it’s a family favourite 🙂
Rhonda G says
Made it for my family. They loved it! It was easier to make in the 1 cup measures than I thought it would be. After a knife around the edge it slid right out. I doubled the amount of rice (next time I’ll triple it). Otherwise it was enough for 10 stacks + extras of everything but rice.
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you enjoyed 🙂
Lacey says
Awesome recipe. Loved it, thank you!