Crispy Shrimp Rice Muffins
We could not believe how popular my Spicy Salmon Rice Muffins became on Instagram and TikTok; to date we have approximately 70 million views! And so many recreations and happy chefs of course! So I knew I had to follow them up with a just as yummy version. You will love these too!

The shrimp cook up even faster in the oven than the salmon does – only 10 minutes. This time around, I also found a better way to handle the super sticky sushi rice with an ice cream scooper/melon baller. I also used the spoon to push down the rice into the muffin tray – so much better.

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Crispy Shrimp Rice Muffins
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 sheets nori paper
- 1½ cups cooked sushi rice, cooled
Crispy Shrimp:
- 1 lb shrimp, deveined + deshelled
- 1 tbs tapioca starch (or corn starch or arrowroot powder)
- 2 tbs sesame oil
- 1 tbs low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tbs honey
- 2 scallions, diced
- 1/2 tsp each garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, chili powder, dried oregano
- salt to taste
Spicy Mayo:
- 1/4 cup kewpie mayo
- 2 tsp sriracha sauce
- 1 tsp honey
Toppings:
- 1/2 avocado, diced
- 1 tbs black sesame seeds
- 2 tbs chives, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400° F. Grab a scissor and cut your nori sheets into 4 equal squares.
Shrimp:
- Slice your shrimp into small cubes and sprinkle with the tapioca flour. Toss to coat. In a medium bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients and then add the shrimp in to coat. Set aside.
Assembly:
- To the center of a nori sheet, add 1 heaping tablespoon of rice and spread out slightly. Transfer the square to your muffin slot and use a spoon to press down gently, to center the rice in the middle with the edges coming up along sides of the muffin slot. Repeat in all twelve slots. Pop into oven for 5 minutes then remove. Top rice with about 5-6 pieces of shrimp to fill each slot. Transfer to your oven and bake for 10 more minutes.
- Remove from the oven allow to cool slightly and top with your avocado, spicy mayo and black sesame seeds.
👩🏻🍳😙👌 (Chef’s kiss award)
I like that! Thank you!
The directions are not clear about seasoning the shrimp. All the ingredients clumped together, probably because of the honey, and didn’t coat the shrimp.
You have to mix the ingredient well and then add in the shrimp to coat. Once the marinade is one uniform mixture it will not clump anything.
The honey may have been too cold. I like to run the honey bottle under hot water or in a bowl with hot water to loosen first or you can microwave the portion of honey you’ll use in a bowl in 5 second increments and stir in between until slightly looser. Don’t warm it up until it’s runny like water, though. That’s too loose.
Should the rice be cool to prevent the nori from getting “soggy’?
Hi Leda, I think that will make the difference. Thank you for leaving your feedback.
These turned out very well. I made the following changes or additions..
1. Rinsed and dried shrimp thoroughly so cornstarch would distribute better
2. Made sure my costing mixture was both thick and liquid enough to coat all the shrimp
3. Pan fried a few to sample and adjusted seasonings to taste
4. When putting cooked rice into nori, I kept a small bowl of water beside me and kept dipping fingers in to keep them moist while I pressed the rice down and spread. Worked like a charm
I loved the idea of these, but I didn’t find them crispy-I tried twice. Then flavor is good, but they should be crispy-I might try them with wonton wrappers instead.
I see you marinate the salmon ones for 4 hrs but the shrimp ones? I also see you do 5 min with nori and rice in oven on the salmon ones but not the shrimp ones? also do you grease the muffin tin?
I don’t grease the tins no. You can marinate if you like. Its not necessary but anything always taste better marinated!
The flavour was excellent. The “crisp”, though, didn’t come to fruition. It was rather wet even though the shrimp were cooked through. Also, I didn’t grease the pan (in the comments the author states she didn’t have to) and that for me was a mistake as they were removed messily and even if they came out cleanly, they didn’t retain their shape.
If I were to make again I’d absolutely 💯 dry the shrimp completely before tossing them in tapioca and also grease the pan. Honestly, it might come out better as mini muffins.
What is the purpose of the tapioca flour?
Hi Leslie, it makes the shrimp pieces crispy. Its totally optional!
I tried making these, but I used seaweed sheets and they completely disappeared and shrunk in the oven. Does it make a difference if you use Noori sheets or seeweed?
Awesome! I made them as mini-muffins, which was a little tedious, but overall a huge hit! thanks!
Hi Ali, glad they worth the work! Thanks for the review as well!
Thank you for this one Stella. A truly fabulous blend of flavours and a keeper for our cook book.
It’s my pleasure! Glad it will be in your keepers!!
One of the best recipes I’ve ever made. The flavor just keeps coming together with each step.
Thank you.
Hi Carla, Glad you enjoyed these guys! and Thanks for trying the recipe out!
Incredible recipe. My family loved it!
I made these and they were delicous but the rice was a bit crispy – can I skip the first bake for 5 minutes to see if the rice will be less crunchy.
Thanks for sharing your recipe – have a great and safe week
How do you get them out of the metal cup pan? They tasted great, but my nori stayed soggy and they didn’t hold their form. Any recommendations? Thanks in advance.
EXACTLY! Couldn’t remove without breaking and they didn’t hold their shape 😕
Hi Lori, I’m so sorry that happened to you! If you try them again, make sure the rice is cooled fully and I always experience firm cups when I use a silicone muffin tray as opposed to a metal one. Hope this helps!
What is the serving size for this recipe? One muffin? Also, how many servings does this recipe yield? Thank you!
So delish. Thank you.
Loved this recipe!!
The flavour is delicious, but my rice cups collapsed when I took them out of the muffin tins. Any idea why my nori didn’t crisp up? Thanks!
Hi sue, make sure the rice is fully cooled, don’t overload the muffins with rice and thirdly, I prefer a silicone muffin tray for this recipe!
oil spray the muffin pan? Will the nori stick?
Taste was good but they went soggy and had to eat with a fork. Not sure what went wrong…
Hi Kelley, I’m so sorry – a few tips tho: make sure you don’t overload the cups with too many pieces of shrimp also i found using silicone muffin tray to work better.
A lot of ppl on here with negative opinions, I feel these are CRAZY!!!! I’m making both the salmon and shrimp tonight as an appetizer for a poker game I’m cooking for tonight. I’ll be back with results!
Hi PJ, hope you won at poker! and of course the food was delicious too!
Would regular rice work
YES!
These are FABULOUS!! I wanted to ditch my main meal and just eat these!
For those that don’t care for nori, have you ever tried or have a substitute suggestion?
Temperature of the oven pls?
400F
Hi , you mentioned to use a metal muffin pan. Can you use the silicone
ones? Thanks, Francine
Hi Francine, YES silicone is great here!
Reading all the comments, I was wondering if I put a paper muffin liner in my muffin tin. I’m thinking that may make it easy to get out, but not sure if it will crisp the nori and rice. Will let you know.
So yummy but my seaweed came out soggy so I didn’t have a firm “cup”. Please tell me how I need to adjust my process. Thank you so much! You are the best and the recipes rock my world!
Mignon
How many servings is it for the nutrition part
best thing i have ever eaten. made this for my 49th Birthday thank you 🥂🥂🥂❤❤❤
Happy belated birthday Rebecca!!
These little shrimp rice bites were absolutely delicious!! I like spice so I made them a little spicier but they were the perfect light dinner when I don’t feel like cooking.
Hi Ashley, awesome! Thanks for trying them!
What a nice recipe! Sure to make it more often! Thank you!
Hi Loes, thanks for trying it and the kind rating!
So easy to make and tastes amazing- I halved the amount of honey and that was great. I only had a metal mini muffin tin so that made it a bit harder to get them out. Would suggest letting them cool quite a bit first- easier to handle.
Love Stella’s recipes- all very achievable and healthy!
Hi Kel, Thanks so much for the kind words and I’m really glad you liked this dish!