Shrimp Tacos
Tacos. They are good for breakfast, lunch and dinner and everything in between. If I was a hobbit, the schedule would be:
- First Taco – 7 a.m.
- Second Taco – 9 a.m.
- Elevenses Taco – 11 a.m.
- Luncheon Taco – 1 p.m.
- Afternoon Tea with Tacos – 3 p.m.
- Dinner Tacos – 6 p.m.
- Supper Tacos- 9 p.m.
But I’m not a hobbit, just a fan of the movies and tacos. I’ve made tacos with all sorts of ingredients, but for some reason, seafood had not been on the list. It’s not a particularly intimidating ingredient but truth be told, I did mess up the first attempt at shrimp tacos. I used flour instead of corn tortillas, got the dressing for the coleslaw wrong, and I think I may have purchased a bad batch of shrimp which happened to be on sale.
However, determined not to be deterred, I made a second attempt at shrimp tacos and got it right this time by keeping to the basics and not overly complicating the recipe.
Ingredients
- Shrimp (peeled and deveined) 31-40 ct
- Corn tortillas
- Limes
- Cabbage
- Red Onion
- 1/2 cup of Hellman’s Mayo
- 1/4 cup of Mexican crema
- 1 teaspoon of celery seeds
- Pico de Gallo (diced white onions, cilantro, diced jalapenos, juice of 1 lime, salt to taste, diced Roma tomato)
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon of ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon of Cajun seasoning
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon of white vinegar
Instructions
For the coleslaw
In a small bowl, combine the mayo and Mexican crema along with the white vinegar, celery seeds and salt and pepper to taste, then the juice of a quarter of lime. Shred 1 cup of cabbage along with some sliced red onion and add to the bowl. Toss thoroughly to coat all the cabbage and red onion.
For the shrimp
In a frying pan, add the olive oil and butter and allow to melt thoroughly on medium head, add in shrimp along with the remaining spices. Don’t add the celery seeds as I almost did! Again, the cayenne pepper is optional, but I enjoy a good spicy kick! Cook the shrimp for about 2-3 minutes per side while heating the corn tortillas in a Comal or skillet.
Assembly
Add a generous helping of coleslaw to the heated tortilla, followed by the shrimp, then topped with the Pico de Gallo. Add a little bit of Mexican crema and a squeeze of lime juice.
Enjoy!