BEER BATTERED SHRIMP TACOS

I haven’t cooked much Mexican or Latin American food, though I have made ceviche, empanadas and birria. Mexican food is more complex than most people think and I plan to try my hand at making mole, pozole and other good stuff in the future. A few weeks back, I had the urge to have some fried shrimp tacos. All our local favorite taco restaurants were closed and tacos don’t travel well (get soggy) and so delivery was not an option. Every area of Mexico has their own version. After some research and trial and error, I came up with this fried shrimp taco recipe, which turned out very well and I can call my own (not authentic). This pairs well with a cold beer or Margarita.

Even though the shrimp are deep fried, to make it healthier, I skipped the cream which is commonly used to make the sauce (crema) and opted for light Mayo instead (yogurt or light cream would also work}. I also made the cabbage slaw lighter by adding only 1 tbsp of light Mayo, but you could skip the Mayo altogether and it would still be good.

The tortillas are extremely important. Because of a shortage of time, I used store bought ones, but it’s not difficult to make your own and I will post making them in the future.

By no means am I claiming these to be authentic, but they taste really good.

Ingredients:

Shrimp (medium or large) 1 lb, shelled and deveined

For batter:

All purpose flour 1 cup

Garlic powder 1 tsp

Smoked paprika 1 tsp

Chili powder ¼ tsp

Baking powder ½ tsp

Salt 1 tsp

Beer 1 cup

For cream sauce (crema)

Light Mayo ¼ cup

1 tbsp Chili sauce 

For cabbage slaw:

Shredded cabbage ¾ cup

Shredded carrots ¼ cup

Jalapeno 1 minced

Cilantro ½ cup minced

Lime juice (1 lime)

Light Mayo 1 tbsp (optional)

½ tsp kosher salt

½ tsp fresh ground pepper

Tomato/Onion mix:

Tomato 1 chopped

Red onion ½, finely chopped

Lime juice 1 tbsp

¼ tsp kosher salt

Toppings:

Sliced Avocado

Sliced Jalapeno

Sliced Radish

Corn Tortillas:

Method:

Make the slaw:

Toss all the ingredients in a bowl and set aside in a cool place.

Make the tomato/onion mix:

Toss the ingredients in a bowl and set aside

Make the cream sauce:

Mix the Mayo and Chili

sauce of your choice.

(I chose a green chili sauce as I wanted a green color to contrast with the red color of the tomatoes and onions)

Make the batter:

In a medium size bowl, add the flour, garlic powder, paprika, chili powder and salt and mix lightly. Open a bottle or can of beer (I chose Modelo) and slowly pour 1 cup while mixing, till a thick bubbly batter is formed.

Fry the shrimp:

Heat vegetable oil in a medium skillet or pot till hot (about 350*F/180*C).

Add shrimp to the batter and mix gently with a spoon to make sure that they are fully coated.

Add coated shrimp to the hot oil in batches, 4-5 at a time and fry turning once till golden brown, about 4-5 minutes, total.

Place the fried shrimp on a paper lined plate to drain off the excess oil.

Warm the tortillas:

Heat a frying pan and warm the tortillas till they are heated through and lightly browned and are soft and puffy.

Assemble the taco:

Place the tortillas on a plate and add the fried shrimp (2-3), top with the slaw, add the tomato/onion mix, and add a thin layer of the cream sauce. Add toppings of your choice – sliced avocados, jalapenos or radishes and serve warm with a slice of lemon.

Note: Though the recipe sounds complicated and time consuming, using store bought tortillas it took me less than an hour from start to finish.