Although I was out of town for most of the week leading up to Cinco de Mayo I did get the chance to celebrate by making a few Mexican inspired dishes the week before. One of the recipes that I tried was these crispy shrimp tacos that I came across on White on Rice Couple who were in turn inspired by Rick Bayless recipe. Although I am an avid fan of tacos, I had never really considered rolling them and then frying them until golden brown and crispy and I was immediately fascinated by the idea. You really cannot go wrong using shrimp as a taco filling, especially not when the shrimp are coated in a quick, easy and tasty tomato based sauce. These tacos have a really nice texture combination going on with the crispy fried tortilla exterior and the juicy succulent shrimp filling! Rick Bayless suggests serving these tacos with a simple and yet tasty tomato broth but you could go with your favourite salsa or even guacamole . The only thing that you have to worry about is how quickly they are going to disappear so make a double or triple batch! 🙂
Crispy Rolled Shrimp Tacos
Crispy rolled tacos filled with plump and juicy shrimp in a tasty tomato sauce.
ingredients
- 1 tablespoon corn oil
- 1/2 sweet onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 jalapenos, finely diced
- 1 teaspoon cumin, toasted and ground
- 2 medium tomatoes, diced or one (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 pound shrimp, peeled, deviened and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 handful cilantro, chopped
- 12 (4 inch diameter) corn tortillas
- oil for frying
directions
- Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat.
- Add the onions and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the garlic, jalapenos and cumin and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
- Add the tomatoes and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the shrimp and cook for a minute.
- Remove from heat, season with salt and mix in the cilantro.
- Heat the oil in a pan to 350F/180C-375F/190C.
- Dip the tortillas in the oil two at a time until soft, about 10 seconds, and place them in a stack on paper towels.
- Place 3 tablespoons of the shrimp mixture on each tortilla, tightly roll it up and skewer with a toothpick to keep sealed.
- Fry in the oil until golden brown on both sides, about 1 1/2 minutes per side.
Tomato Broth
A simple but versitile tomato broth.
ingredients
- 2 medium tomatoes, diced or one (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1/2 sweet onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tablespoon corn oil
- 2 cups chicken or shrimp broth
- salt to taste
directions
- Puree the tomatoes, onion and garlic in a food processor.
- Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat.
- Add the tomato puree, bring to a boil and simmer until it thickens, about 5 minutes.
- Add the broth, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.
- Season with salt to taste.
kita says
May 9, 2012 at 10:34 pmI love everything about the sound of these. I am totally up for post a Cinco de Mayo Mexican fiesta if you are bringing these.
tom@morethanpepper says
May 10, 2012 at 2:32 amjust had to say love the blog title as my apartment is the size of a closet I can feel for ya
Maria says
May 10, 2012 at 4:49 amLove these crispy little tacos!
The Duo Dishes says
May 10, 2012 at 6:47 amWe live in California, so the rolled and fried taco–or taquito–is popular here. They're so good. You can cook a ton of them, and they make great appetizers.
Joanne says
May 10, 2012 at 10:37 amThese remind me a lot of taquitos! Such a fun finger food.
Half Baked says
May 10, 2012 at 12:10 pmThose look like some tasty tacos!
Bev Weidner (Bev Cooks) says
May 10, 2012 at 1:38 pmYou. Are. Kidding. Me.
I've fallen in love!
Anonymous says
May 10, 2012 at 1:50 pmYum!
Pam says
May 10, 2012 at 3:04 pmI love everything about these little crispy rolled shrimp tacos. They look fantastic Kevin!
Lane @ Supper for a Steal says
May 10, 2012 at 3:59 pmOh yummy! I'm sure these are delicious fried, maybe i will try them baked as well.
Ben says
May 10, 2012 at 4:47 pmOh, that just made me drool all over my monitor. I just came back from the Pacific coast where I had some of the most delicious seafood. Now I need to cook more at home. I love fried tacos.
Anonymous says
May 12, 2012 at 7:39 amThose look like some great tasty tacos.
Sara says
May 15, 2012 at 6:41 pmYum, these look so tasty!! Love the crispy tacos, they look super delicious.
Amt Kat says
May 18, 2012 at 3:19 amthese were amazing!!
Carole says
May 18, 2012 at 11:55 pmI was wondering if you would like to put up a link to this fish/seafood recipe in my Food on Friday Series.
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
June 1, 2012 at 10:25 amGood morning, I featured this recipe on my blog today for my weekly seafood round-up. It looks great, thanks for allowing me to share! Here is the link: http://carriesexperimentalkitchen.blogspot.com/2012/06/week-20-seafood-frenzy-friday.html
Anonymous says
January 23, 2013 at 5:45 amLooks good, but these are envueltos not taquitos. Envueltos are tacos rolled, fried and soft. If they are rolled, fried and crunchy they are flautas. Taquitos are little tacos. Correct Mexican terminology
Anonymous says
January 26, 2013 at 6:46 amTried em, LOVE em. I like everything I've tried to make from this website! Only criticism I have on this recipe is there are not enough instructions on the frying (like oil depth). The grease gets inside and makes everything greasy. I think next time I'll use my non-stick spray and then try baking them to make them a bit healthier.
Laura says
January 27, 2014 at 8:11 pmDo you think you could bake these? And if so, would you coat them in oil? I'm trying to avoid fried foods at much as possible.
kevin says
January 28, 2014 at 12:05 pmLaura: Yes, you can bake these. Brush with oil and bake at 400F until lightly golden brown.
Shilpa Malhotra says
July 12, 2017 at 11:43 amthis is AWESOME!!! yummy. I can’t wait to try this! Pinned! so healthy!!