Once upon a time we visited Ensenada, in Baja. They boast the most delicious, world-famous fish and shrimp tacos. These, from a humble, albeit crowded, stand. It was not even a food truck and it was smack dab in the middle of town. Although that vendor is famous for their Ensenada Fish Tacos, the Ensenada Shrimp Tacos were, truly, unforgettable and a true taste ride for me.
I love shrimp and have had it in every imaginable way. But battered and deep fried in tacos, topped with a deliciously creamy avocado-cilantro sauce, all topped with a generous serving of pickled cabbage and radishes? Nope, never before! It was a symphony of flavor, the likes of which I have pretty much only experienced and enjoyed in Mexico.
I remember distinctly that they used the very same beer batter for both the shrimp and the fish tacos. You might want to revisit the recipe for the latter, as they turned out delicious. Basically, and long story short, the shrimp is dunked into this batter and then deep fried. They come out of the frying process deliciously crispy. The batter itself of our Ensenada Shrimp Tacos is so tasty!
So, you’re in for a toothsome treat. Make your Ensenada Shrimp Tacos today, you’ll thank me later for walking away from that downtown Ensenada stand with a full belly and the recipe for that wondrous batter forever etched in my taste buds.
No worries, there are no exotic ingredients involved. It’s just regular pantry staples. The magic is in how well they combine to create an outstanding dish out of ordinary components.
If you don’t own a deep fryer, a deep skillet or saucepan will do. Just make sure to get your peanut oil (the best for deep-frying, thanks in no small measure to its high smoke point) real hot before you start frying the shrimp. You can prepare the sauce and pickled cabbage in advance, but fry the shrimp last, right before sinking your teeth into your flavorful tacos.
Ensenada Shrimp Tacos
Ingredients
- For the Shrimp and the Beer Batter:
- 1 lbs large uncooked, peeled, deveined, tail-off shrimp
- Salt and pepper
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp mustard
- 1 unit egg lighly beaten
- 1-12 oz. can beer
- 1 tbsp granulated shrimp bouillon
- 2 cups peanut oil
- For the creamy Avocado Cilantro Sauce:
- 1 unit avocado
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro sprigs washed
- 1 unit Jalapeno pepper
- 1/4 unit white onion
- 1 cup light mayo
- 1 unit lemon, the juice
- 1/4 cup water
- Salt and pepper to taste
- For the pickled Cabbage:
- 1/2 head green cabbage thinly sliced
- 3 – 4 units radishes thinly sliced
- 2 units Roma tomatoes julienned and seeded
- 1 unit lemon, the juice
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, or
- canned pickled Jalapeno juice
- 1 – 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- Salt and pepper to taste
- warm tortillas
Instructions
- Batter and deep-fry the Shrimp:
- Rinse the shrimp under running tap water and pat it dry with paper towels. In a large bowl using a mixer, whisk on low the flour, baking powder, oregano, mustard, egg, beer and granulated shrimp broth (you can use salt and pepper instead of the shrimp broth/bouillon). Whisk until there are no lumps left. The batter will be kind of runny, but it will stick to the shrimp, as long as you keep your ratio right (1 cup of flour, to 1 tbsp of baking powder, to one 12 oz. can of beer). Set aside and let it rest while oil is heating.
- Pour oil in a deep frying pan or skillet and heat over medium-high heat. You can also use your deep fryer. In that case, pour enough oil and heat to 350 F until oil shimmers. It is important to achieve an even brown batter, so keep an eye on the battered shrimp so that they don't burn, just brown. Dip each shrimp into the batter and coat thoroughly. Once the oil is very hot fry the battered shrimp until evenly browned and cooked (3 – 4 minutes). Set a paper kitchen towel on a large plate to absorb excess grease. Keep warm.
- Make the creamy Avocado-Cilantro-Jalapeno Sauce (you can make this the day before and just keep it refrigerated in an air-tight container) by processing in a blender avocado, cilantro, Jalapeno pepper, onion, mayo, lemon juice, water and salt and pepper to taste. Blend until smooth. Refrigerate any leftovers for up to 4 days.
- Make the Pickled Cabbage by mixing in a bowl cabbage, radishes, tomatoes, lemon juice, vinegar (or pickled jalapeno juice), olive oil, dried oregano and salt and pepper. Have all your ingredients chopped/sliced/shredded in advance so by the time you are ready to serve the tacos you just dump garnish ingredients into a bowl and mix them. You can also prepare the pickled veggies the day before and keep them in the fridge, although the radishes will lose some of their color.
- To assemble the tacos: Warm up the tortillas, place 4 – 5 shrimps per taco on the tortilla and top with garnish and dollop some sauce.
Notes
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