Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with crisp-fried shrimp tacos

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This article was published 28/04/2025 (499 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Shrimp is payday food for many, but Raul Ortega figured out how to make the shrimp taco affordable by using fewer shrimp while optimizing flavor. At Mariscos Jalisco, Ortega’s food truck in the Boyle Heights area of Los Angeles, the tacos de camarón, or shrimp tacos, are the main attraction.

Ortega stuffs a perfectly seasoned shrimp filling into tortillas and fries the tacos to golden crispness before finishing them with tomato salsa and avocado. His recipe is a closely guarded secret, but for the recipe in our cookbook “ Milk Street 365: The All-Purpose Cookbook for Every Day of the Year,” we got some help replicating it from recipe developer Paola Briseño-González.

To get that same delicious melding of flavors and textures, the shrimp are chopped in a food processor, then cooked with a flour-thickened tomato-onion purée to make the filling. Though the recipe specifies shrimp of a certain size, just about any will work. It’s easy enough for a weeknight, but special enough for a Cinco de Mayo celebration.

Don’t try to bypass the step of warming the tortillas before filling them. Straight from the package, the tortillas likely will be brittle and will crack when folded. After warming the tortillas, be sure to keep them wrapped in a towel so they remain pliable until you’re ready to fill the tacos.

Fried Shrimp Tacos with Salsa Roja

Start to finish: 11/4 hours

Servings: Makes 8 tacos

Ingredients:

For the salsa roja:

1 pound ripe plum tomatoes, cored, halved and seeded

1/4 large white onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

2 medium garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

1 tablespoon dried Mexican oregano

Kosher salt and ground black pepper

1 cup finely chopped green cabbage

1 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro, chopped

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For the tacos and serving:

8 ounces ripe plum tomatoes, cored, halved and seeded

3/4 large white onion, chopped (about 1 heaping cup)

2 medium garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano

Kosher salt and ground black pepper

8 ounces large (26/30 per pound) shrimp (see headnote), peeled (tails removed) and deveined

3 tablespoons plus 1 cup grapeseed or other neutral oil, divided

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Eight 6-inch corn tortillas

1 ripe avocado, halved, pitted, peeled and sliced

Lime wedges, to serve

Directions:

To make the salsa, in a food processor, combine the tomatoes, onion, garlic, oregano and 1 teaspoon salt. Process until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl; reserve the food processor bowl and blade. Stir the cabbage and cilantro into the puree, then taste and season with salt and pepper. Cover and set aside until ready to serve.

To make the tacos, in the food processor, combine the tomatoes, onion, garlic, oregano, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Pulse to a coarse puree, about 10 pulses. Transfer to a small bowl. To the food processor, add the shrimp and pulse until finely chopped, about 4 pulses.

In a 10-inch skillet over medium, heat the 3 tablespoons oil until shimmering. Add the tomato-onion puree and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the moisture has evaporated, 7 to 9 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring, until well incorporated, about 1 minute. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring constantly, until the shrimp turn pink and the mixture has thickened, about 1 minute. Set aside off heat.

Heat a 12-inch skillet over medium until water flicked onto the surface immediately sizzles and evaporates. Add 2 tortillas in a single layer (it’s fine if they overlap slightly) and heat, flipping them once, until warm, about 30 seconds per side. Transfer to a kitchen towel and wrap loosely to keep warm and pliable. Repeat with the remaining tortillas, stacking and wrapping them in the towel. Add the remaining 1 cup oil to the skillet; keep warm over low while you fill the tortillas.

Lay 4 of the tortillas on a work surface and divide half of the shrimp mixture evenly among them, placing the filling on one side of the tortilla. Fold the unfilled sides over and press lightly; leave the edges open (do not seal them). Fill the remaining tortillas with the remaining shrimp mixture in the same way.

Return the oil to medium and heat until shimmering (about 350°F). Carefully add 4 of the tacos and cook until golden brown and crisp on the bottoms, about 3 minutes. Using a thin metal spatula, flip each taco and cook until golden brown on the second sides, about 3 minutes, then transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Fry the remaining tacos in the same way, adjusting the heat as needed.

Transfer the tacos to a serving platter and spoon on some of the salsa. Top with the avocado slices and serve with the remaining salsa and lime wedges on the side.

EDITOR’S NOTE: For more recipes, go to Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street at 177milkstreet.com/ap