Crispy Shrimp Tacos in Tomato Broth from Rick Bayless
Crispy Shrimp Tacos Recipe
It’s safe to say that regardless of how many tacos we eat, we can always find room in our stomachs to fit more. Layers of fresh salsa, pickled vegetables and warm chile heat make tacos so exciting to eat. Each is unique, customized and no two tacos are alike.
Then there are the crispy tacos. Oh, crispy. Tacos. We’ve fried up tortillas, folding them in the process and had crispy tacos that way. But Chef Rick Bayless introduced us to his version of a rolled crispy tacos with fresh tomato broth. This warm, crispy, crunch takes the eating experience to a whole nother level.
When we first saw the recipe, we didn’t think they were tacos at first sight. Because they were rolled, taquitos and floutas came to mind. Then we googled to see what the difference between the two were and it basically came down to the size and/or type of flour/corn tortilla they were made of.
After about 30 minutes of delving into the research of tacos, taquitos and floutas, it’s obvious we left the computer more hungry than ever before. Rick Bayless’s version is wonderful with the contrast of the crispy hot tacos against the flavorful tomato broth. Best of all, they’re quite simple to make. The only problem is that they’re so addicting to eat, you’ll have to prepare at least 5-6 per person. For us, these tacos became a full dinner, rather than just a appetizer.
Rick Bayless will be in Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo for this years Food & Wine Fesitval celebrating all the beautiful flavors of Mexico. This will be a fabulous 3 day event and if any of you were planning to do an eating tour of Mexico, this would be a great time! The event will not only showcase the food of the local Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo region, but all of Mexico as well.
We’ll be attending as well to celebrate the 32 tastes of Mexico’s diverse 32 states. Hope to see some of you there!
How to Make Crispy Shrimp Tacos
These are quite easy to make and super delicious. You can use flour tortillas instead of corn tortillas. If you’re using corn tortillas, then you’re making shrimp flautas. Hope the step by step photos are helpful. Enjoy!
Crispy Shrimp Taco Recipe
Ingredients
Taco Recipe Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) Olive Oil
- 1/2 Sweet Onion , cut into 1/4" dice
- 2 cloves Garlic , crushed or finely chopped
- preferred Spicy Chilies to taste , usually about 2 Jalapenos, finely diced
- 1 teaspoon (5g) ground Cumin
- 3/4 pound (340g) Tomatoes (@ 2 medium sized tomatoes), diced into 1/4" or ran through food processor's coarse grating disc
- 1 pound (455g) Shrimp , peeled, de-veined, and cut into 1/2" pieces
- 3 - 4 Tablespoons chopped fresh Cilantro
- Sea Salt , to taste
- 12 thin Corn Tortillas
- Oil for frying (enough to have a depth of 2" in your pan), preferably Grape Seed Oil or Peanut Oil
Instructions
Taco Directions
- Make the filling: In a large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, @ 3-4 minutes, then add garlic, chilies, and cumin and cook for another minute.
- Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until it reduces to a thick sauce, about ketchup consistency. Add the shrimp and cook for one minute. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Stir in cilantro and season with sea salt to taste.If serving with Tomato Broth, make now. *recipe follows
- Roll and Fry Tacos: Heat the oil to about 350-375º, or until hot enough a drop of water reacts quickly when flicked in oil. Grab two tortillas at a time with a pair of tongs, and dip them for few seconds in the oil to soften then. Pat dry with paper towels and pile them into a single stack.
- Spoon 3 Tablespoons of filling in a line across the bottom of the tortillas. Tightly roll them up the tacos, then skewer with toothpicks to keep them closed.
- Fry the tacos in the hot oil for about 1.5 minutes, then turn over and finish frying until golden. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately with tomato broth poured over.
Tomato Broth Directions
- Combine tomatoes, onion, and garlic in a blender. Puree until smooth.
- Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan. When hot enough to sizzle a drop of the puree, add all of the puree, cook and stir until noticeably thicker and darker, @ five minutes. Add the broth, bring to a boil and simmer on medium-low for 30 minutes. It should have a "soupy" consistency. Add a little water if necessary. Season with sea salt to taste.
Nutrition
Here’s more info about taquitos vs flautas.
Made these last night… AHHH-MAZING! I will definitely be telling everyone how great they are! Thanks for sharing the recipe! 🙂
I’m in Perth Australia and we never have access to food like this, mexican for us is nachos drowned in cheese… I just made these for dinner and it was incredible. I can’t wait to share it with anyone who will listen!
I am on a mission to find more Rick Bayless recipes to recreate and this one fits the bill! The looks amazingly crunchy and delicious!
Those would actually be called Taquitos meaning small tacos. This recipe looks amazing.
Shrimp + tacos = winning.
As long as the shrimp is cooked through, i think just rolling up the corn tortillas (we do the same as the commenter above.. damp dishcloth in microwave to soften tortillas) with the shrimp mixture and serving would be a perfect little taco. Maybe some ‘slaw on the side.. zucchini slaw.. mmm..
I made these on Tuesday for our weekly taco tuesday night and they were a huge hit! Sooooo good, I can’t even begin to explain. The prep is a bit time-consuming, but well worth it! Next time I make them, I’m going to try doing the tomato sauce and the filling a day ahead of time. YUM!
I tried making these, and they were incredible, but the tomato broth didn’t turn out well… it was too liquidy! How can I make it more solid/”soapy”? Thanks 🙂
Hi Kelly,
Glad you liked the tacos. The broth is actually supposed to be pretty liquidy. However, some tomatoes have much more liquid than others, so if you find the broth is too thin for you, just keep simmering the sauce on medium heat until it reduces to the consistency you prefer, or you can cut back on the broth by maybe a 1/2 cup and see if that works more to your taste. Good luck!
Excited to try! Love Rick Bayless…apparently his Sopa de Lima recipe that I use rivals my mother-in-law’s in my husband’s eye. Which is huge.
wolverina401 at gmail dot com
Oh God. Save me. I have to make this regardless of my promise (to myself) to watch out for fried foods
oh my~~i want these…however i am a little scared!!! are these hard to make!!!! if so can you come teach me!!!??? thru the blog~~maybe????
Easy as can be. You can do it!
Why am I not eating these right now?
These look so, so very good. I am a little scared of deep fryers, but after looking at your gorgeous pictures, I’m tempted. Think it’s possible to get them as crispy any other way?
Mara- thank you for the comment and it’s really got us thinking more about this. Right now, we can’t think of a way to crisp them up and ensure that the filling cooks too. Maybe you can pre-cook the filling, then brush the tortillas with a bit of oil and bake the rolls in the oven?
If we try it and the rolls turn out good, we’ll let you know!
i made these accompanied with some orange mexican rice,
they were absolutely amazing!!! thank you so much for sharing the recipe.
and since you guys shared this recipe i will share a tip with you,
instead of frying the tortillas just put them in the microwave
wrapped in a napkin in batches of 10 until soft and they roll perfect (:
Lidia- thank you for that tip! Sounds so much easier, especially on the calories. Less guilt.
Beautiful photographs, love the opener.
Make flautas not war!
Shades of “Chico’s Tacos”. Except for the shrimp filling and lacking mounds of cheese.
People who know El Paso, Texas will understand exactly what I mean. Crispy rolled tacos in a thin, watery tomato broth is an acquired taste. But trust….there’s nothing like ’em!
this looks simply delicious!
Oh I can hear the crunchiness! Question, can I just grill the tacos instead of frying them? Never tried tacos before :p By the way, I voted for you guys on the Weblog awards :))
Audhi- thanks so much! oooh, we’ve never tried grilling tacos before, but now we’ll have to try it sometime.
I’ve suddenly got a huge taco craving right now! And funny, because I’m pretty sure I have all these ingredients at home. It’s going to be an unproductive day (homework wise) if I get to making these! =)
How delicious does that look? I am a new baby blogger and I have been following yours forever. I was awarded a stylish blog award yesterday and urged to pass it along to the blogs I love so, here you go! Thanks for all the inspiration you have provided!
Deep fried tacos and tomato broth, can these get any better? I reckon this could easily be one of the best taco recipes around, no? The recipe has everything covered from texture, flavour and colours. Can I also say these somehow remind me of spring rolls? 😉
ooh, these look inspiring…inspiring me to thaw some tortillas that are in the freezer and fill them with ANYTHING on hand while pretending I’m eating what’s pictured here. thanks for sharing
Rick Bayless has done such wonderful things for the cuisine of my country. It seems like finally real authentic flavors of Mexico are being discovered and replaced by the junk that was once passed off as Mexican food. Tacos, specially taquitos, are my favorite dinner. This recipe is so mouthwatering and leaving me hungry. Your photos make me want to reach in, delicioso!
Thank you for sharing these… we’d love to have you feature some of your dishes at kitchenartistry.com
Oh man, these look amazing! I love Rick Bayless. He knows his Mexican cuisine.
I’m not into deep-fried foods, but this, this makes my mouth waters – in an instant!
Ohh fabulous recipe. Simple and gorgeous. Your pictures are always fantastic!
Those crispy shrimp taco rolls look amazing!
Tacos look great. Definitely a recipe that my boyfriend and dad would love! Thanks for sharing it looks delicious.
those look delicious!
I know I shouldn’t browse food blogs when I’m hungry, and this proves why. I’m completely entranced and will make these as soon as I possibly can. Thanks so much for sharing such a fantastic recipe!
OMG, I’ve been transported back to Mexico. I am SO making these next week. Really excited.
Beautiful photos as usual! Add a squeeze of fresh lime and a hand-squeezed margarita and we’re talkin’!
That’s our usual accompaniment too. 😉 One of the main reasons behind growing 2 lime trees is for the margaritas!
These look wonderful. I am such a fan of his cooking, and while I love tacos, I love flautas and taquitos more, so these are right up my alley. Beautiful shots as always!
Oh my! Mouth watering tacos 🙂
I have no fear of deep frying (wish I did though) so this is definitely bookmarked! Love it! And this might sound daft, but I would not have thought about sticking a toothpick in there to keep the tortilla rolled up for frying!
Ooooh, crispy shrimp tacos! (although they seem like taquitos to me – maybe they’re bigger?) Regardless, I think I’ll make an exception to my general rule of avoiding deep frying for these babies! Wish I could go to Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo!
These look fantastic. And having been to Rick’s restaurants before, I know they must be exceptional. I want some!!!
I love the step-by-step instruction–I’ve fried my own tortillas before but never like this–and never with the filling inside. Would you suggest using a thermometer to test the oil? and could you sub canola for peanut or grapeseed? Doe sit have a high enough smoke point?
You could use a thermometer, but we prefer to use methods to test the temp without needing one. We’ll either flick a drop of water in the oil, dip a wooden chopstick (bubbles will come off the end when hot enough) or use a test bit of tortilla.
Canola oil works great. That would be our third choice for oils.
you have stolen my heart as this is my guilty pleasure. a fried taco/taquito goes down as one of my all time favorite foods and yours are making me swoon! next time you decide to fry up a batch of these, I will work for food(will clean up the splattering of fried oil from your stove, pots, and pans in exchange for a few of these)!!!
My mouth is watering all over my key board. Amazing! I am a sucker for tacos, these are the real deal of their own sorts.
awesome recipe…loved the details and presentation !
I love watching Rick Bayless on PBS and it always makes me hungry. I love the idea of the crispy tacos and the tomato broth. The prettiest tacos I’ve ever seen!
These look absolutely fantastic. I love the idea of a fried shrimp taco. Gorgeous!
Crispy tacos win! But anything fried wins, right?
I’ve been wondering how in the world I was going to use the 80 corn tortillas my husband bought from a sweet little old lady who insisted they were the best. That there are only two stomachs in our house, unless you count the dog’s, didn’t stand a chance against one sweet little old lady’s face and one can only use so many to make chips for salsa… Now I know exactly what to do! And I do love all things Bayless.
I may have to overcome some of my fear of frying things to make these. They look amazing.
I need these in my life. Like…today. I could eat 11 of these for breakfast. These look incredible, ya’ll.
The tacos look amazing!
I am from Chicago (but live in San Diego the past 8 years) but when I lived in Chicago and was hip and cool and had money to burn, I dined at Rick Bayless’ restaurant. What a wonderful experience.
Your recipe and food photography (as always!) is just sooo impressive!