Fried Shrimp Tacos with Salsa Roja
Many will never know the crispy, shrimp-stuffed joy of Raul Ortega’s legendary tacos, but these are close!
- MakesMakes 8 Tacos
- Cook Time1¼ hours
- 6
At Mariscos Jalisco, Raul Ortega’s food truck in the Boyle Heights area of Los Angeles, the tacos de camarón, or shrimp tacos, are the main attraction, and for good reason. Ortega stuffs a perfectly seasoned shrimp filling into tortillas and fries the tacos to golden brown crispness before finishing them with tomato salsa and avocado. His recipe is a closely guarded secret, but in her version of those tacos, food writer and recipe developer Paola Briseño-González attempts to replicate that delicious melding of flavors and textures. The shrimp are chopped in a food processor to make the filling, so though the recipe specifies shrimp of a certain size, just about any size will work.
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.
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