Quick Shrimp Tacos

What do we know about shrimp?

Shrimp is an aquatic crustacean, a class of higher crayfish. 100 g of shrimp meat contains 24 g of protein and 1 g of fat, the nutritional value is about 100 calories. Shrimp is considered good for many things – from the heart to the brain, it is a fairly safe source of protein. If you clean the shrimp yourself at the table, then it is difficult to eat a lot; this is also a useful quality compared to, for example, dumplings. The taste of shrimp is pleasant and memorable, you can’t confuse it. At the same time, shrimp easily absorb various spices, seasonings, and sauces.

What can we do with shrimp?

Quite a lot – nothing, cook, fry, bake – the whole spectrum. 

You can also fry shrimp, this is convenient if there are not so many of them, and they are quite large. It is best to fry them in butter with garlic. To do this, heat a large heavy frying pan with high edges well over high heat and put the shrimp on it in a single layer without defrosting. When the shrimp release water, salt and season them with spices. Wait for the water to evaporate and generously add the butter in chunks to the pan. Cover with a lid and let it warm up for a couple of minutes. Remove the lid and sprinkle thinly sliced ​​garlic and lemon juice on top. Keep covered for another minute, shaking occasionally. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro or parsley leaves when serving.

How to clean shrimp

If you need to clean the shrimp yourself, you need to do this after thawing is complete. The shrimp thaw fairly quickly, no need to stimulate them. Pour them out of the bag into a colander, pour over cold water and put in a larger bowl. In an hour or two, the shrimp will thaw. Next, you need to tear off the head of the shrimp, turn the tail upside down with the paws, hold the paws on one side between the thumb and forefinger and pull to the side. Several carapace joints will come off the tail. For beauty, they usually leave the last link of the shell with a tail, they take it with their fingers when they eat shrimp with their hands (which most often happens).

After the shrimp are peeled, you will be left with the peels. They do not need to be thrown away, it is just good to cook on them that broth for Asian soups, which was already mentioned above. It makes sense to collect more of them, unless of course you clean three kilos of shrimp at once. Shells and heads can be re-frozen, they will not get worse. To cook the broth, heat a little oil in a saucepan, pour in the shells and heads and fry well, until blush, stirring constantly. Then pour cold water and boil for 15-20 minutes after boiling, adding ginger, green onions, fish sauce, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves. Strain through a colander and use as a soup base.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lbs raw peeled shrimp
  • 1-2 medium ripe avocados – peeled and cut into slices
  • Half a red onion (or sweet pepper) – cut into small cubes
  • a few twigs of fresh dill – finely chopped

Directions:

  1. Cook everything quickly over high heat. 
  2. Put the shrimp in a large heated frying pan without defrosting. 
  3. Cover with a lid and wait for the shrimp to release water. 
  4. Remove the lid, season with salt and pepper, and turn over. 
  5. Let the water almost evaporate. 
  6. Add butter cubes to the pan, cover with a lid, and shake the pan. 
  7. When the butter melts and begins to foam, open the lid, squeeze the lemon, add thin garlic cloves, stir, and keep on fire for another minute. 
  8. Transfer to a platter and sprinkle with cilantro or parsley. 
  9. Drizzle with oil from the pan.