Shrimp Tacos

I want to tell you another reason to buy a bottle of Sweet Chili Sauce….Shrimp Tacos.  They are truly fine.  Chris and I began enjoying them fairly frequently after Costco started selling marinated shrimp in the Deli.  Before that we had to peel and cook our own shrimp.  Work, work, work.  I’m going to tell you the two ways we get our taco on.

A few years ago, Julie discovered Thai Basil Rub made by a little outfit located in Redmond, WA.  Totally num!  I’ve not spotted it in the stores lately, but I haven’t been actively looking either.  It’s a thick chili paste, not too spicy.  There’s probably many substitutes.  We would peel the shrimp, leaving the tails on, and bake them in the oven with the sauce.  We always hoped there would be leftovers so we could make tacos the next day.  We would get our assembly line ready with the basics.  We would line up tortillas, warmed shrimp with extra Thai Basil Rub, shredded cabbage, chopped green onions, extra cilantro, anything you like in a taco.  Don’t forget to remove the tails from the shrimp.  We preferred flour tortillas; corn seemed to over-power the delicate shrimp flavor.  Heaven.  I’ve included the back of the jar so you would get an idea of the ingredients.

Moving forward, we fell in love with the marinated shrimp at Costco.  The shrimp were marinated in lime and cilantro, a personal favorite even though Ina hates it.  We would serve a bowl for a nibble and save the rest for next day tacos.  Of course, Chris is always looking out for his mama, so he would buy an extra one so he could send some home with me.  Mexican food loves cilantro, so this taste pairing was a big winner.  Sweet Chili Sauce is perfect with the lime, cilantro shrimp.  I toss them together.  I set up the taco assembly line the exact same way.  This is the exact same stuff I use in my coleslaw.  I don’t have a favorite brand, this is just the one I have currently.

I do warm the tortillas in the microwave.  Don’t curl your nose at me!  I lay a thick terry towel down and stack my tortillas on top, wrap the ends over like a present and nuke them for 30 seconds or so, depending on how many I’m heating.  The extra layers of towel give the tortillas a damp warm heat, just perfect for a flour taco.

and remember:  In Mexico, they have a special word for sushi:  bait.  Big kiss, Lynn