Chipotle Shrimp Tacos with Tex-Mex Rice

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These shrimp tacos burst with spice and have smoky heat. The cilantro-lime slaw brings brightness and balances out the peppery shrimp. 

The recipe is Eating Well's Chipotle Shrimp Tacos (August 2022 pg 114), I just changed it up a bit for us - I used a more complex-flavored seasoning and cooked the shrimp in a wok over hot coals. Finally we served it with a quick and easy Tex-Mex Rice.

Their seasoning was just ground chipotle, garlic, and salt, which is fine. For tacos, I wanted to jazz it up a bit with smoky paprika, toasted cumin, coriander, chili powder, and turbinado sugar. 

Chipolte Seafood Seasoning

By www.nibblemethis.com

Published: 09/24/2022

This smoky and spicy seasoning will wake up your shrimp, scallops and other seafood. For best results, I like to brush my seafood with a citrus juice and oil mix and season it heavily with this rub about 30 minutes before grilling.

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon ground chipotle
• 1 teaspoon turbinado sugar (aka Sugar in the Raw)
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Gebhardt chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon toasted cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon coriander 
• 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic

Instructions

1. Mix ingredients together in a small bowl.
2. Sprinkle on seafood.

Yield: about 1 1/2 tablespoons

Prep Time: 00 hrs. 05 mins.

Cook time: 00 hrs. 00 mins.

Total time: 05 mins.

Tags: seasoning

The paprika, chili, and cumin add to the smokiness of the chipotle while the raw sugar and coriander brighten the flavor.

Wok and Roll

The wok is an ideal cooking vessel for the kamado-style grill and "stir-firing" these shrimp was the optimal technique. 

Here is my setup for stir-firing (aka stir-frying) the shrimp. A large Big Green Egg with a Kick-Ash Basket of lump charcoal, I used a spider-rig for the wok ring, and a 16" carbon steel wok tha got for cheap at our local Asian grocery store.

If you use a wok often at all, you should pick up a wok spatula. The long handle is good for the heat and the curved front edge fits the curve of the wok, making it easy to scoop and flip the food.
Wok spatula [Amazon Affiliate Link]

With stir-frying, the food should constantly be moving. The cook only takes about 90 seconds with shrimp.

These smoky, spicy shrimp are amazing just by themselves. We had some leftovers and our youngest son used them to make a shrimp po' boy with slaw and remoulade.

Tex-Mex Rice with corn and chipotle peppers.

Tex-Mex Rice

By www.nibblemethis.com

Published 09/24/2022

One of our go-to side dishes, this is a low-effort, high-reward recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons pork fat 
• 1 cup long-grain rice
• 1/2 can Food Club Whole Kernal Corn with Chipotle Peppers, drained
• 1 3/4 cups vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Preheat a pot over medium-high heat.
2. Melt the bacon fat and saute the rice and corn, stirring almost constantly, until the rice begins to toast and emit a nutty aroma, about 1-2 minutes.
3. Stir in the stock, tomato sauce, and salt. Reduce heat to medium-low and bring to a low simmer. Cover and cook for 18-20 minutes.
4. Rest, covered for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve.

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 00 hrs. 05 mins.

Cook time: 00 hrs. 25 mins.

Total time: 30 mins.

Tags: Rice