Shrimp Tacos/Wraps | Everyday Dorie

This shrimp tacos recipe brought back fond memories. I signed my daughter up for a junior chef summer program when she was a preteen. Among the first things she learned was how to make a salsa. Using a manual chopper which spins as you press down, she’d chop up onions (without the tears), tomatoes, mangoes and jalapaños. Then everything went into a large bowl. Tossed in with some fresh herbs and lime juice, we’ve got a salsa as part of our meal. That was a fun activity, as well as a confidence builder, for a young person. Notably, that’s the beginning of our wonderful time together in the kitchen.

Seeing the picture of shrimp tacos in Everyday Dorie, you know for sure you can’t get away with a manual chopper. In fact, Dorie’s tiny and exquisitely cut tomatoes, pineapples and jalapaños look intimidating. On the other hand, mine looks oddly messy, uneven and unshapely. Well, I have my excuses. First of all, I try to get through the entire recipe in short order. That includes: making the chipotle cream, the peach-pineapple salsa, the avocado mash and cooking the shrimp.

This is an easy recipe without a high level of skill involved. However, there is a long list of ingredients to get, and dice and chop. Multiple components of condiment and sauce to do. Surely, you need a block of time to get everything done. When it comes time to cooking the shrimps, I know I’m not at my finest.

Dorie suggests lettuce wraps as the alternative to tacos; I take that option. What I wasn’t prepared was the amount of water coming out from the salsa and the wraps. Specifically, I encountered a soggy mess of salsa wrapped in lettuce in my hand. I didn’t have to squeeze hard for the juice to start dripping down my elbow and beyond. Oops!

As I read the recipe again, Dorie does say it’s better to make the salsa as close to serving time as possible. I made the salsa ahead of time and kept it in the fridge. Not ideal!

Other than the avocado mash, it’s best to make the chipotle cream and the salsa, shortly before you cook the shrimp. Finally, it dawns on me I need a junior chef to be my helper — to speed things up and get the proper results as expected.

The recipes for the chipotle cream, the peach-pineapple salsa, the avocado mash and the shrimp are posted here.