Fatima's Fabulous Kitchen

I don't eat to live. I live to eat.

Deep-Fried Shrimp Tacos with Papaya-Pomegranate Slaw and Peanut Dressing

by

 

 

Deep Fried Shrimp Tacos with a Papaya-Pomegranate Slaw and a Peanut Dressing

This vibrant recipe came out of a Mystery Box Challenge I did for fun on my snapchat. If you guys watch MasterChef (which if you are a foodie and love reality-tv competitions like me, then you are most certain familiar with) then you know that mastering this pressure test is indeed a great feat of creative thinking, time management, technical skills, and acute focus.

The premise of the Mystery Box is that the contestants must create a restaurant quality dish in under 60 minutes with only the ingredients underneath the box and select pantry necessities (flour, eggs, sugar, lemons, spices, etc). Unlike in other shows such as Chopped, contestants may use as little or as many ingredients.

I wanted to see what I was capable of doing in the kitchen. I’ve been cooking for years now, and I’ve tried my hands at a number of dishes but I wanted to see if I was truly up to the mark.  And so I had my sister create a box for me. I told her to make sure to put things that could potentially pair well in all different combinations of sweet, salty, sour, savory. Well this is the box that she came up with –

 

It’s by no means a nightmare, but I can’t lie – the cereal did throw me off.

I was filming this on snap (I have a penchant for being attention-seeking on camera) and my friends were watching as each snap came in. I had to deliver.

And so it began. I got my knife ready. The timer started.

I can be quite neurotic in the kitchen. Nobody should get in my way or tell me what to do. Let me do my thing.

I decided to make shrimp tacos. And boy was it a smart choice. Much to my delight, Honey Bunches of Oats Cereal works amazing as a crunchy topping for shrimp! To counter the sweetness of the cereal, I added a little bit of turmeric and chili powder to the mix, then coated the shrimp in egg wash  and then the cereal.

 

The cabbage and papaya are crunchy and pair well together. The pomegranate gives a lovely deep red color and sweetness to the slaw. I then seasoned the slaw with  a simply citrus dressing with orange, red chili, salt, and sugar.

 

I struggled a little bit during the challenge with the dressing. The original plan was to make a peanut flavored aioli. But of course, my aioli was not thickening up and with 5 minutes remaining I poured in some cornstarch which of course made a gunky mess. I threw it out, started over with some peanut butter, oil, lime juice and that made a killer dressing.

I also made home-made tortillas. This challenge was the first time making them, and I was not aware that they consisted of a little bit of baking powder. Additionally, I should have made them less thick. So they came out a little dense. But you live and you learn from your mistakes. Next time, they’ll come out perfectly thin, soft, and pliable.

Sometimes the best dishes come from random ingredients from your fridge and the inner-workings of your mind. The deep-fried shrimp is crunchy and flavorful. The slaw adds an extra crunch and sweet and citrusy. The peanut dressing with lime adds extra flavor. All in all, this is an awesome taco that is sure to please!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5 from 1 vote
Print

Deep Fried Shrimp Tacos with Papaya Pomegranate Slaw and Peanut Dressing

A taco consisting of deep-fried shrimp, a citrus-y slaw made of papaya, cabbage, pomegranate, and a peanut and chili dressing.

Servings 8 tacos

Ingredients

  • 7-10 flour tortillas

Shrimp

  • 1 lb shrimp (peeled and deveined; about 21-25 shrimp)
  • 1 cup Honey Bunches of Oats Almond Cereal
  • 1 egg
  • 3/4 tsp chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2-2.5 cups vegetable/canola/peanut oil

Papaya-Pomegranate Slaw

  • 3/4 cups cabbage (shredded)
  • 3/4 cups papaya (shredded)
  • 1/4 cup red bell pepper diced (may substitute with orange or yellow)
  • 2 tbsp pomegranate seeds
  • 1 small red chilie (optional)
  • 2 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 3/4 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)

Peanut Dressing

  • 1.5 tbsp peanut butter
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 2 tsp lime juice
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 1/4 tsp sugar

Instructions

  1. Start by making your slaw. Shred your cabbage and papaya with either your knife or food processor. Chop your bell pepper into a small dice. Add in your pomegranate seeds.

  2. Now make the dressing for the slaw. Combine orange juice, salt, sugar, chili and mix. Add to the slaw. Taste and adjust salt and sugar.

  3. Now make your peanut dressing. Slowly add in the oil to the peanut butter and whisk. Add lime juice, chili powder, salt, and sugar. Whisk until uniform.

  4. In a food processor grind up your cereal until it resembles the size and texture of breadcrumbs. (You may also do this in a ziploc bag, by pounding it repeatedly on some hard surface.)

  5. Add the chili powder, turmeric, and salt to the cereal mix. Put aside in one bowl.

  6. In another bowl, whisk an egg. Set aside.

  7. If you haven't already done so, peel and devein your shrimp. Take a shrimp and with one hand, dip it into the egg mixture. Then coat the shrimp in the cereal mixture. Repeat this step until all shrimp are coated.

  8. Fill up to an inch or two of a heavy-bottom pot or wok  vegetable/canola/peanut oil. Allow it to reach a temperature of approximately 375 F.

  9. Add a handful of shrimp at a time into the oil and fry until golden brown. The shrimp will only take 1-2 minutes to cook.

  10. Time to assemble. Take your flour tortilla, add your slaw, then your shrimp, and lastly the peanut dressing. Serve with lime wedges.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Omg this looks soooo delicious! Do you think I can make the pomegranate slaw without the papaya? I’m not a huge fan of papaya..
    I’m definitely going to try this!

    • Of course! The papaya just adds a crunch anyway, so yes you can omit if you’d like! Just add extra cabbage or even carrot!