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Jalisco's Costa Alegre shrimp, coated in fresh coconut and fried until crisp, then dragged through a tamarind-chipotle glaze with lime and jicama cutting the richness.
Jalisco's Costa Alegre runs down the Pacific coast, Barra de Navidad, Tenacatita, Chamela, Careyes, beach towns where shrimp, coconut, tamarind, lime, and chile belong to the same table. This is not Guadalajara food. This is coastal Jalisco, eaten under a palapa with fingers sticky from tamarind and a plate of jicama sitting nearby to clean the mouth.
The crust is fresh coconut, not sweetened supermarket shavings that taste like candy. The shrimp must be large enough to survive frying without turning rubbery. The glaze is tamarind with chile chipotle adobado and a little salsa de soya, that Pacific coast habit left by old trade routes and made Mexican by the cooks who put it to work. Pregúntale a las señoras del mercado. They know which tamarind pods are soft and which ones have been sitting too long.
I learned a version like this from a woman near Melaque who fried the shrimp in a wide cazuela and served them on a scratched enamel tray with lime halves, jicama sticks, and a bowl of extra sauce. No towers. No white plates. Just hot shrimp, sour tamarind, coconut caught between your teeth, and enough chile to make you reach for another lime. Cada estado, su propia cocina.
The Manila Galleon connected Manila and Acapulco from 1565 to 1815, moving goods, people, and food habits across the Pacific and helping establish coconut cultivation along Mexico's western coast. Tamarind, originally from Africa and long cultivated in Asia, became deeply rooted in Mexico's tropical coastal cooking, especially in drinks, candies, and sour-sweet sauces. On the Jalisco and Colima coasts, shrimp with coconut and tamarind reflects that Pacific exchange without stopping being local: seafood from the coast, chile from the Mexican table, and technique perfected in home kitchens and beach fondas.
Quantity
1 1/2 pounds
peeled and deveined, tails left on
Quantity
1 teaspoon, plus more to taste
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
Quantity
1/2 cup
Quantity
2
Quantity
2 tablespoons
Quantity
1 cup
Quantity
1 1/2 cups
unsweetened
Quantity
1/2 cup
finely shredded
Quantity
3 cups or enough to reach 1 inch in the pan
for frying
Quantity
6 ounces
seeds and fibers removed
Quantity
3/4 cup
Quantity
2
with 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
Quantity
2 tablespoons
grated
Quantity
1 tablespoon
Quantity
1 small
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon
Quantity
1 tablespoon
Quantity
1 tablespoon
for finishing the glaze
Quantity
1 small
peeled and cut into sticks
Quantity
for serving
Quantity
for serving
Quantity
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| large raw shrimppeeled and deveined, tails left on | 1 1/2 pounds |
| kosher salt | 1 teaspoon, plus more to taste |
| freshly ground black pepper | 1/2 teaspoon |
| all-purpose flour | 1/2 cup |
| large eggs | 2 |
| fresh lime juice | 2 tablespoons |
| fine dry breadcrumbs or ground bolillo crumbs | 1 cup |
| fresh grated coconutunsweetened | 1 1/2 cups |
| dried unsweetened coconutfinely shredded | 1/2 cup |
| neutral oil or manteca de cerdofor frying | 3 cups or enough to reach 1 inch in the pan |
| tamarind pulp from podsseeds and fibers removed | 6 ounces |
| hot water | 3/4 cup |
| canned chile chipotle adobadowith 1 tablespoon adobo sauce | 2 |
| piloncillograted | 2 tablespoons |
| salsa de soya | 1 tablespoon |
| garlic clove | 1 small |
| ground cumin | 1/4 teaspoon |
| fresh lime juice for glaze | 1 tablespoon |
| butter or lardfor finishing the glaze | 1 tablespoon |
| jicama (optional)peeled and cut into sticks | 1 small |
| lime halves (optional) | for serving |
| thin cucumber spears (optional) | for serving |
| flaky sea salt or sal de Colima (optional) | for serving |
Pat the shrimp very dry with a towel. Season with the salt and black pepper. If the shrimp are wet, the coating slides off in the oil and then you blame the recipe. No. Dry seafood fries properly.
Put the tamarind pulp in a bowl with the hot water and mash it with your fingers or a spoon until the water turns brown and sour. Press it through a fine-mesh strainer into a small saucepan. Scrape the underside of the strainer. That paste is where the flavor sits.
Blend the strained tamarind with the chile chipotle adobado, adobo sauce, piloncillo, salsa de soya, garlic, cumin, and lime juice until smooth. Return it to the saucepan and simmer over medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until glossy and thick enough to coat a spoon. Stir in the butter or lard at the end. The sauce should be sour first, then smoky, then sweet. If it tastes like candy, add lime and salt.
Put the flour in one shallow dish. Beat the eggs with the 2 tablespoons lime juice in a second dish. Mix the breadcrumbs, fresh grated coconut, and dried coconut in a third dish. The fresh coconut gives chew and sweetness. The dried coconut helps the crust stay crisp. That balance matters.
Hold each shrimp by the tail. Dredge lightly in flour, shake off the excess, dip in egg, then press firmly into the coconut mixture. Set the coated shrimp on a tray and let them rest for 10 minutes. The resting time lets the crust grip the shrimp. No me vengas con atajos.
Heat the oil or manteca de cerdo in a wide heavy skillet or cazuela to 350F. You want about 1 inch of fat. Too shallow and the coconut scorches against the pan. Too cool and the shrimp drink grease. Drop in a loose strand of coconut: it should bubble immediately and turn gold slowly, not black in five seconds.
Fry the shrimp in batches, 2 to 3 minutes total, turning once, until the coconut is deep gold and the shrimp curl into a loose C. Do not crowd the pan. A tight pan drops the temperature and gives you heavy shrimp. Transfer to a wire rack and salt lightly while hot.
Spoon a little warm tamarind-chipotle glaze over the shrimp or serve it in a clay bowl for dipping. Do not drown the crust. Put the shrimp on a rustic Jalisco cantina platter with jicama sticks, cucumber spears, lime halves, and sal de Colima. Eat them while the coconut still crackles under your teeth. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.
1 serving (about 310g)
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