Chef Lupita
Birria Tacos with Consome
Jalisco's goat birria, born around Cocula and carried into Guadalajara's markets, slow-braised in ancho, guajillo, cascabel, and chile de arbol, then tucked into corn tortillas crisped in its own red fat.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Nayarit Breaded Shrimp Tacos
Created by
Nayarit's Pacific coast taco, built with golden breaded shrimp, corn tortillas, shredded cabbage, chipotle crema, chile de arbol salsa, and enough lime to taste the beach.
Sandwiches & Wraps
Mexican
Weeknight
Quick Meal
Comfort Food
35 min
Active Time
20 min cook•55 min total
Yield4 servings, 12 tacos
Nayarit lives on the Pacific, from San Blas down toward Bahía de Banderas, and shrimp is not a luxury there. It is Tuesday lunch. These tacos de camarón empanizado belong to the coastal palapas and home kitchens where women know how to fry seafood fast, keep it crisp, and put it into a corn tortilla before anyone starts talking too much.
The shrimp is the point. Buy good Pacific shrimp if you can, fresh when the market is honest, frozen when the so-called fresh case smells tired. Pregúntale a las señoras del mercado. They will tell you which vendor got the better catch. The breading is plain pan molido, not a heavy batter, because the shrimp should still taste like shrimp. The cabbage gives crunch, the chipotle crema gives smoke, and the salsa de chile de arbol gives the bite that Nayarit tables expect.
Do not bring me cheddar, iceberg lettuce, or sour cream and call it Mexican. This is a 32-state cuisine. In Nayarit, the ocean sets the rhythm and the comal still matters. Warm corn tortillas, a clay bowl of salsa, lime halves on the table, and a bottle of Salsa Huichol if your family keeps one near the salt. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.
Nayarit's coast has depended on shrimp, oysters, and finfish since long before statehood in 1917, with Indigenous Cora, Huichol, and coastal communities using estuaries and lagoons around San Blas as food sources. Breaded and fried seafood tacos became especially common in the 20th century as beach palapas and market fondas adapted European-style empanizado to local Pacific shrimp and corn tortillas. Salsa Huichol, created in Tepic in 1949 by Don Roberto López, became one of Nayarit's best-known table sauces and is still tied to seafood eating across the state.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
large Pacific shrimp
Quantity
1 pound
peeled, deveined, and tails removed
kosher salt
Quantity
1 teaspoon, divided
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
dried Mexican oregano
Quantity
1 teaspoon
crushed between your fingers
lime
Quantity
1
juiced
all-purpose flour
Quantity
3/4 cup
large eggs
Quantity
2
whole milk
Quantity
1 tablespoon
fine plain bread crumbs or pan molido
Quantity
1 1/2 cups
garlic powder
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
neutral oil, such as avocado oil or canola oil
Quantity
2 cups
for frying
hand-pressed corn tortillas
Quantity
12
warmed
green cabbage
Quantity
2 cups
finely shredded
Mexican crema
Quantity
1/3 cup
mayonnaise
Quantity
2 tablespoons
canned chile chipotle en adobo
Quantity
1
finely minced
adobo sauce from the can
Quantity
1 teaspoon
fresh lime juice
Quantity
1 tablespoon
for the crema
ripe Roma tomatoes
Quantity
4
dried chile de arbol
Quantity
6
stemmed
garlic clove
Quantity
1
unpeeled
white onion
Quantity
1/4 small
kosher salt
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
for the salsa
water
Quantity
2 tablespoons
as needed for the salsa
fresh cilantro
Quantity
1/4 cup
chopped
lime wedges (optional)
Quantity
for serving
Salsa Huichol or another Nayarit-style bottled chile sauce (optional)
Quantity
for the table
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| large Pacific shrimppeeled, deveined, and tails removed | 1 pound |
| kosher salt | 1 teaspoon, divided |
| freshly ground black pepper | 1/2 teaspoon |
| dried Mexican oreganocrushed between your fingers | 1 teaspoon |
| limejuiced | 1 |
| all-purpose flour | 3/4 cup |
| large eggs | 2 |
| whole milk | 1 tablespoon |
| fine plain bread crumbs or pan molido | 1 1/2 cups |
| garlic powder | 1/2 teaspoon |
| neutral oil, such as avocado oil or canola oilfor frying | 2 cups |
| hand-pressed corn tortillaswarmed | 12 |
| green cabbagefinely shredded | 2 cups |
| Mexican crema | 1/3 cup |
| mayonnaise | 2 tablespoons |
| canned chile chipotle en adobofinely minced | 1 |
| adobo sauce from the can | 1 teaspoon |
| fresh lime juicefor the crema | 1 tablespoon |
| ripe Roma tomatoes | 4 |
| dried chile de arbolstemmed | 6 |
| garlic cloveunpeeled | 1 |
| white onion | 1/4 small |
| kosher saltfor the salsa | 1/2 teaspoon |
| wateras needed for the salsa | 2 tablespoons |
| fresh cilantrochopped | 1/4 cup |
| lime wedges (optional) | for serving |
| Salsa Huichol or another Nayarit-style bottled chile sauce (optional) | for the table |
Equipment Needed
- •Dry comal or heavy skillet for roasting salsa ingredients and warming tortillas
- •Heavy 10-inch skillet for frying
- •Three shallow dishes for breading
- •Wire rack set over a sheet pan
- •Blender or volcanic stone molcajete for the salsa
Instructions
- 1
Season the shrimp
Pat the shrimp completely dry. Toss them with 1/2 teaspoon salt, black pepper, Mexican oregano, and the juice of 1 lime. Let them sit for 10 minutes, no longer. Lime wakes up the shrimp, but if you leave it too long you start making ceviche, and that is not this taco.
- 2
Make the salsa
Heat a dry comal over medium. Roast the Roma tomatoes, chile de arbol, unpeeled garlic, and white onion. The chiles need only 15 to 20 seconds per side, just until they darken a shade and smell sharp. The tomatoes need 8 to 10 minutes, turning often, until the skins blister and soften. Peel the garlic. Blend everything with 1/2 teaspoon salt and just enough water to move the blades. The salsa should be red, direct, and a little rough, not watery.
Chile de arbol burns fast. If it turns black, throw it out. Burned chile makes bitter salsa, and no amount of lime will save it. - 3
Mix the crema
Stir together the Mexican crema, mayonnaise, minced chipotle en adobo, adobo sauce, and 1 tablespoon lime juice. Taste it. It should be smoky and tangy, not sweet. This is crema, not sour cream. Use the right thing.
- 4
Set the breading
Put the flour in one shallow dish. Beat the eggs with the milk in a second dish. Mix the bread crumbs with garlic powder and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt in a third dish. Lift the shrimp out of their seasoning and pat off excess moisture. Dredge each shrimp in flour, dip in egg, then press into the bread crumbs so the coating holds. Lay them on a tray for 5 minutes. That rest keeps the breading from falling off in the oil.
- 5
Fry until golden
Heat the oil in a heavy skillet to 350F. Fry the shrimp in small batches, about 90 seconds per side, until the coating is deep golden and crisp under the tongs. Do not crowd the pan. Shrimp cooks fast, and overcooked shrimp turns tight and rubbery. Drain on a rack, not paper towels, so the bottom stays crisp.
- 6
Warm the tortillas
Warm the corn tortillas on a dry comal until they soften and show a few toasted spots. Keep them wrapped in a clean cotton servilleta. Flour tortillas are a northern tradition. These Nayarit coast tacos belong in corn tortillas. Cada estado, su propia cocina.
- 7
Build the tacos
Lay two or three shrimp in each warm tortilla. Add shredded cabbage, a spoonful of chipotle crema, a line of salsa de chile de arbol, chopped cilantro, and lime. Serve immediately while the shrimp coating is still crisp and the cabbage is cold against it. Beach food, yes. Careless food, no. Así se hace y punto.
Chef Tips
- •Use medium-large shrimp, not the enormous ones. Big shrimp look impressive and eat poorly in a taco. You want two or three pieces per tortilla so every bite has shrimp, cabbage, crema, and salsa.
- •Frozen shrimp from a reliable source is often better than tired fresh shrimp sitting too long in a supermarket case. If it smells like ammonia, walk away. Si no conoces el mercado, no conoces la cocina.
- •Pan molido should be fine and plain. Panko gives a crunch some cooks like, but it reads more Japanese than Nayarit. Use it only if that is what you have, and understand the texture changes.
- •The oil must be hot before the shrimp goes in. Cold oil makes greasy breading. A thermometer is useful, but the old test works: drop in a pinch of bread crumbs. If they bubble immediately and turn gold, fry.
- •Chipotle crema is not there to drown the taco. One spoonful. The shrimp has work to do.
Advance Preparation
- •The chile de arbol salsa can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated. Let it come to room temperature before serving so the chile flavor opens back up.
- •The chipotle crema can be mixed 1 day ahead and refrigerated. Stir before using.
- •Shred the cabbage up to 1 day ahead and keep it in cold water in the refrigerator. Drain and dry it well before building the tacos.
- •Do not bread the shrimp hours ahead. Bread them 5 to 10 minutes before frying so the coating stays dry and crisp.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 380g)
Calories
675 calories
Total Fat
29 g
Saturated Fat
7 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
22 g
Cholesterol
280 mg
Sodium
1360 mg
Total Carbohydrates
68 g
Dietary Fiber
9 g
Sugars
7 g
Protein
36 g
Where cooking meets culture.
Culinary guides, cultural storytelling, and the editorial depth that makes cooking meaningful.
Discover Culinary ExplorerMore from Occidente Tortas, Tacos & Handhelds
Browse the full collection
Chef Lupita
Guadalajara Copper-Cazo Tacos
Jalisco's tacos de cazo are buche, nana, and maciza cooked in manteca de cerdo, chopped together, and folded into corn tortillas with salsa de chile de arbol.
Chef Lupita
Guadalajara Roast Pork Lonche (Lonche de Pierna)
Jalisco's lonche de pierna is slow-roasted pork leg tucked into birote salado with avocado, tomato, and pickled jalapeños, the weeknight sandwich Guadalajara knows by name.
Chef Lupita
Michoacan Carnitas Tacos (Tacos de Carnitas)
Michoacan's carnitas from the copper cazo, pork shoulder, belly, rib, and cuerito cooked slowly in lard, chopped hot, and folded into corn tortillas with salsa de chile de arbol.