Lately, I’ve been trying to act like the grad student that I am and respect the fact that I should be living and eating on a budget. This means more cooking at home…for now anyway. In addition to being a budget-friendly meal, this is also my “meatless” Lent post for the week. These shrimp tacos were very quick and easy to put together and also crazy good:

Shrimp Tacos

I was purposely looking for a taco recipe with a mango accoutrement after my successful foray into avocado salsa, and these did not disappoint.

The most “difficult” part of this recipe, if you can even call it difficult, is putting together the mango slaw. It consists of diced mangoes (which can be a little difficult to slice up…I’m still learning myself), shredded cabbage (which you can buy pre-shredded), red onion, cilantro, a little mayo to bind everything together, and rice wine vinegar. I used red wine vinegar because it’s what I had on hand and I didn’t want to buy an entire new bottle to use 1 tablespoon of it. Check out this website for descriptions of “designer” vinegars and useful substitution info.

Beyond that, making the tacos only involves cooking seasoned shrimp (the recipe calls for Jerk seasoning, I just used my old standby, Tony’s) in a pan, on your grill, or on your George Foreman. You should also preheat the corn tortillas either in a pan or in the microwave between damp paper towels to make them more pliable. Tip: Use two tortillas per taco to keep everything neat–one tortilla tends to break pretty easily.

The crunchy cabbage contrasts perfectly with the firm, sweet mango, which in turn really benefits from the flavor of the red onion (this from someone who typically can’t stand red onion). The slaw as a whole was a perfect match for the slightly spicy shrimp. The only think I thought it was missing was maybe a sauce of some sort. So, cilantro-lime sour cream, or chipotle mayo?

Shrimp Tacos with Mango Slaw
Courtesy of Woman’s Day

Active Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS
8 corn tortillas
24 peeled raw jumbo shrimp (about 1 lb)
1 Tbsp Caribbean jerk seasoning
2 cups thinly shredded green cabbage
1 ripe mango, peeled and diced
1⁄4 cup sliced red onion
1⁄4 cup chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp light mayonnaise
1 Tbsp rice-wine vinegar

PREPARATION
1. Tacos: Coat a large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray; heat over medium heat. Add tortillas in a single layer 2 or 3 at a time and cook over medium-high heat 2 minutes, or until light golden in spots and softened. Remove to a plate and cover with foil to keep tortillas warm and pliable.

2. Sprinkle shrimp with jerk seasoning. Coat same skillet with nonstick spray; heat over medium heat. Add shrimp; sauté 3 minutes or until cooked through. Remove to a plate.

3. Toss remaining taco ingredients in a bowl until blended.

4. To assemble the Tacos: Top each tortilla with about 1⁄2 cup cabbage mixture and 3 shrimp. Fold in half to eat. Serve with the salad.