History

Mariscos Jalisco rolled out of a Boyle Heights taco truck on East Olympic Boulevard in 2001 with a single signature, the taco dorado de camaron, which Jonathan Gold called one of the best tacos in Los Angeles. Owner Raul Ortega brought the recipe from San Juan de los Lagos in Jalisco, and the LA truck became the canonical reference for the fried shrimp taco. Holbox in Mercado La Paloma extends the Mexican seafood-taco vocabulary at a sit-down counter.

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Common allergens: Crustaceans, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield 8Hands-on 35 minTotal 45 minDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 400g raw shrimp, peeled and chopped 5mm
  • 1 small white onion, finely chopped
  • 1 large garlic clove, minced
  • 1 teaspoon ground chile guajillo
  • 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 tablespoons neutral oil (for the filling)
  • 8 fresh white-corn tortillas
  • Neutral oil for shallow frying
  • For the salsa: 4 ripe tomatoes, 1 jalapeno, 2 garlic cloves, half a small white onion, juice of 1 lime, salt
  • 1 ripe avocado, mashed with lime and salt
  • Mexican crema, to drizzle

Method

  1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a wide pan. Cook the white onion 4 minutes until translucent.
  2. Add garlic, ground guajillo, Aleppo pepper and a pinch of salt. Cook 1 minute more.
  3. Stir in the chopped shrimp and cook 90 seconds until just opaque. Lift off the heat and cool.
  4. For the salsa, char the tomatoes, jalapeno and garlic in a dry pan 8 minutes. Blend with raw onion, lime juice and salt to a slightly chunky salsa. Cool.
  5. Heat 1cm neutral oil in a wide heavy pan to 180C.
  6. Spoon 2 tablespoons shrimp filling onto one half of a tortilla, fold over to a half-moon, and press gently to seal.
  7. Slide into the hot oil and fry 90 seconds a side until crisp and deep gold. Drain on a rack.
  8. Open the top of each taco like a clam, spoon in mashed avocado and salsa fresca, drizzle with crema, and serve immediately.

Tip from the editors. Fry the tortilla folded, with the filling already inside, not flat then filled; the steam from the shrimp inside the shell is what fluffs the masa around the seam.

Where to eat taco dorado de camaron (jalisco-style fried shrimp taco)

Taco dorado de camaron (Jalisco-style fried shrimp taco) in Los Angeles

Mariscos Jalisco ★ 4.8

$ Street foodCash only

Raul Ortega's Mariscos Jalisco in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles has fried the LA shrimp taco dorado from the same Olympic Boulevard truck since 2001.

TryShrimp taco dorado

Directions

Holbox ★ 4.8

$$ Mexican

Gilberto Cetina Jr.'s Holbox in Mercado La Paloma, Los Angeles serves Mexican seafood: aguachile, tostadas, kanpachi, ceviche. A Michelin Bib Gourmand pick.

Why locals goA Mexican seafood counter in Mercado La Paloma that locals nominate for the Best New Restaurant lists every year and tourists rarely find.

TipThe aguachile flight is the order; come on a Wednesday at 13:00 when the market is quiet and you can sit at the counter.

Directions

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