Citrus Shrimp Tacos with Avocado Aioli
Freeze-dried shrimp, a citrus rub, and an aioli mixed from powder in the tortilla bag.
- calories
- 520
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 95
- protein
- 28 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 12 min
- total time
- 22 min
- water
- 350 ml boiled
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Lunch
- Canister stove
- Grill grate
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Freeze-dried shrimp | 4 oz | rehydrates to roughly 1.5 lb of fresh |
|---|---|---|
| Citrus sear blend | 1 1/2 tbsp | citrus peel, chile, salt, garlic; premixed at home |
| Flour tortillas | 8 small | the shelf-stable kind, not refrigerated |
| Powdered egg mayonnaise | 1/3 cup dry | shelf-stable mayo powder, mixed with water at camp |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp | dropper bottle |
| Freeze-dried avocado | 1/2 cup | or one real avocado if it is day one |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Mustard powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Lime juice powder | 1 tsp | |
| Freeze-dried pico de gallo | 1/2 cup | tomato, onion, jalapeno |
| Dried cilantro | 1 tsp |
Method
- Pour 200 ml of boiled water over the shrimp in the pot. Cover and leave it ten minutes, then drain off whatever water is left.
- In a cup or a bag, mix the mayo powder, mustard powder, garlic powder, lime powder, and half the avocado with about 100 ml of cold water. Stir until it holds a line from the spoon. Add water a splash at a time if it seizes up.
- Cover the pico de gallo with 50 ml of water in a second cup and let it sit while you cook.
- Dry the pot, set it back on the stove with the oil, and toss the shrimp with the sear blend. Three or four minutes over high heat until the edges color. Do not stir constantly or nothing browns.
- Warm the tortillas one at a time on the hot pot lid or straight on the grill grate.
- Build them: shrimp, the rest of the avocado, drained pico, aioli, cilantro.
The original is a cast iron grill recipe with fresh shrimp and a blender aioli, which is a lot of refrigeration for a taco. Everything cold-dependent got swapped: freeze-dried shrimp for fresh, mayo powder for jarred, freeze-dried avocado and pico for the produce. The shrimp rehydrate in ten minutes and then get seared dry, which is the step that matters. Wet shrimp steam and turn to rubber.
The aioli is thin at first and thickens as the powder hydrates, so mix it before you cook and let it sit. Lime juice powder is doing the acid work that the fresh lime did; without it the whole plate tastes flat and salty. No dietary tags beyond nut-free here, since the mayo powder carries egg and the tortillas carry wheat.
Packing
Sear blend, garlic, mustard, lime powder, and cilantro go in one small bag. Mayo powder in its own bag; it clumps if it meets anything damp. Tortillas ride flat against the back panel of the pack or they come out as crumbs.
Variations
- Skip the tortillas and eat it over instant rice for a gluten-free version.
- A pouch of shelf-stable mayo replaces the powder and the water, at the cost of weight.
- Freeze-dried shrimp is expensive. A foil pouch of tuna does the same job for a quarter of the price.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/blogs/recipe/citrus-shrimp-tacos-with-avocado-aioli