Add a little variety to your Taco Tuesday routine with these quick shrimp tostadas. There is something so satisfying about that crunch!
It only takes a few minutes in the oven to turn a standard tortilla into a crisp tostada, but to make this dinner even quicker and easier you could use prepared tostadas, which you can find at any Latin American grocery store and sometimes at better-stocked grocery stores as well. Store-bought tostadas can live on your pantry shelf for a good long time, which makes them handy to keep on hand for dinner in a pinch. If they become stale, just pop them in a 350-degree oven for a few minutes to revive them.
Shrimp are one of our favorite proteins for quick and easy dinners, because they are so speedy to cook. If you buy them already cleaned and deveined, they need very little additional preparation. Fresh shrimp are always wonderful, but frozen are great for dishes like this. A quick sprinkle of spice and a splash of oil is all they need before a quick roast or saute.
Here, we’ve used Tajin, which is a powdered chili-lime seasoning readily available at most grocery stores. Tangy and not too spicy, it’s great on all kinds of things, from mango slices to popcorn. But don’t worry if you don’t have Tajin in your spice cabinet. You can make a quick homemade version by combining 1½ teaspoons chili powder, ¾ teaspoon salt and the zest of 1 large lime.
Tajin-Dusted Shrimp Tostadas
Makes 10 tostadas
Ingredients
1 pound cleaned, de-veined shrimp (fresh or frozen)
1 tablespoon Tajin seasoning
1 tablespoon oil, plus more for brushing the sheet tray
10 corn tortillas
Refried beans (warmed using your preferred method)
Finely shredded cabbage
Thinly sliced avocado, seasoned with lime juice and a pinch of salt
Mexican crema or sour cream
Optional: Chopped cilantro, hot sauce, lime wedges
Directions
Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
Pat the shrimp dry, then sprinkle with the Tajin seasoning and oil. Toss shrimp to ensure they are well-coated. Place shrimp on a sheet tray in a single layer.
Brush a thin coat of oil on a second sheet tray and arrange the tortillas in a single layer (or with as little overlap as possible). Brush the tops with oil and sprinkle lightly with salt.
Put both sheet trays in the oven and bake for 6 minutes. The shrimp should be cooked through, pink and opaque. Remove the shrimp from the oven, then flip the tortillas over and bake them for an additional 4 to 5 minutes, until they are crisp. While the tostadas continue baking, roughly chop the shrimp.
Assemble the tostadas by spreading a layer of refried beans on each tostada, then layer with shredded cabbage and avocado slices. Divide the shrimp among the tostadas and add a drizzle of sour cream (thin it with a little milk or water, if the sour cream is too thick). Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and hot sauce, if you like. Serve with lime wedges on the side.
San Francisco food writers Stacie Dong and Simran Singh’s blog, A Little Yumminess, focuses on family food adventures and recipes with global flavors.