Tacos dorados de camarón
Tacos dorados de camarón are corn tortillas rolled around a sautéed shrimp filling and fried until crisp, a Sinaloan favorite usually topped with a lime-dressed cabbage slaw, avocado and hot salsa.
Overview
Sinaloa is Mexico's largest shrimp producer, landing roughly 45 percent of the national catch in 2023 according to Mexico News Daily, so it is no surprise that shrimp turns up in the state's fried tacos as well as in its aguachiles and gobernador tacos. The newspaper Excélsior describes shrimp tacos dorados as a classic of Sinaloa that swaps the chicken, beef or potato used in most of Mexico for a quick shrimp sauté.
The word dorado means golden and refers to the frying. The tacos may be rolled into short cylinders or made long and thin like flautas, which Excélsior notes are typical of northern Mexico and roughly twice the length of a regular taco.
Escuinapa style
In southern Sinaloa, the town of Escuinapa is known for its shrimp, including the tamales barbones made with whole shrimp. Luz Noticias reported in 2025 on a family that brought Escuinapa-style tacos dorados de camarón to Mazatlán, selling them from a tricycle cart outside the main bus station and in front of the ISSSTE clinic, either on a plate or in a cup. The paper presented them as coastal-style tacos keeping the seasoning of their hometown.
Preparation and toppings
The filling is cooked first: onion is softened in oil and butter, garlic, tomato and serrano are added, and chopped shrimp goes in at the end just until pink. The key is to cook off the liquid so the tortillas do not tear or turn soggy. The tortillas are warmed until pliable, filled, rolled, fastened with toothpicks and fried until golden.
Central Mexican style would finish them with lettuce, cream, grated cheese and salsa. In Sinaloa they are more often topped with avocado, hot salsa and a slaw of finely shredded cabbage and grated carrot dressed with lime, oregano and salt.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 g shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil, plus oil for frying
- 40 g butter
- 1 white onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tomatoes, finely chopped
- 1 to 2 serrano chiles, finely chopped
- Salt and black pepper
- 16 corn tortillas
- Toothpicks
- For the slaw: 3 cups finely shredded cabbage, 1 carrot grated, juice of 2 limes, 1/2 tsp dried oregano, salt
- Avocado and hot salsa to serve
Steps
- Make the slaw: toss the cabbage, carrot, lime juice, oregano and salt and let it rest at least 15 minutes.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil and the butter in a skillet. Cook the onion until translucent, add the garlic for 1 minute, then the tomato and serrano. Cook until the tomato's liquid has mostly evaporated, about 6 minutes.
- Chop the shrimp into small pieces, add them to the pan, season, and cook just until pink. Let the filling cool.
- Warm the tortillas until pliable. Put about 2 tablespoons of filling along one edge of each, roll tightly and secure with a toothpick.
- Heat 2 cm of oil to about 180 C. Fry the tacos in batches, turning, until golden and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain on paper towels and remove the toothpicks.
- Serve topped with slaw, avocado and salsa.
For flautas, overlap two tortillas to make a longer wrapper.
Where to try it
- Escuinapa-style tricycle stand outside the Central Camionera, Mazatlán: Family vendor of tacos dorados de camarón reported by Luz Noticias in 2025.
- La Pezciosa, Mexico City
- Mariscos La Costa, Oakland, California
- Taco Nazo, South El Monte, California
Reviews
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See also
References
- "Receta de flautas de camarón, un antojito con el sabor del mar". Excélsior. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- "No necesitas viajar a Escuinapa: en este punto de Mazatlán venden los famosos tamales barbones y tacos de camarón". Luz Noticias. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- "State By Plate: Sinaloa". Mexico News Daily. Retrieved 2026-10-10.