In Asia, the concept of "taco" is not necessarily accompanied by a corn or wheat tortilla.
A lighter and fresher base is used: a popular example of this type of snack is found in Korean cuisine.
Their
gogi-gu-i
, or Korean barbecue, consists of proteins marinated and cooked directly on the fire of a barbecue, accompanied by lettuce leaves, green cabbage or shiso, which are the basis for the protein and accompaniments.
To eat it, the protein is wrapped with a little
sliced
garlic, chili and, generally,
ssamnjang
, a paste that combines South Korea's best-known fermented sauces:
doenjang
(fermented soybean paste) and
gochujang
(soybean paste and chili fermented).
In my family, when it comes to cooking chicken for tacos, we have substituted tortillas for lettuce leaves on numerous occasions, since it is not always easy to find quality, and, in general, those that are abundant in supermarkets are wheat or they carry a percentage of it.
So using fresh leaves is a good substitute for people with celiac disease or those with gluten sensitivity.
In this recipe, our protagonists will be the prawns: buying them fresh is always fine, but for this recipe I have used frozen, raw and in the shell (and no, they are not of worse quality than fresh ones).
To protect the precious meat of our prawns, we will marinate them previously with mango juice, soy sauce, sugar and our secret ingredient: chemical yeast.
The yeast will act to create a very thin layer that protects the juices of the prawns, resulting in a firmer skin and a smoother interior.
We will accompany the tacos with noodles or any grain of rice that you have at home to turn it into a complete dish, to which we will add different aromatic herbs, as well as a couple of chili peppers -you know that this is always optional, although not for me- and the acid contrast of a little lime juice.
Difficulty
Peeling and cleaning shellfish is always a chore, but that little suffering is better than using frozen shellfish already peeled.
Ingredients
For 4 people
About 16 raw prawns
Half a red onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic
Chili peppers to taste
8 coriander stalks, chopped
1 tablespoon and a half butter
40 ml of mango juice to marinate the prawns
100 ml of mango juice to sauté
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon and a half of baking powder
1 teaspoon and a half sugar
To accompany
Coriander and mint leaves
Julienne red onion or shallot (as fine as possible)
150 g of rice noodles or cooked rice
Chili peppers to taste
Limes
Lettuce leaves
Preparation
Peel and clean the prawns, reserving their shell and head for future preparation and removing the intestine (a shallow cut along the length helps).
Add the 40 ml of mango juice from the marinade, the soy sauce, the sugar and the baking powder.
Stir well and refrigerate while we prepare the rest.
Bring water to a boil, cook the noodles or rice and reserve.
Crush and chop the garlic, chop the onion, chili peppers and coriander stems and add everything to a pan with butter and a pinch of oil.
Cook over medium heat for about 30 seconds.
Raise the heat to the maximum and add the prawns, avoiding stirring, allowing the heat to act and mark them.
When they are colored, add the reserved 100 ml of mango juice.
Stir carefully and cook until thickened.
Serve with lettuce leaves, rice noodles, mint and coriander leaves, finely chopped onion and lime wedges.
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