I can’t wait till Disney•Pixar’s latest film, COCO, hits the big screen this November! The film’s main inspiration is Día de Muertos (or Dia De Los Muertos), a traditional Mexican holiday that honors the dead, with participants painting themselves as skeletons for this colorful celebration! To get in the spirit for the film’s upcoming release, I decided to dig through my recent film-inspired recipes and find a delicious Mexican dish to share with you all. Earlier this year, I made Spicy Shrimp Diablo Tacos, that were a hit among my friends. Why not share that one!
Ingredients
10 oz of shrimp (medium to large)
3 ounces shredded Savoy cabbage
1 lime, juiced
1 poblano pepper
1 cup of apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon of honey
1 can of diced tomatoes
1.5 tablespoons of chili paste
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
1 tablespoon of olive oil (sauce)
1 teaspoon of olive oil (shrimp)
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
2 oz of queso fresco
Fresh cilantro (3-4 sprigs), chopped
Corn tortillas
Salt and pepper
Directions for Shrimp Tacos
In a small bowl, combine the apple cider vinegar and honey to create a quick-brine for the cabbage. After chopping your cabbage, combine them in a medium bowl with the quick-brine. Season with salt and pepper, tossing to coat. Let the cabbage soak in the quick-brine while you prepare the rest of the dish.
Clean your poblano pepper, removing the stem, ribs, and seeds. Cut into thin slices lengthwise. Make sure you wash your hands after handling the pepper!
Place a large pan over medium heat, warming 1 tablespoon of olive oil until hot. Add in your poblano slices, and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until soft and lightly charred. Set the poblano slices aside, but do not clean the pan.
In the same pan, add in the garlic, and saute it for 1 minute. Then add in the chili paste, diced tomatoes, cumin, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Turn down the heat and let it simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, to create the diablo sauce.
While the diablo sauce finishes up simmering, in a separate pan, add in 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Warm it over medium to high heat until hot. Add in the shrimp, and season with salt and pepper. Cook the shrimp until they are just opaque. This should only take a minute. Now add the shrimp to your large pan with the diablo sauce. Make sure the heat is on low. Let the shrimp cook and firm up for another 2 minutes. Once the shrimp are firm, remove from heat, and add in your lime juice. Feel free to season with more salt and pepper to taste.
Now for your tortillas… Place a tortilla in a dry frying pan, over medium heat. Do this with each tortilla one by one, until they warmed through. I usually do 30 seconds on each side.
To serve, simply take a tortilla and add in your diablo shrimp mixture. Then topped with the now pickled cabbage, poblano slices, and more diablo sauce from the pan. Crumble some queso fresco on top, and garnish with chopped cilantro. Enjoy!
COCO Trailer
As I mentioned above, I’m sharing with you this recipe today to celebrate the upcoming release of COCO…
Despite his family’s baffling generations-old ban on music, Miguel (voice of newcomer Anthony Gonzalez) dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz (voice of Benjamin Bratt). Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead following a mysterious chain of events. Along the way, he meets charming trickster Hector (voice of Gael García Bernal), and together, they set off on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel’s family history.
Check out the brand new US trailer that just recently hit the internet!
As you can see, the film is going to be beyond visually stunning! I can’t wait!
Be sure to connect with COCO on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Disney•Pixar’s COCO opens in U.S. theaters on November 22, 2017.
I received the above trailer as a blogger via Walt Disney Publications. All opinions are 100% my own.
These look delicious! I’m a fan of sticking everything in a taco shell. No matter what time of day it is haha I’ll definitely be trying these out!
I haven’t had shrimp tacos in so long! These look amazing. I just saw the trailer for Coco, looks so good.
Quick question about your recipe. What is queso fresco and where can I purchase it?
I am going to have to google that one and see if it’s an ingredient we can even purchase here.
The dish looks amazing!
Hi Heather! It’s a type of Mexican cheese, “fresh cheese.” When making this recipe, I’ve found the cheese at my local grocery store, over near the cheeses like goat cheese, ricotta, and feta. You can crumble it just like feta.
My hubby would love the spice in these and I love the shrimp! Will put this on my ‘must try’ menu list and try it out.
OH these look SPICY!!!!! We are excited to see this new movie!
You had me at spicy! My entire family loves spicy food and this would be a hit at dinner!
These look unbelievably tasty! I could dig into them right now. And I can’t wait to see Coco either. We love a good animated movie in our house :)
Louise x
These look so good! I love spicy food! Although, I’m not a huge fan of shrimp, I bet they would be just as good with chicken! Thanks for sharing!
Wow, what a fun recipe! Coco looks like it is really going to be a great movie. This is an awesome way to get ready for the movie!
These look and sound so delicious. Shrimp tacos are my favorite type of taco so this is right up my alley!
I love the movie Coco and this is so inspiring! Also love some good *spice* :D