This is the sort of elevated dish you’d eagerly order at your favorite Mexican restaurant, so you’ll be happily surprised to learn how quick and easy they are to whip up at home! A bright, zesty adobo verde is quite literally the secret sauce.
Ingredients
For the Adobo Sauce:
2-3fresh serrano or jalapeno chile peppers
6-8clovesgarlic
1cuploosely-packed fresh cilantroroughly chopped
1cuploosely-packed fresh parsleyroughly chopped
1/2cupolive oil
1teaspoonkosher salt
For the Slaw:
3cupsshredded red or green cabbageabout 9 ounces
1-2tablespoonschopped fresh cilantro
juice of 1 lime
1/2teaspoonkosher salt
For the Shrimp:
2teaspoonsolive oil
1 and 1/2poundsshrimppeeled and deveined, tails off
To make the sauce, place chile peppers and garlic cloves in a dry skillet over medium heat. Roast for about 10 minutes, turning regularly, until both are brown in spots. Remove from heat and let cool a few minutes. Peel the garlic cloves, if not already peeled, and remove stems from the chile peppers. If you want to reduce the heat of the sauce, cut open 1 or more of the peppers and scrape out and discard the seeds. Combine peppers, garlic, cilantro, parsley, olive oil, and salt in a blender or food processor, and blend until mostly smooth.
To make the slaw, combine cabbage, cilantro, lime juice, and salt in a medium bowl and toss well.
To cook the shrimp, warm olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp in a single layer, season with salt and pepper, and cook, flipping once, just until they’re pink and cooked through. Transfer shrimp to a bowl and toss with a generous amount of the adobo sauce.
Assemble tacos with slaw, shrimp, sliced avocado or guacamole, extra sauce, and other toppings as desired. Dig in!
Notes
The adobo sauce recipe can be easily made ahead and stored in the fridge until ready to use, up to 2-3 weeks. It can also easily be doubled and used as needed. It’s amazing spooned over any grilled meat, fish, or veggies; used as a marinade; served as a dipping sauce with chips or grilled bread; or swirled into scrambled eggs.
If you prefer a creamier slaw, simply add 1/4 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt to the cabbage, taste, and season more with lime juice and salt as desired.