Tacos Dorados! Cuatro Vientos!

Tacos dorados! Taquitos! Crunchy tacos! After several trips to L.A. over the past year, I was finally able to make some time to go check out a popular seafood restaurant in the Los Angeles area. Here is the hard part! How do I decide what to order when I know I will be full with two tacos? Lol! I was obsessed with these tacos dorados filled with potato and shrimp that I had seen on a taco crawl in L.A.

Wait! What about the salsa recipe? You can find that right here on the blog!

Literally the first thing I prepared when I arrived home from my trip to Los Angeles was the fresh salsa inspired by the restaurant. I enjoyed it so much that I prepared it three times in one week! Lol! You can read all the details about the COPYCAT SALSA RECIPE that includes a video and some variations on how I prepared the fresh salsa. It is absolutely delicious on tacos dorados.

Try and try again!

The first plate of tacos pictured at the top of the post, were the second time and more accurate on how they looked at the location. Next photo above was the first go around for recreating the tacos. By the time I got around to plating, I forgot and mixed in avocado and green onions to the salsa. It didn’t look like the original, but it sure tasted good! Pictured below, is my kicked-up version of the tacos with extra shrimp on top.

It’s fun to be inspired by dishes we enjoy out then come home and recreate them with our own flare!

Another popular copycat recipe here on my blog is the AVOCADO SALSA from Cielito Lindo on Olvera Street in Los Angeles. My sister and I enjoyed them very much! I receive many requests from my followers to recreate other salsa recipes from popular restaurants in California. Problem is that it’s hard to guess at a recipe unless I have eaten there. The copycat recipes challenge me at times and I love it!

Shrimp and Potato? Oh, yes! So tasty!

I once prepared a seafood shepard’s pie and it was amazing! I need to add that recipe to my bog or at least record a video for sure! Seafood and potatoes pair well together, in my opinion.

There are several ways to approach this recipe!

Prepare the filling as simple as you like or kick it up like I did! In all honesty, the filling from the restaurant was very simple. I tasted a mashed potato seasoned lightly with salt and 2 whole medium shrimp per taco. My version, I got smart, and used the small shrimp that is peeled, and cleaned already and it worked out perfect!

I mean, you could stop there, prepare the tacos with just potato filling. Prepare the shrimp separate and then spoon it into the fried tacos dorados. That is another option.

I wanted to combine the two inside the taco. I loved it that way. The only ingredients that came out slightly were the finely diced onion and some of the cilantro.

This shrimp recipe is excellent for tacos, enchiladas, sopes, tostadas, burritos or simply tossed with pasta or over rice!

Remember to drain out the broth of the shrimp you will mix with the potatoes. The warm leftover shrimp with the broth was delicious as a final garnish on top of the tacos!

I am thinking this potato and shrimp filling combined with some tasty Chihuahua cheese would make an excellent empanada filling!

Don’t forget to prepare the salsa a few hours ahead of time for more flavor!

The first two tries at the tacos I used a large yellow corn tortilla and it held up well! The third time I prepared yellow corn tortillas with Masienda and they were my favorite!!

This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

If you fill the warmed tortillas and then fold and stack them, it will help keep them closed without using toothpickes.

The avocado slices! The best!

I seriously cannot wait to prepare that salsa again! So simple and delicious!

Not only with shrimp tacos, I am going to try the garnish of the protein on top with picadillo, deshebrada and tinga too!

Tacos Dorados! Cuatro Vientos!

Disclaimer! This is totally my kicked-up version of the tasty tacos I enjoyed at Cuatro Vientos Mariscos in Los Angeles.

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Tacos

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: 12 Tacos

Ingredients

Potatoes

• 5 small red potatoes peeled, 450 gr
• Water to cover potatoes
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp Mexican crema or sour cream
• 1 tbsps cornstarch

Shrimp

• 2 tbsps olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• ½ small white onion diced, 112 gr
• 1 jalapeno finely diced, 54 gr
• 3 large cloves of garlic minced, 15 gr
• 1 Roma tomato diced, 112 gr
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 lb small uncooked shrimp that comes clean and deveined if using larger shrimp, I suggest you slice them into smaller pieces
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• You Also Need
• 2 cups of oil for frying
• 12 corn tortillas
• 2-3 avocados
• Tomato Salsa w/ Cabbage see recipe

Instructions

• After peeling the potatoes, slice them in half and rinse them in cool water. Transfer to a med. Saucepan filled with 5 cups of water coming up to a simmer at medium heat. Add ½ tsp of salt. Cook potatoes for 15-20 minutes or until fork tender.
• When ready, drain water from the potatoes. Transfer to a bowl. Add 1 tbsp of butter, Mexican crema, cornstarch, salt and pepper, to taste. Mash until mostly smooth. Cover and set aside.
• For shrimp, in a large skillet, at medium heat, add the olive oil and remaining butter. Once butter melts, add the onion and jalapeño. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for one more minute. Mix in the tomato. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté for 5 minutes.
• Add the shrimp. Spread out evenly in skillet and again, season lightly with salt and pepper. Stirring often, cook the shrimp just until it turns pink. Mix in lime juice. Stir well to combine. Taste for salt. Let the shrimp cool completely.
• Titling the skillet to one side, so the broth is collected on one side, spoon out half of the shrimp and transfer to a bowl. Reserve the remaining shrimp with broth covered in the refrigerator.
• Once the shrimp without the broth has cooled completely, fold it into the reserved mashed potatoes. Cover and keep chilled until you are ready to assemble your tacos.
• Preheat large griddle(comal) at medium heat for 4 minutes. At the same time, in a large skillet preheat 2 cups of avocado or vegetable oil at medium heat until the temperature reads 375 degrees F.
• Once griddle is hot, warm the corn tortillas for 45-60 seconds per side or until soft and flexible. Place in a tortilla warmer. For a few minutes.
• Once oil is hot enough, fill the warm corn tortillas with 3-4 tbsp of potato/shrimp filling to one side of the center of tortilla. Fold over to form taco and gently press together. To the hot oil, fry 3-4 tacos at one time until golden and crispy. Turn as needed. Transfer fried tacos, standing up, to a bowl lined with paper towels. This will help drain out any excess oil. Garnish tacos with sliced avocado on top, salsa and reserved shrimp that has been warmed up.

Tried this recipe?Mention @pinaenlacocina or tag #pinaenlacocina!

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