I’ve had the December 2023 issue of Real Simple open to a particular page for months now, topping a stack of pages and printouts of recipes I want to try. For this shrimp tacos recipe, today is finally that day!
A few weeks ago, rather than hit the freeways during rush hour after work, I decided to wander through Ikea and see if anything caught my eye. 
I’m still kicking myself for not picking up a Symfonisk bookshelf speaker when they offered the cover in the limited-edition brown tones seen at right, so I’m always haunting the electronics section, hoping they’ve brought it back. No luck in that regard, but on this visit I noticed that our local store has amped up the quantity and selection of kitchen appliances they display on the store floor — refrigerators, stoves and ovens, dishwashers … the whole gamut.
In one of the display setups, I clocked a portable induction cooktop. I’ve been curious about induction cooking for a while now — the glass-topped electric stove at my place isn’t very efficient or responsive, and I’d read how induction stoves conduct heat directly to the pan without heating up the surrounding area. Which sounds like a great thing, going into the Arizona summer — no need for your air conditioner to do extra duty to compensate for the heat coming off the stove!
I’ve used the cooktop for several skillet-type meals and I’m impressed with the speed to heat. Even an enameled cast-iron Dutch oven gets hot quickly, a process that used to take my electric stove approximately six to 10 working days to accomplish.
The downside: A few of my pots and skillets aren’t induction-friendly. Nevertheless, when it comes time to replace the stove in my kitchen, I’ll likely opt for induction cooking.
The recipe below divvies up each portion among three small corn tortillas; as you can see from the photo at the top of the post, I packed everything inside a burrito-sized flour tortilla instead. Cooking the pineapple really does intensify its flavor, so don’t skip that step, even if the patting-dry part seems like a pain. Also, it’s worth it to track down Mexican crema if you can — it adds a tangy saltiness that sour cream alone can’t match.
I like that I can refrigerate the components separately and assemble a fresh batch tomorrow in either taco or salad form! Next up: investigating a recipe for quick-pickling the remaining half-head of red cabbage, because I think using picked cabbage could add an extra zing to the crunch the leaves provide to the dish.
(Also, while writing this post, I just found some of those brown fronts for the bookshelf speakers on eBay. They shall be mine!)
SHRIMP TACOS WITH CARAMELIZED PINEAPPLE
Serves 4.
Ingredients:
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 to 2 teaspoons hot sauce
- 3½ tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 3 or 4 limes), divided, plus wedges for serving
- 2½ tablespoons neutral oil (such as canola), divided
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- ¼ pound peeled, deveined large raw shrimp
- ¼ cup Mexican crema or sour cream
- 4 pineapple rings (from an 8-ounce can), patted dry
- 2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
- 12 small (5-6 inches) corn tortillas, warmed
- Fresh cilantro leaves, for topping
Instructions:
- Whisk chili powder, hot sauce, 1½ tablespoons lime juice, 1½ tablespoons oil, and ¼ teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Add shrimp and toss to coat. Let marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk crema, remaining 2 tablespoons lime juice, and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt in a small bowl.
- Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Add pineapple rings; cook until charred on both sides, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a cutting board and chop into ½-inch pieces.
- Wipe skillet clean and return to medium-high heat. Add shrimp and any marinade in bowl; cook until shrimp are opaque and cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Divide cabbage among tortillas. Top with shrimp and pineapple. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with lime-crema mixture for drizzling.
SAMMITT 