Shrimp: the kings of Mexican seafood cuisine

In the sea, life is tastier, but it is even tastier if its cuisine surrounds the 11,122 kilometers of Mexican coastline. The abundant regional cuisines have made our seafood recipes countless and a Pandora's box that we are constantly discovering. Among the infinite fruits of the sea, there is no doubt that shrimp is the king. Oh, how we love you, shrimp! We love peeling you and getting our hands dirty with your flavors that spice up our lips and fingers. We love refreshing ourselves with you in a jar of icy michelada. We love seeing you submerged in a hearty broth that blows away the hangover. We love your smoky sweetness when you come to the grill, when you are stuffed or breaded, during Lent or at carnival. Shrimp is the king of national seafood cuisine perhaps because it is present in all latitudes: the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and of course, the Pacific. Globally, our production ranks seventh and emerges from the depths of Sinaloa, Sonora, Nayarit, Campeche, Tamaulipas, and Oaxaca, mainly. Another interesting fact is that Mexican shrimp is not only farmed in the sea but also in rivers and streams, and its flavor is highly valued in the Nahua cuisines of Tamaulipas, Veracruz, and Puebla. According to data from COMEPESCA, shrimp is consumed throughout the country, but especially in CDMX, State of Mexico, Guadalajara, and in the north of the Republic. Mexicans love it because, thanks to the amount of salts and minerals in the waters—specifically from the Pacific Ocean—it has a slightly sweet flavor. And no, not all shrimp are the same nor do they taste the same. There are Pacific brown, Pacific blue, white shrimp, Gulf brown, pink, seven-beard, and rock shrimp. For Ricardo de Gorordo, chef at Los Curricanes in Tampico, the tastiest shrimp comes from the saltwater lagoons. According to him, he has only seen it in northern Veracruz and some parts of Tamaulipas: “it is a delight and is mainly consumed in cocktails and huatape (a typical regional broth).”Forty percent of the country’s shrimp production is destined for domestic consumption, while 60% is exported. The magic of wild Pacific shrimp is, in addition to its flavor, its size: “They reach very large sizes in the export classification. There can be u-6, u-8, and u-10 shrimp,” comments Ricardo. Yes, we love shrimp, and yet we must always pay attention to where we consume it. Ricardo tells us that it is a global practice to freeze shrimp in brine as it is caught. From the sea, it goes to the port, from the port to large seafood distributors like La Viga in Mexico City, and from there it makes another journey to the restaurants. “Typically, it takes a month for shrimp to go from the sea to the table.” Hence the importance of maintaining the cold chain at all times. Producers like Armadora Rodríguez in Tampico or Don Camarón take great care of the cold chains, and the product arrives in very good condition, as confirmed by the chef.Kitchens paying homage Dishes with shrimp spread across the seafood restaurants and beach bars of the Republic. There are adobados, cooked in a sauce made of guajillo, ancho, and pasilla chilies; there are garlic shrimp or al ajillo, which always weigh heavily on the stomach, but for which we are willing to pay the price because they remind us of the beach. Another favorite is shrimp a la diabla made with guajillo, chipotle, and árbol chiles, then cooked in butter. They are generally served unpeeled so that one can take a few bites of the shell while we ease the spiciness with a spoonful of white rice and a side of fresh salad.If they are not stewed, they are inside a cocktail served in a glass or a giant chabela. They are generally submerged in a mixture of vinegar and sauces with that characteristic red of seafood restaurants. They are accompanied by avocado, olive oil, and lively music to lighten the atmosphere. Everything except the chef forgetting to surround our glass with salty crackers. Without them, nothing. From producing regions, there is no other like Mazatlán. From that region, the shrimp aguachiles stand out, as spicy as death itself but addictive like love. There are stuffed shrimp: XXL shrimp are opened from the middle, filled with cheese, and wrapped in bacon. Another coast whose flavors captivate is Veracruz; the green shrimp, which are stewed in garlic paste with salt and jalapeño chili, avocado leaves, and holy herb, or those lucky enough to bathe in a rice a la tumbada. In Oaxaca, shrimp shines on the coast wrapped in tamalitos, while in Isthmus cuisine, they are dried and ground to make deep sauces with a slightly marine taste, like in shrimp mole. There is the dried shrimp salad, a favorite during Lent, or the gueta bi’ngui, which is a close cousin of gorditas and is made dry, with achiote and pumpkin seeds. In Chiapas, they are also consumed dried and are served with white beans.Jalisco, in the center of the country, boasts its tequila shrimp, while Nayarit serves them with nopales, in its ranch-style version, in a tlaxtihuilli—a spicy sauce thickened with corn dough—and, of course, in a ceviche with red onion, carrot, tomato, and parsley. In Guerrero, we go to jump off the cliff at La Quebrada and try some fish fritters that taste better after running across the hot sand to reach the vendor. There is no shortage of a tulip glass holding a cocktail with the proper proportion of orange soda or, the Barra Vieja shrimp cooked in a chipotle and guajillo sauce, which makes you sweat more than the heat of Acapulco.    In Baja, they can sing in chorus alongside a seafood platter, covered in bacon and accompanied by beans like those made in Puerto Nuevo, or sautéed in butter and cooked in a sauce made with tamarind pulp. In Tamaulipas, “The saltwater lagoon shrimp, mainly from Tamiahua, is caught, cooked, and served. It doesn't go through freezing processes. In the Huasteca, we are fortunate to have access to that type of shrimp with incredible flavor,” concludes Ricardo. That is why the population of that region consumes shrimp natural, with head and cooked, but also in cocktails and in stews that each restaurant gives its own stamp. The huatape from Huasteca is a must-try, but also the fritters, prepared with onion and green chili, the flour tortilla empanadas, or pickled shrimp. Culture is edible, and that's why, if you're craving to pay homage to shrimp, I leave you one of the recipes shared by Ricardo, which is a living culinary history: huatape. Eternal love for shrimp!Shrimp Huatape1 kg of shrimp3 liters of water1 chicken with skin8 leaves of large-leaf lettuce5 spring onions, with roots¾ of a bunch of epazote 3 green chiles (or more, depending on how spicy you want it)4 cloves of garlic 2.5 l of shrimp broth (stock made with shells and heads, using the same broth, chicken bone broth is made)Corn dough to taste1 bunch of cilantroIn three liters of water, boil the shrimp. Once cooked, peel them and set the shrimp aside, and the heads and shells aside. In the same broth, add the chicken with skin, as if you were to make a stock. Remove the impurities, and once cooked, take out the chicken. In a blender, puree the spring onion with the garlic, lettuce, chili, and epazote. Strain and set aside. In a medium pot with oil, pour the mixture along with the broth you made. Add corn dough to your liking to thicken and dissolve. Let it cook and season with salt and pepper. Serve with the shrimp and cilantro leaves.