Recipe Replay: Jason presents his recipe for Air-Fried Shrimp Tacos

See the list of all Jason Murphy’s recipes at www.mysaline.com/jason-murphy.

For any faithful readers of this column, last week I was responsible for placing an earworm in your head all day in the form of Adam Sandler’s immortal song Lunch Lady Land. Folks, I have bad news. Another earworm will be required this week, courtesy of one Mr. John Francis Bongiovi, or for any philistines out there, Bon Jovi.

Any time you go to buy seafood from your local mega-mart, I want the song “Wild in the Streets” from their breakout 1986 album, “Slippery When Wet” stuck in your head. Don’t pretend like you didn’t have it. Even if you were like me, and hid it behind your Metallica and Slayer albums, you had it. We all did. No point in denying it now, it’s just a part of our dark and sordid shared history.

Why do I want you to be singing that song? Because, unless you think it’s perfectly fine to go fishing for dinner in an open sewer system, you need to be reading the labels on seafood, even if you ignore all other food information. If the label says it’s farmed from overseas sources, start singing that song chorus in your head and be-bop your happy you-know-what on down the aisle until you find a wild caught product of USA origins. Wild caught seafood from New Zealand will also do nicely. Trust me on this, you do not want to buy farm raised seafood of any kind from the Far East or Central Asia. You’d be better off fishing in Homer Simpson’s nuclear reactor pond water.

Once you find some wild caught produce, say some frozen gulf shrimp with the shells still on for maximum freshness, you are in business. You can then stop singing the song, but yeah…good luck with that. Wild caught shrimp are low in calories, yet high in protein and minerals. It’s one of the few sources of Iodine, which many people are severely lacking in their diet. It’s crucial for thyroid and brain health. Judging by the way people drive around here, no one is eating shrimp. It’s also a great Omega-3 source. Just don’t batter and deep fry it, please.

We can, however, fry them up naked using an air fryer. It’s about as easy as it gets to cook seafood. There’s no iodine brain functions needed there, it comes out perfect every time with no hassle or mess. Pair this air fried shrimp with my healthy tortillas and jicama fries; you’ll think you are on a beach vacation eating a decadent restaurant meal. It might be one of my best recipes, even if you have to have an 80’s era hair band song stuck in your head.

Air Fried Shrimp Tacos:

Ingredients

1 lb frozen wild caught shrimp, shells on
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 lime juice
1 small red cabbage, shredded thin
1 bunch cilantro , chopped
6 ounces plain grass fed yogurt
1/4 jar sliced pickled jalapeno, diced
1/4 tsp sea salt
2-3 drops liquid Stevia
Zest of one lime, plus 1/2 lime juice
Crumbled Cotija cheese
Sliced Avocado

Instructions:

Mix the yogurt, cilantro, diced jalapeno,lime zest and juice, and liquid stevia in a bowl and set in the fridge until ready to use.

Using a large chef knife, slice up the cabbage into thin strips:

Mix the 1/2 tsp sea salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper in a bowl:

Place 1 lb of frozen shrimp in a strainer and spray cold water on them for 3-5 minutes to thaw. Using kitchen shears, cut off the tail and cut the shell down the back to remove. Have a large bowl of water in the sink to devein the shrimp. Place the shrimp in the water after removing the shell and that will help cleaning the vein out much easier:

Once all the shrimp are clean, give them a rinse with clean water and dry with paper towels. Then toss with the olive oil in a bowl until well coated, then add the spices and mix to cover. Cover and p