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Mexican Shrimp

Shrimp seasoned with lime, garlic, cumin, and chili, sautéed with onions and bell peppers, served in tortillas with cilantro, sour cream, and salsa.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Lime and cumin match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,216 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Mexican Shrimp

Oven350°F
Timeabout 3 to 5 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the filling

  1. Heat oven to 350°F.

  2. Combine shrimp, 1 tablespoon each of oil and lime juice, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, cumin, and chili powder in a large bowl. Stir to coat shrimp.

  3. Heat remaining oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium‑high heat and cook onions until translucent, about 5 minutes.

  4. Add peppers, remaining salt and pepper, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes more. Stir in 2 tablespoons cilantro.

  5. Transfer to an ovenproof bowl and keep warm in the oven.

Cook and serve

  1. Heat skillet over medium heat and add shrimp. Saute until just cooked through, about 3 to 5 minutes.

  2. Stir in remaining lime juice and cilantro. To serve, wrap each tortilla around vegetables and shrimp.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1055Calories
62 gProtein
21 gFat
156 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 16 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Tortilla1 medium flour (45g)140
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Yogurt170g plain Greek100
Shrimp100g cooked99
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Limejuice of 1 lime (44ml)11
Cumin1 tsp ground (2.1g)8
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Cilantro1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Lime + cumintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,216 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  2. Garlic + oniontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  3. Garlic + cumintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,082 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  4. Lime + peppertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,491 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  5. Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,665 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Shrimp
Provides the main protein, which turns opaque and firm when cooked through.
Onions
Soften and sweeten as they cook, adding savory depth to the filling.
Bell peppers
Add sweetness and crisp-tender texture to the filling.
Olive oil
Carries the spices and helps the vegetables and shrimp brown lightly in the pan.
Lime juice
Adds acidity that brightens the shrimp and balances the spices.

The step that matters

Cook the shrimp until just cooked through. Shrimp turn rubbery when overcooked, and they keep cooking briefly after leaving the heat, so pull them as soon as they turn opaque and firm.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (shrimp, olive, lime, garlic, pepper, cumin, onion):

  1. Corianderfits better
  2. Oreganofits better
  3. Turmericfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against shrimp, olive, lime, garlic, pepper, cumin, onion. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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