These shrimp tamales have a delicious vegetarian tamale exterior wrapped around spicy and flavorful shrimp filling.
I have always loved the idea of tamales. They are a food I have seen on many cooking shows and even some shows not about cooking. And after seeing corn husks on the grocery store shelf, my first reaction was “why not?” And that one reaction spiraled off a whole mess of trouble. Cooking is always a good time, but making shrimp tamales is more difficult than I had initially expected. Trying new techniques always reminds me of how amazing and diverse cooking can be.
One thing I came to realize, and rather quickly at that, was that I did not have a steaming pot. While I have steamed dishes before, it was more a MacGyver situation. And trying to make something to hold a bunch of shrimp tamales? Yea, no. After getting a little more familiar with the recipe, I did go out and buy a steamer pot.
While I did have a general recipe for the tamales, I didn’t really have anything to go off for the filling. So, I just went with my gut and put something together. The more I cook, the more I realize I can rely on my instinct to cook without recipes. Or, more accurately, the recipes are in my head and not on paper.
Check out the Make section of MCG for more fun recipes like desserts and savory dishes.
Ingredients
The core ingredient of shrimp tamales is masa harina. I love playing with masa harina, especially when it comes to making corn tortillas. But I am still inexperienced with it, so I was a bit intimidated. I also used vegetable shortening and broth because I can’t eat the meat alternatives. For the filling I did go for my pescatarian side and use shrimp. But it would have been so easy to make the tamales fully vegetarian. Actually, I think taking the recipe to vegetarian would also take it to vegan.
Process
The Tamale Dough
The first step of the making these shrimp tamales is making the tamale dough. This was a whole new frontier. And I dove right in. One of the reasons that I started with the dough is that it has a resting (chilling) period that is a couple of hours.
I started the dough by combining the masa harina, a bit of salt, and hot water. The result was some dirty looking water. Honestly, it reminded me of some of the yeast bread that I’ve made. This mixture got set aside so the masa harina can hydrate.
In a different bowl, I started by whisking the vegetable shortening. I wanted to get this a bit more light and fluffy before adding other ingredients. Then I added baking powder and the masa harina mix to create a very creamy dough.
The final step was adding in the vegetable broth. I find it really interesting that the tamale dough was very similar to cake or pancake batter. It was somehow both runny and stiff. Absolutely fascinating. Then it was time to put the dough in the fridge and let it chill. And while it was chilling, I moved on to making the filling.
The Filling
I definitely came into this step with some ingredients and a vague idea. Because of the amount of ingredients that I had, I pulled out a large saucepot and some olive oil. Very little filling goes into the shrimp tamales, so I cut up the shrimp into smaller pieces before throwing them into the pot.
They start out so pale! But the color comes quickly. Shrimp is definitely a protein that needs basically constant attention. After the shrimp gained some color, I added the corn and a handful of spices. This was definitely a moment of “open the spice drawer and throw in whatever looks good”. Most of my flavors lean a bit more Indian. I ended up adding cumin, garam masala, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder.
I cooked until everything came together and then, once off of the fire, I added in some cilantro because I just love cilantro. I always get so sad that some people think it tastes like soap since it’s one of my favorite flavors.
Wrap and Steam
With the dough chill and the fillings made, it was time for the most difficult part. During my prep, I soaked the corn husks in water to make them more malleable. Using one corn husk at a time, I added in a dollop of the dough and spread it inside the husk. Then I added a tablespoon of filling.
Wrapping proved to be quite difficult. I basically was trying to do an envelope fold but with the corn husk completely on the outside Step one was to take the left side and fold with the middle third. Then unfold it with the dough staying over the filling. Step two was to fold the right side the third over. Finally, I would fold the left side back over and the base the husk up to make sure nothing escaped out the bottom.
And again. And again. I started out bad at the process. Which is to be expected since it was my first time folding the shrimp tamales. But, as I did more and more, I got more proficient. Or at least I think so.
Then it was time to load the tamales into the steamer with their open face up. And this where I made a slight mistake. There was a lot of leftover room in the pot even with all of those shrimp tamales. I did some research after and found adding balled up aluminum foil to fill the space would help the tamales from sliding. All that was left to steam and serve.
Reflections
These turned out really well. Honestly, much better than they had any right to. The tamale dough turned out to be light and fluffy but also thick. It reminded me somewhat of cornbread although much less sweet. Which is a bonus. And the filling packed a bit of a punch and balanced out the flavors. But it did make me want to try to make tamales again, especially knowing what I know now. I learned a pretty important lesson about the dough (see below).
Lessons
Let it Cool!
While tamale dough looked like cake batter, it does not cook like cake batter and that’s really important to remember. When I took the tamales out of the steamer, I was heartbroken because I thought that they hadn’t cooked. The dough just felt much more doughy than I would have expected. And maybe that’s why calling it dough is misleading. It’s it’s own category of food. While I was panicking, one of the tamales cooled. And that’s when I realized that the cool tamale had hardened and released from the corn husk quite easily. Knowing the unique aspects of a recipe beforehand is really good. Especially if you are the type of person who panics.
recipe
Shrimp Tamales
Equipment
- 1 Steamer Pot
Ingredients
Tamales
- 3 ½ Cup Masa Harina
- 1 Tablespoon Salt
- 2 ¼ Cup Hot Water
- 1 ¼ Cup Vegetable Shortening
- 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
- 1 Cup Vegetable Broth
- 24 Corn Husks or 8 by 8 parchment squares
Fillings
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 lbs Shrimp chopped, peeled and deveined
- 1 Cup Corn
- ½ Cup Cilantro
- 1 Tablespoon Garam Masala
- 1 Tablespoon Onion Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 Tablespoon Paprika
- 1 Teaspoon Cumin
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine masa harina, salt, and hot water. Mix all dry patches. Set aside for 20 to 30 minutes.
- In a stand mixer, beat the shortening and baking powder on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add masa mixture is small additions while the mixer is running to get full combined. Slowly add in vegetable broth and mix until a fluffy batter is reached.
- Cover the mixture and put it in the refrigerator for 1 to 3 hours.
- In a large saucepot, add olive oil and heat until hot. Add shrimp and cook for about 5 to 10 minutes or until they start to gain color. Add the corn and spices and mix well. Cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.
- Take the tamale mixture out of the fridge and beat for about 2 minutes to get extra fluffy.
- Place the corn husk with the pointy end on the side toward you. Place a 1 ½ inch ball of dough in the center and then spread into a rectangle. Leave about 2 inches from the bottom and a half an inch on the top. This will very in amount based on corn husk size.
- Place 1 tablespoon of filling in the middle of the rectangle. Fold the left side corn husks along the long edge (like a taco) so the dough surrounds the filling. Pull the husk away leaving the dough in the center. Fold the right side of the tamale over so all the dough is in the center. Fold over the left side again and fold the bottom up to create a solid base. Repeat for all the corn husks.
- Fill a medium / large pot with 2 inches of water. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer. Place the tamales into a steam basket with the open end up. Fill any extra room with balled up aluminum foil. Steam for 60 to 75 minutes.
- Let cool for 10-15 minutes before unwrapping and serving.
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