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LunaCafe

Asian Tacos with Prawn & Shiitake Filling & Cabbage Slaw

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Tender, chewy flatbread wrapped around crunchy cabbage slaw, succulent prawn and mushroom filling, and spicy peanut sauce. Add a squeeze of lime and it doesn’t get much better than this.

The only words coming from MauiJim’s lips between bites were WOW, WOW, WOW. And then finally, after eating three tacos without coming up for air, he says, “Are there MORE?”

8 Asian Pancakes
½ cup Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce

Cabbage Slaw
1 cup thinly sliced green cabbage
1 cup thinly sliced red cabbage

2-4 tablespoons Ginger Lime Vinaigrette (recipe below)

Prawn & Shiitake Filling
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 quarter-size slices peeled fresh ginger, chopped
4 large cloves garlic, peeled, trimmed, and finely slivered
1 serrano chile, stemmed, ribbed, seeded, and minced (use disposable gloves
4 ounces Shitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
½ pound prawns, peeled, cleaned, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

Garnish
lime wedges

  1. Make Asian Pancakes. Pancakes can be made a day or two ahead. Up to ½ hour before serving, keep warm, sealed in foil in a 200° oven. They can also be reheated quickly in the microwave.
  2. Make Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce. Sauce can be made up to three days ahead. Remove it from the fridge at least ½ hour before serving to take the chill off.
  3. Make Ginger Lime Dressing. Dressing can be made up to a day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.
  4. To make the Prawn & Shiitake Filling, set a medium saute pan over medium-high heat. Add oil.
  5. When oil is hot enough to sizzle when you flick a drop of water on it, add ginger, garlic, and chile. Stir-fry for about 30 seconds, until aroma is released.
  6. Add Shiitake mushrooms, and stir-fry until they begin to soften, about 1 minute.
  7. Add prawns and toss constantly until they just turn pink, about 1 minute.
  8. Add lime juice, toss, and remove from the heat.
  9. To serve, arrange 2 warm pancakes on each plate and top with a portion of the Cabbage Slaw. Spoon a portion of Prawn & Shiitake filling on top of the cabbage, drizzle with Thai Peanut Sauce and serve immediately. Repeat with the remaining pancakes.

Makes 8 tacos; serves 2-3.

Ginger Lime Dressing

This brightly flavored, Asian-inspired dressing is wonderful with cabbage slaw. I also love it with chicken salad.

1 tablespoon (1 ounce), peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon (1 ounce), peeled garlic
1 green onion, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths
¾ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
1½ teaspoon sugar, plus a little more if needed to balance the vinegar
½ teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste

  1. In a mini processor (3 cup capacity), process the ginger, garlic, green onion to a mince.
  2. Add oil, vinegar, sugar, and salt. Process to emulsify.
  3. Taste for flavor balance and adjust sugar and salt as needed.
  4. Remove dressing from the processor, pour into a container, cover, and refrigerate until needed.

Makes 1 cup.

Copy­right 2013 Susan S. Bradley. All rights reserved.

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About Susan S. Bradley

Intrepid cook, food writer, culinary instructor, creator of the LunaCafe blog, author of Pacific Northwest Palate: Four Seasons of Great Cooking, and former director of the Northwest Culinary Academy.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Dee Dee

    Susan, your Asian-inspired menu this month just keeps making me hungry each day! Now I NEED these tacos for lunch–and I don’t have time for all 3 parts in one day. As you pointed out, I may lose what marbles I have left if I try that. Maybe I make the pancakes today and see what happens!! Thanks for the inspiration!

  5. Laura

    When I saw that the “tacos” are really the same as moo shu pancakes, I immediately got on board. I’d love to learn to make those – so versatile. And peanut sauce is a given in these types of recipes. So with a filling of my choice, I’m on the road!! PS – I have the same grad school memories, only mine were with Cuban Chinese chicken and rice, a dish found only in NYC and Cuba as far as I know.
    Laura recently posted…Basic Vegetable BrothMy Profile

    • Susan S. Bradley

      Laura, you’re going to love these. Such a versatile concept and easy to make too. I have never heard of that Cuban Chinese chicken and rice dish. Trying to imagine those two cuisines working together. You know how I love to mix things up. 🙂

  6. Laura

    These sound amazing. And I agree–making tacos at home can be really frazzling with any culture’s cuisine. Your irritated and frazzled comments made me laugh in empathy.Now I am off to find the recipe!

    • Susan S. Bradley

      Laura, it’s only a bit frazzling if you’re trying to create all the elements at one go and there’s a hungry man pacing in the kitchen waiting for his dinner. Much better to make thee sauce and the pancakes earlier in the day. Then it’s easy-peasy. 🙂

  8. Heather

    I wouldn’t want to waste a single drop of sauce, either – these sound so delicious! And I really do love that they are wrapped in a delicate pancake. Beautiful!

  10. ziabaki

    Hey lady! Was thinking about you the other day as I got out your cookbook and was leafing through it. Classic cookbook that I will forever love. These Tacos have my belly reaching for the screen, literally. I am putting them on the “have to do” list. Making clam chowder with razor clams for dinner tonight. (So excited!) Have a great weekend!
    ziabaki recently posted…Just visualize whirled peas, in your salad!My Profile

Trackbacks

  9. […] I use it as a simple deglazing sauce for sautéed chicken or pork, drizzle it over steamed vegetables, toss it with cold noodles, dress shredded cabbage with it, and eat it with a spoon straight from the container. It’s the perfect sauce for Asian Tacos with Prawn & Shiitake Filling & Cabbage Slaw. […]