Life, death and Prawn tacos

What have prawn tacos with chipotle lime dressing got to do with a kids movie, you may ask? Well not much actually, except that Eats World are partial to both. And, like tacos, animated movie The Book Of Life has a Mexican flavour… with a side of macabre.

You see, The Book of Life is a movie about death… for kids. It’s also Raffles new favourite movie. But not because he’s into the grim or ghoulish, because the film’s “more-is-more” aesthetic runs riot with colour, music, and a carnival like atmosphere. In fact, The Book of Life makes death look like a freaking hoot!

Now, I’m not usually one to plug a movie but The Book of Life but this incredibly unique and colourfully chaotic movie, while not recommended for minimalists, offers an incredible opportunity for kids to learn about Mexican culture… and provides a great excuse to cook up a Mexican feast. Like we need one.

Inspired by the mythology of Mexico’s Dia De Los Meurtos (Day of the Dead) – where people celebrate and remember their dead ancestors with candy skulls, food, candles and music – the movie follows the journey of Manolo, a soulful young matador who is torn between fulfilling the expectations of his legendary family and following his heart.

But before choosing his path, Manolo embarks on an epic adventure that spans three magical, mythical and wondrous worlds  – the Land of the Living, the Land of the Remembered and the Land of the Forgotten.

The movie has an all-important movie love triangle where dorky music dude Manolo and his childhood friend, dashing soldier dude Joaquin (played ably by Channing Tatum’s vocal chords, though sadly not his abs), vie for the affections of ass-kicking dudette Maria. It also has bickering husband-and-wife deity dudes Xibalba and La Muerte, as well as intermediary deity the Candle Maker, played for maximum chuckles by rapper dude Ice Cube. Plus there’s an incredible contemporary pop soundtrack reworked mariachi style – listen out for an awesome rendition of Radiohead’s Creep. Dude!

Despite its themes of mortality, the film is giddy, delirious, joyful fun. Even when, early in the film, the hero dies, hilarity ensues when he is joined by his lively, remembered ancestors in festive, communal and incredibly decorative immortality.

And it provides a big hit of Mexican culture.

So were Raffles and Sugarpuff disturbed at all by the ghostly themes? Hardly, it just made them hungry for tacos.

Prawn Tacos With Chipotle Lime Dressing

September 22, 2015

by Aleney de Winter

Category Central & South American Food Recipes

Ingredients

• 1 large egg
• 1 cup flour
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• Pinch salt
• 1 cup soda water
• Vegetable oil for frying
• 24 peeled green prawns
• 2 tbsp. chipotle salsa
• 3 tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 2 tbsp. sour cream
• 1 cup diced red cabbage
• ½ cup diced onions
• ½ cup chopped cilantro
• 1 avocado
• 8 corn tortillas

Instructions

1. In a bowl stir together flour, cayenne and salt then add egg and soda water and stir until combined.
2. In a separate bowl stir together the chipotle salsa, sour cream and 2 tbsp. lime juice (reserve 1 tbsp. for avocado) and set aside.
3. Mash avocado and season with salt and line juice and set aside.
4. Heat oil in a wok or pan over medium high heat.
5. Dip the prawns into the batter allowing excess to drip off before adding to oil and cooking until golden brown.
6. Warm tortilla in a hot dry frypan then place on plate and layer with red cabbage, onions, coriander leaves and avocado mash.
7. Remove prawns from pan and drain before adding to tortilla and smothering with creamy chipotle dressing.
8. Serve hot with a wedge of lime.

Tags

Channing Tatum,

Day of the Dead,

dia de los muertos,

Mexican cuisine,

Mexican Food,

Prawn Tacos,

Prawn tacs with chipotle lime dressing,

tacos,

The Book of Life

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An award-winning travel writer and photographer, Aleney de Winter was fresh from school when she first set off to explore the far reaches of Australia with a two-man tent and a beaten-up Kingswood for company. Three decades, and two kids later, and she's still on the go, with her itchy-footed offspring in tow.