Camarones al Mojo de Ajo

Name: Camarones al Mojo de Ajo
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: Raw prawns; Unsalted butter; Chicken stock; Garlic; Lime juice; Fresh coriander; Salt

Camarones al Mojo de Ajo, plated as one serving.

210 kcal a serving, against 521 for the traditional version. That is 311 kcal off, or 60%, with 31.8g of protein. Serves 4. 20 minutes.

What the traditional version is

A towering pile of fresh prawns fried gently in an enormous quantity of butter and olive oil, packed with thinly sliced garlic and finished with a little lime juice. The fat acts as a rich, luxurious sauce that coats the seafood completely and soaks perfectly into whichever starch you serve alongside it.

What changed, and what each change costs

200g of mixed butter and olive oil swapped for 30g of butter and 150g of chicken stock

Drowning food in melted fat tastes phenomenal, but it heavily inflates the dish. Slashing the butter and dropping the oil removes a massive amount of fat. The stock steps in to give you a puddle of savoury liquid to mop up.

What it costs you. You lose the rich, glossy cling of a true butter sauce. The liquid is much thinner and lacks that luxurious mouthfeel. It's the first compromise you'll notice, because the sauce runs off the prawns instead of sticking to them.

Added an extra 20g of lime juice

Because the sauce has lost the richness of the butter, it needs to rely on aggression. Upping the acid from the lime juice helps the thinner stock mimic the intense flavour impact of the original.

What it costs you. The dish leans much sharper and more acidic. If you prefer a mellow, sweet garlic profile, this version might taste a little harsh. You will definitely feel the citrus hitting the back of your throat.

What goes in it

The ingredients, without the quantities. The weights are what the figures below are computed from, and they are in the book.

Raw prawns
Unsalted butter
Chicken stock
Garlic
Lime juice
Fresh coriander
Salt

How it starts

Peel and butterfly the raw prawns, leaving the tails on if you care about presentation.
Peel the garlic cloves and slice them as thin as you possibly can.
Melt 15g of the butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat.

The rest of the method, and every weight, is in Authentic-ish Mexican.

The numbers

Per serving	Traditional	Lightened
Calories	521	210
Protein	31.1g	31.8g
Fat	43.7g	7.4g
Saturated fat	20.8g	4.1g
Carbohydrate	3.3g	5g
Protein per 100 kcal	6g	15.1g

Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Mexican prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked. How every number is computed sets out the method.

Allergens. crustaceans, milk.

The method is in the book

This is a brilliant, sharp plate of fresh seafood. But let's be totally honest with each other, You end up with a very sensible dinner. The version that's a decadent coastal feast is still out there and still better. The sauce is punchy and fragrant, and the lime cuts through beautifully, but it will never match the sheer joy of dragging a warm tortilla through half a pint of liquid butter. I accept that trade because it means I can eat a giant mountain of prawns without feeling completely sluggish afterwards. It delivers the flavour of garlic and the sea, just without the heavy grease.

The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Mexican, along with 56 more. Buy the paperback