How to make Mazatlan’s shrimp dip or Paté de camarón

(Published in the Pacific Pearl magazine May 2025)
by Flavor Teller Maaike Hoekstra

Have you ever been invited to a local party? Or are you already getting ready for this year’s Cinco de Mayo fiesta? What is the right thing to bring? A family-sized Pacifico beer is always a good bet and you can’t go wrong with guacamole. But what if I told you that there is an easy-to-prepare appetizer that everybody loves and will make you the star of the party.
We all know that Mazatlecos love shrimp and fish prepared in any way possible. The easiest way to serve shrimp as an appetizer is cooked shrimp that you can peel yourself. But shrimp dip is a popular second option. You might have tried its culinary cousin Marlin dip or Paté de marlin. Getting your hands on smoked marlin outside of Mazatlan is often difficult. Luckily you can find shrimp (raw or frozen) in most supermarkets around Mexico, the USA or Canada. So let’s get started and cook like a local.

Ingredients:
500 gr (1 lb) shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cloves of garlic or 1 tsp garlic powder
1 celery stick
1 jalapeño or serrano chili (to taste)
¼ onion
1 cup sour cream or 1 bar cream cheese
2 tsp mayonnaise
2 chipotle peppers (to taste)
Pepper and salt to taste

Preparation:
First cook the shrimp in salted water for about 10 minutes. Leave to cool down.
Dice the celery, fresh chili and onion in small cubes. Divide the cooked shrimp in two portions. Cut half of the cooked shrimp in small cubes and leave the other half separate. Place the chopped vegetables and chopped shrimp in a bowl.
Add the sour cream or cream cheese, mayonnaise, garlic, chipotle, the uncut shrimp, salt and pepper to the blender. Whizz until you get a smooth consistency.
Add the cream-shrimp mixture to the bowl with vegetable and chopped shrimp. Mix well, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave to cool down in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Serve with tostadas or salty crackers.

How to book a Flavor Teller food tour?
If you’re ready to learn more about Mazatlan’s culinary scene, make sure to check out www.flavorteller.com and save your seats for one of the Flavor Teller food tours.