Want To Spice Up Your Fried Fish Tacos?
Sure, we all do, don’t we?
As my “52 In 22” cooking challenge heads into the refreshingly healthy summer season, it’s time to think about fresh, fun dishes to serve outdoors, and so when I dug into my stack of cookbooks, one popped right up:
Week #18 of my “52 In 22” cooking challenge is focused on all of the terrific “sustainable seafood” we have access to, and the cookbook “Fish Forever” gives insight, information and deliciously entertaining recipes – like this:
“Tilapia Tacos With Shredded Cabbage And Red Chile Salsa!”
It All Begins With The Salsa…
One reason I loved this recipe was it had a fresh salsa that promised to make the fish tacos “pop”! I don’t make salsa nearly enough, so this “Red Chile” version sounded like a great place to break in!
First up, the recipe called for roasted California Chiles – but I don’t do that heat, so for you spice lovers, add 3 diced Chiles here to a frying pan – you can roast them first in the oven as well – but I started by putting 6 chopped garlic cloves in a pan with olive oil and one chopped onion until brown and soft, about five minutes.
I then added one diced tomato and some orange rind and blended it all together for a few more minutes…
Now that the Salsa was resting, it was time to make some cabbage slaw:
This is very straightforward: shred two cups of cabbage into a bowl, and add a quarter cup of cilantro and the juice of 2 limes…
All you have to do is set this aside at this point once mixed…you can add salt and pepper, but I’m holding off until I get a sense of how all of these flavors play together at the end…
Time To Fry Some Fish!
The recipe called for Catfish, but I found Tilapia instead – to me the best fish taco is one with juicy chunks of fish, the meatier the fish the better…
You mix 1/2 cup of white flour with 1/2 cup cornmeal, a nice mix that gives a bit of extra “hold” to the fish, without using an egg wash…and this doesn’t have to be unhealthy…I fry my fish in olive oil!
https://youtube.com/shorts/slF-004RgHQ?feature=share
3-4 minutes per side is all it takes, and now comes the fun part: building the perfect fried fish taco!
I put a soft corn tortilla shell in a ramekin so it would hold its shape as I put a piece of fish in, then added the slaw mixture:
Because I didn’t add chiles, I put some olive zest and salt into a bowl of Sour Cream – just add your nicely flavored sour cream and the special zesty salsa you made, and here’s what you have:
This is an easy delicious recipe, enhanced greatly by the cabbage slaw and zesty salsa!
There you have it: a delicious, easy recipe for summer!
A fish taco is a classic dish to me: while easy to make, tough to beat the flavor…you know what another easy classic is?
A Meatball! So I made some from the iconic Rao’s restaurant in Harlem!
Click here to see the incredible trick I learned to make the most moist meatball ever!
Of course, I have tried recipes that are more difficult as well, like this Mollet Egg:
While it turned out well, it was a “disaster in the making” for much of the process!
See how I survived, plus get the delicious recipe, by clicking here:
Of course, some of the dishes are meant to be easy to make and share, like this terrific vegan dish:
I cooked “modern tiffin” and you can do! See this delicious recipe to take on picnics by clicking on my story here:
And here’s another dish you can make for a picnic as well:
The iconic Zuni Cafe Roast Chicken and Bread Salad can go anywhere!
Click here to see the recipe:
If you go to my main page, you can sign up and every week another recipe will show up on your doorstep!
Also, my “Bite! Eat! Repeat!” food blog has all of them as well, plus so much more!
Click here to see all of the fun food from around the world I share!
Let me know what you think of my “52 In 22” challenge and my take on a fish taco!
If you like the story, share it with friends on social media! Thanks!
Categories: cookbooks, Food, food blog, Food Review, Recipes, Restaurants, Wacky Food
I’m stealing this recipe. My wife loves fish tacos! 🙂
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It’s easy and delicious to be sure!
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I have never had a fish taco, John. But your one looks very fresh and tasty.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Pete, it’s a fish sandwich with a tortilla instead of a bun! Hope all is well with you!
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Love fish tacos! I’ll try this recipe for sure!
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Thank you for the comment!
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Tilapia instead of catfish is perfect for tacos. Skipping the chilies is a good move. What a great recipe. It’s the slaw that makes it, just like slaw does for every fish sandwich.
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Thank you for reading the story and commenting…the crisp tangy freshness of the slaw is indeed the best!
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😀
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I love, love fish tacos and this look easy and delicious ! when I visited san diego a few years back, one of the first things I wanted to do was find a fish taco shack on the beach and I did and the tacos were great!
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I love that! Fish tacos, when done right, are the best – just like a fish sandwich!
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Very nice, John.
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Looks delicious and easy! I love fish tacos!
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Looks great John, I really enjoy fish tacos 🙂
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My mouth is watering! This looks sooooo good. I love fish tacos.
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Thanks! An easier week but still delicious – I’m trying to spread out the more challenging recipes, like the one I making today to share next week – wish me luck!
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God luck! Can’t wait to read all about it.
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I guess that should be GOOD luck although sometimes divine intervention is required when trying a complicated recipe. LOL
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HA! I knew what you meant but you are right of course!
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