Fish Tacos!
March 4, 2014 4:42 PM Subscribe
I need a good authentic* fish taco recipe.
I've been trying to find a good fish taco recipe, but all the recipes I've been finding have been a little less than authentic or at least not my idea of what I want in my fish tacos.
Of course my version of authentic, is Southern California Mexican restaurant/food truck fish tacos.
I'm looking for a recipe with fried fish, crema sauce and cabbage.
Bonus points for an awesome salsa recipe to go with it. I'm already planning on making my own tortillas, but if anyone has a great recipe to share that would be great too.
I've been trying to find a good fish taco recipe, but all the recipes I've been finding have been a little less than authentic or at least not my idea of what I want in my fish tacos.
Of course my version of authentic, is Southern California Mexican restaurant/food truck fish tacos.
I'm looking for a recipe with fried fish, crema sauce and cabbage.
Bonus points for an awesome salsa recipe to go with it. I'm already planning on making my own tortillas, but if anyone has a great recipe to share that would be great too.
Simple and yummy salsa recipe:
Throw some tomatoes under a broiler. (Romas work well when good tomatoes aren't in season.)
In a separate dish, throw some chiles under a broiler. (Which and how many depends on how hot you like it.)
When both are blackened, put in a blender with the juice of half a lime and one garlic clove. Blend. Salt to taste.
Good on anything.
posted by mudpuppie at 4:52 PM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]
Throw some tomatoes under a broiler. (Romas work well when good tomatoes aren't in season.)
In a separate dish, throw some chiles under a broiler. (Which and how many depends on how hot you like it.)
When both are blackened, put in a blender with the juice of half a lime and one garlic clove. Blend. Salt to taste.
Good on anything.
posted by mudpuppie at 4:52 PM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]
I like my fish taco sauce to be part sour creme, part mayo, and part canned chipotle.
posted by small_ruminant at 5:00 PM on March 4, 2014
posted by small_ruminant at 5:00 PM on March 4, 2014
Here's a recipe that seems about right. I stole it from here, but I am copy and pasting it because it is so riddled with ads that it even made my desktop stall.
INGREDIENTS
1 pound tilapia fillets, cut in half lengthwise
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 limes, juiced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 taco shells
1 cup shredded red cabbage
2 avocados, halved, seeded, peeled and diced
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro leaves
FOR THE CHIPOTLE MAYO:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon chipotle paste
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
2 cloves garlic, pressed
INSTRUCTIONS
To make the chipotle mayo, whisk together mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, chipotle paste, lime juice and garlic; set aside.
Season tilapia with salt and pepper, to taste.
In a shallow bowl, marinate tilapia with lime juice and garlic for at least 1 hour.
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add tilapia and cook, flipping once, until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side.
To serve, spoon tilapia into the center of each taco shell. Top with cabbage, avocados, tomatoes and cilantro, drizzled with chipotle mayo.
(personally, I skip the tomatoes)
posted by small_ruminant at 5:03 PM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]
INGREDIENTS
1 pound tilapia fillets, cut in half lengthwise
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 limes, juiced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 taco shells
1 cup shredded red cabbage
2 avocados, halved, seeded, peeled and diced
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro leaves
FOR THE CHIPOTLE MAYO:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon chipotle paste
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
2 cloves garlic, pressed
INSTRUCTIONS
To make the chipotle mayo, whisk together mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, chipotle paste, lime juice and garlic; set aside.
Season tilapia with salt and pepper, to taste.
In a shallow bowl, marinate tilapia with lime juice and garlic for at least 1 hour.
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add tilapia and cook, flipping once, until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side.
To serve, spoon tilapia into the center of each taco shell. Top with cabbage, avocados, tomatoes and cilantro, drizzled with chipotle mayo.
(personally, I skip the tomatoes)
posted by small_ruminant at 5:03 PM on March 4, 2014 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Southern California Mexican restaurant/food truck fish tacos.
Like Ricky's!
This blogger recreated the recipe after picking his brain, and the full recipe is here.
posted by Room 641-A at 6:01 PM on March 4, 2014
Like Ricky's!
This blogger recreated the recipe after picking his brain, and the full recipe is here.
posted by Room 641-A at 6:01 PM on March 4, 2014
Tilapia Fish Tacos
I make these all the time, from the Pretty Tasty Things blog - they are fast, easy, delicious, and I usually have most of what I need on hand except for the tilapia.
posted by lyssabee at 6:15 AM on March 5, 2014 [1 favorite]
I make these all the time, from the Pretty Tasty Things blog - they are fast, easy, delicious, and I usually have most of what I need on hand except for the tilapia.
posted by lyssabee at 6:15 AM on March 5, 2014 [1 favorite]
Here's Alton Brown's recipe, which is pretty authentic although it uses tilapia, which technically isn't. Also included is a pretty good recipe for crema.
posted by General Malaise at 6:37 AM on March 5, 2014
posted by General Malaise at 6:37 AM on March 5, 2014
Best answer: Ooh! I was born and raised in Tijuana and people generally seem to love my fish tacos. :)
For the batter:
1 cup Pacifica or Indio beer (Guinness works surprisingly well too)
1 cup flour
~tsp of baking powder
1 tsp of Knorr chicken bouillon. Has to be powdered because the cubed version doesn't disintegrate in the batter
1 tbsp of mustard (like, hot dog mustard).
2 garlic cloves, cut up to TINY pieces. Put them in a flat, smooth surface like a plate, and squish the pieces with a spoon. Wash them off the plate and into your batter container with the beer.
Black pepper, freshly ground, to taste (in between ~1/3 and 1/2 tsp by my estimates)
Fish:
White fish. Can be tilapia if you're making them as a quick dinner, go fancier with halibut. If you buy the frozen tilapias, defrost and cut in half lengthwise so you have taco-sized filets.
SAUCES!!!!
White sauce:
Half mayo, half Mexican cream or sour cream. The first if you can find it!
Squish a half lime (the 2 cm wide ones) into it, mix. Taste it and if needed add salt.
Avocado sauce:
1 avocado
The other half of the lime
About a tablespoon of cream (Mexican or sour)
Cilantro if you want some
Mix together until completely soft.
Other stuff:
Finely shredded CABBAGE. Not lettuce. CABBAGE. The green kind.
Lots of canola oil for frying.
Tortillas (corn)
Mix the batter first. Dry stuff first, then wet. Whisk until it looks like thick pancake batter. Heat oil to 350 degrees or so. 3-4 cm deep.
Cut the fish into strips of about 2 cm x ~7ish cm. LIGHTLY sprinkle them with flour, then submerge in the batter so they're completely covered with THICK batter. Carefully put them in the oil. Fry until they look golden. Take them out, pat them with paper towels and set them in a nest of more paper towels.
Heat tortillas (NOT IN MICROWAVEEEE! there's some tutorials on how to heat them in YT), add your fish, the shredded cabbage, one (or both) of the sauces and hot sauce (in Tijuana we eat it with Valentina sauce, but you can make a simple pico de gallo sauce). Enjoy!
posted by cobain_angel at 9:52 AM on March 5, 2014 [2 favorites]
For the batter:
1 cup Pacifica or Indio beer (Guinness works surprisingly well too)
1 cup flour
~tsp of baking powder
1 tsp of Knorr chicken bouillon. Has to be powdered because the cubed version doesn't disintegrate in the batter
1 tbsp of mustard (like, hot dog mustard).
2 garlic cloves, cut up to TINY pieces. Put them in a flat, smooth surface like a plate, and squish the pieces with a spoon. Wash them off the plate and into your batter container with the beer.
Black pepper, freshly ground, to taste (in between ~1/3 and 1/2 tsp by my estimates)
Fish:
White fish. Can be tilapia if you're making them as a quick dinner, go fancier with halibut. If you buy the frozen tilapias, defrost and cut in half lengthwise so you have taco-sized filets.
SAUCES!!!!
White sauce:
Half mayo, half Mexican cream or sour cream. The first if you can find it!
Squish a half lime (the 2 cm wide ones) into it, mix. Taste it and if needed add salt.
Avocado sauce:
1 avocado
The other half of the lime
About a tablespoon of cream (Mexican or sour)
Cilantro if you want some
Mix together until completely soft.
Other stuff:
Finely shredded CABBAGE. Not lettuce. CABBAGE. The green kind.
Lots of canola oil for frying.
Tortillas (corn)
Mix the batter first. Dry stuff first, then wet. Whisk until it looks like thick pancake batter. Heat oil to 350 degrees or so. 3-4 cm deep.
Cut the fish into strips of about 2 cm x ~7ish cm. LIGHTLY sprinkle them with flour, then submerge in the batter so they're completely covered with THICK batter. Carefully put them in the oil. Fry until they look golden. Take them out, pat them with paper towels and set them in a nest of more paper towels.
Heat tortillas (NOT IN MICROWAVEEEE! there's some tutorials on how to heat them in YT), add your fish, the shredded cabbage, one (or both) of the sauces and hot sauce (in Tijuana we eat it with Valentina sauce, but you can make a simple pico de gallo sauce). Enjoy!
posted by cobain_angel at 9:52 AM on March 5, 2014 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by LionIndex at 4:50 PM on March 4, 2014