The San Diego area isn’t really famous for any specific “cuisine” like St. Louis ribs or New England clam chowder or Wisconsin bratwurst. If this area is known for anything it’s for embracing a dish out of Baja, Mexico—the fish taco.
Here the Baja-style taco has been turned into an “art form”, especially thanks to a small fast food chain called Rubios. You can get fish tacos at any number of “mom and pop” Mexican eateries too. Mexican food guru Rick Bayless even dedicated his show on PBS a couple of weeks ago to the quest for the most authentic fish taco recipe in Ensenada, Mexico.
So, recently Mrs. CB and I got a hankering for fish tacos. Do you ever get a flavor going in your mouth for a certain dish that’s just not going to go away until you eat it? I do all the time. And that’s what happened this last week with us and fish tacos.
Plus, Stater Brothers had swai on special this week for $3.99 a pound. That’s about the only half-way affordable fish anymore. Swai fish is a white flesh filet that’s light and fresh tasting and which is incredibly flexible. It can be pan sautéed or breaded and fried like catfish or even baked. I would also imagine that you can grill it too because it holds together pretty well. One of these days, I going to make a “Vera Cruz” dish out of swai.
Anyway, fish tacos are pretty simple to make. And they’re really, really tasty. You can “snarf down” 3 or 4 of them filled with shredded cabbage and tomatoes and onion—or fresh salsa. Here’s how I did them:
(Print version at end of post)
Recipe: Baja Fish Tacos
Summary: Sauteed fresh fish, tomato, onion, cabbage and tortillas–it doesn’t get any better than Baja Fish Tacos!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb fish filets—swai, catfish, halibut, tilapia, snapper (about 6 oz. per person)
- 12-16 corn tortillas (white or yellow)
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- 1 cup finely chopped tomato
- 2 cups finely shredded green cabbage
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 limes cut into 8 wedges each
- Chipotle or cayenne powder
- ½ cup flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 tbsp corn meal (optional)
- Cooking oil
Instructions
- Take out a medium skillet, your cutting board, chef’s knife and 3 or 4 small bowls.
- Do all your prep work first. Cut each fish filet in half.
- Chop the onion and tomato.
- Shred the cabbage by cutting a hunk of one side and then cutting it into thin strips—a little over 1/8 of an inch thick. Then cut the strips into about 1 ½ inch lengths.
- Cut the lime wedges.
- Put the mayo into a small bowl and add some chipotle or cayenne (or both). Taste it. If it needs more, add it. This is the “heat” for the tacos—so do it to your taste.
- Put the flour, cornstarch and corn meal into a flat dish or pan so you can dredge the filets through it. Mix the 2 together.
- Dredge the filets through the mix to coat both sides then shak off the excess.
- Turn you burner onto medium-high—about 4 o’clock on your electric stove’s dial (if this gets too hot, you can turn it down—when frying, it’s easier to reduce heat than to increase it).
- Add about ¼ cup cooking oil.
- When the oil’s hot enough slide 2 of the filets into the pan and cook them about 4 minutes per side until they’re done and golden. Remove from pan and put on a plate with a paper towel on it to absorb any oil.
- Pop the tortillas into the microwave—about 4 at a time–for about 45 seconds so that they’re warm and pliable.
- Build your tacos. Put down a piece of fish and smear some of the spicy mayo either on top of it or on the tortilla. Then add onion and tomato and top it off with some cabbage. Squirt some lime juice on top, roll it up and enjoy.
- Option—you can make a “salsa fresca” or “pico de gallo” instead of the chopped tomato and onion.
Preparation time: 10 minute(s)
Cooking time: 10 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 4
Culinary tradition: Mexican
My rating 5 stars: ★★★★★ 1 review(s)
(Print version at end of post)
Like I said before—these are tasty. You can eat 3 or 4 easy. And because they’re pan sautéed, they’re pretty healthy—especially with the fresh tomato and onion. Now, I used some left-over tortillas I had in the freezer. The fresher you can get them, the better. When I bought this package of tortillas made by a local “tortilleria” they were so fresh that the bag was still warm and had a bit of condensation inside. That’s the best way to get them.
The Cheap Bastid Test: For the 2 of use we used about 2 filets at about 14 ounces which cost about $3.50. The cabbage, onion and tomatoes cost about $1.00; the mayo was maybe $.15 and we use about $.50 worth of tortillas. So for about $2.60 (that’s less than $.75 per taco) each we had a terrific meal of fresh Baja Fish Tacos. Give them a try. You’ll love it.
- 1 ½ lb fish filets—swai, catfish, halibut, tilapia, snapper (about 6 oz. per person)
- 12-16 corn tortillas (white or yellow)
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- 1 cup finely chopped tomato
- 2 cups finely shredded green cabbage
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 limes cut into 8 wedges each
- Chipotle or cayenne powder
- ½ cup flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 tbsp corn meal (optional)
- Cooking oil
- Take out a medium skillet, your cutting board, chef’s knife and 3 or 4 small bowls.
- Do all your prep work first. Cut each fish filet in half.
- Chop the onion and tomato.
- Shred the cabbage by cutting a hunk of one side and then cutting it into thin strips—a little over 1/8 of an inch thick. Then cut the strips into about 1 ½ inch lengths.
- Cut the lime wedges.
- Put the mayo into a small bowl and add some chipotle or cayenne (or both). Taste it. If it needs more, add it. This is the “heat” for the tacos—so do it to your taste.
- Put the flour, cornstarch and corn meal into a flat dish or pan so you can dredge the filets through it. Mix them together.
- Dredge each filet through the mix, coating both sides and then shake off the excess.
- Turn you burner onto medium-high—about 4 o’clock on your electric stove’s dial (if this gets too hot, you can turn it down—when frying, it’s easier to reduce heat than to increase it).
- Add about ¼ cup cooking oil.
- When the oil’s hot enough slide 2 of the filets into the pan and cook them about 4 minutes per side until they’re done and golden. Remove from pan and put on a plate with a paper towel on it to absorb any oil.
- Pop the tortillas into the microwave—about 4 at a time–for about 45 seconds so that they’re warm and pliable.
- Build your tacos. Put down a piece of fish and smear some of the spicy mayo either on top of it or on the tortilla. Then add onion and tomato and top it off with some cabbage. Squirt some lime juice on top, roll it up and enjoy.
- Option—you can make a “salsa fresca” or “pico de gallo” instead of the chopped tomato and onion.
That’s the Cheap Bastid Way: Eat Good. Eat Cheap. Be Grateful!
Looks like a winner!!!!!