One of my favorite things about San Diego/El Cajon was fish tacos. We used to eat them every Tuesday ("Taco Tuesday"). Proudly, some of the best fish tacos are made in California. The breaded/fried fish tacos are amazing, but I make a little healthier version at the house.
Here's a recipe I use for fish tacos that you might enjoy!
Ingredients:
3-5 Tilapia Fillets (Mahi Mahi is the best, but if you don't have access Tilapia works too)
1-2 tsp of cumin
Black Pepper to taste
Lime juice
Olive Oil
8 corn tortillas
Cilantro (chopped)
1 diced Jalapeno (optional)
Pico de gallo (optional)
Avocado (optional)
Sour Cream (optional)
Southwest seasoning packet (optional)
1 cup of unmixed coleslaw (optional)
Salsa (optional)
Mexican Five Cheese (optional)
*San Diego Style Fish Taco Sauce Optional
To cook the fish: Heat about 1 tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan. Once heated, add fish. Season with cumin, black pepper, couple squirts of lime juice, and cook for about 7 minutes. Don't over cook the fish or it will be dry and not as flavorful.
I like to use an avocado/sour cream sauce for my fish tacos. Simply blend 1 avocado to 1 cup sour cream and use as taco topping. Add a squirt of lime juice (this will give it flavor, but also keep it from turning brown if you want to eat some the next day as left over).
I don't make my own tortillas (yet, but I do have a great recipe for that), but I do fry my own shells.
In a separate frying pan, cover the bottom of the pan with Olive Oil. Keep on medium heat. Use a pair of cooking tongs to submerge half of the tortilla in the oil, while keeping the other half out of the oil. Once the submerged side of the taco shell gets crispy to your liking, use the tongs to remove the first side of the tortilla out of the oil and then submerge the other half that remained out of the oil during your first step. This is how you can get that crunchy taco taste, but much more fresh than you may find in the Old El Paso taco kit. If you are short on time, you can also just heat the corn tortillas in the pan. If you prefer flour tortillas, you can substitute and make "soft tacos" by simply heating up the flour tortilla in a frying pan on both sides for a minute or so.
We like to top our fish tacos with an unmixed coleslaw pack, but you can use fresh cabbage if you want. If you don't really like cabbage that much, you can always use shredded iceberg lettuce instead. Top with chopped Cilantro, jalapeno, salsa (homemade or store bought) or Pico de Gallo, cheese, and avocado sauce (or substitute the avocado sauce for the San Diego Style Fish Taco Sauce.
San Diego Style Fish Taco Sauce (super good!)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
1/2 cup reduced fat mayo
1 lime cut in 1/2
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp dried dill weed
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp ground chipotle chili powder
1/2 tsp capers
1 tbsp cilantro
1 hot pepper (optional)
Chop all ingredients and mix to the consistency of creamy salad dressing. Great topping for fish tacos, battered or grilled.
The great thing about "Fish Taco" night is that you can put all of the items out for friends and family to build their own tacos. You can really make it as easy or elaborate as you'd like. For those who may not be fish taco fans, you can substitute/incorporate chicken or ground beef. I usually make a side of refried beans to go with the tacos. All in all, it's a very inexpensive, but yummy dinner!
Of course, I don't think anything can replace the deliciousness of a San Diego Fish Taco... but, I can always try :)
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