Slightly Spicy Fish Tacos
dive into the irresistible waters of fish tacos.
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Apologies for my absence. I spent June and July having bouts of illness and doing some celebrating with friends and family. But I’m back!
While classic tacos like ground beef and chicken have their charm, it's the fish tacos that truly makes my mouth water. The combination of flaky fish, delectable slaw, and a sprinkle of spices and cilantro brings a fresh and exciting twist to your taco rotation.
When it comes to restaurant orders, fish tacos top my list alongside the mouthwatering carne asada tacos. And you have had to have seen those drool-worthy birria tacos. Haven’t tried them, but I want to so badly. Tacos are so damn good. What isn’t to like? Tacos, in general, are just a burst of flavors and textures—sizzling meat or protein, vibrant herbs, punchy sauces, all hugged by a fluffy flour tortilla or the earthy goodness of corn tortillas.
There’s a large variety of fish tacos you can get. From flaky fish like tilapia, cod, and haddock to the more adventurous choices of red snapper, to other seafood like shrimp and grilled octopus, there's a fish taco to suit every palate.
I will say my favorite is probably the Baja style fish taco with its deep-fried exterior and fluffly fishy inside. They are so satisfying. But I decided to go a different route for my at-home fish taco rendition. As much as I adore fried food, it can be quite the production, and let's face it, the clean-up afterward is not the most exciting task. So, I opted for pan-seared fish tacos instead—a simple and flavorful alternative that won't leave your kitchen looking like a battlefield. I feel like it’s the easiest way to get flavor packed fish without the hassle of deep-frying. If you hadn’t realized from the earlier newsletters, I take the easy route if I can.
I will say that the fish you use is a huge factor in whether or not your fish tacos will be appetizing. Living in a landlocked state, there is no real “fresh fish” we can get. It is always going to be caught from a coastel region and then flown to us. So getting same day freshly caught sea-bounty is not going to happen. Frozen fish isn’t a bad option, but the thawing process, to me, changes the texture. It throws it off a bit, which is when I’d probably deep-fry them. To do nicely pan-seared fish tacos, you have to find that middle ground where it’s not freshly caught, but it hasn’t been frozen for a while, either. You’ll typically find this fish in the display cases of the butcher area of your grocery store.
From there, I think fish is scumptious all on its own and doesn’t need much else to applify it. Because of this, my spice rub is minimal, just a simple blend of cumin, smoked paprika, cayenne, and some salt. It’s enough to add a little kick without overpowering the fish.
Onto the slaw, the crunchy and tangy counterpart to the succulent fish. Slaw is essentially another form of salad. You would treat it as such. And most salads are the best when you don’t mess with them too much. You take care of the greens preperation and then you just mix the slaw in a dressing. A zesty dressing with some freshly sliced heat inducing chili pepper, sweet earthy tones from agave, tangy punch from lime, and a little fat from mayonnaise to balance it all out. Freshly chopped cilantro is added at the end so that it doesn’t wilt too fast and brings that herbaciousness we all know and love (well, unless you’re a cilantro hater).
Lastly, we got the vehicle to transport all of that amazing grub into your face hole—the tortilla. I went with simple store-bought ones to make life a little easier. However, if you wanted to make your own tortillas, flour ones are simple to make and the cookbook Masa written by Jorge Gaviria has some great recipes for corn ones.
I hope you give these fish tacos a try, and even order some them the next time you go to a restaurant that has them on the menu. Do not overlook fish tacos.
Slightly Spicy Fish Tacos
makes 3 tacos
Ingredients
for the slaw
1 ½ cups coleslaw mix
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 small shallot, thinly sliced into rings or half moons
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
zest and juice of one lime
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 large garlic clove, grated
¼ teaspoon celery seeds
1 small to medium red or green chili pepper, remove the seeds if you want and thinly sliced
freshly chopped cilantro
for the fish
¼ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
¼ teaspoon salt
pinch of cayenne pepper
oil
4 ounces white flaky fish (I like two 2 ounces portions)
three flour tortillas
hot sauce, sour cream, etc for topping (optional)
Instructions
To make the slaw
1. Mix the coleslaw mix and salt in a bowl and place it into the fridge for about an hour. After an hour has passed, bring it out of the fridge and with a fine mesh sieve, a cheesecloth, or a salad spinner if you want to dirty it, remove the excess water from the coleslaw.
2. Once you’ve removed the excess water, add the next 8 ingredients (everything but the cilantro) to the coleslaw. Mix it up again and place it back into the fridge until ready to use.
To make the fish
1. Mix the cumin, smoked paprika, salt, and cayenne pepper in a bowl. Set aside. Take your fish and pat it as dry as you can. Next, smear a thin layer of oil onto the fish to coat. Spread the spice mixture evenly onto the oiled fish. Depending on the width and thickness, you may not need all of it. Set aside.
2. Heat a medium non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add about a tablespoon of oil and spread the oil around the skillet with a paper towel. You want a light coating of oil in the skillet, but not pooling. Once heated, add the fish to the skillet. Cook on the first side until there a bit of char on the surface, about 3 to 4 minutes. Gently flip the fish to the other side with a fish spatula, and cook again for another 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Remove fish from the pan and place on a plate. Take the flour tortillas and heat them one at a time in the skillet, a minute or two per each side.
4. Once all of your tortillas have been heated and lightly toasted, take the fish and flake it apart (or divide into three even pieces if that’s your thing). Take the coleslaw mixture out of the fridge and mix in the cilantro. Place a portion of the coleslaw on each of the three tortillas. Top each taco with the flaked fish. Add any additions you may want and enjoy.
Tips/Notes
1. When making the coleslaw, you salt it first for an hour to draw out excess water from the cabbage. Cabbage is at least 90% water, and that’s what causes slaw to become watery and soggy. You’re trying to remove as much water as possible.