Hi!
Somehow March was one year long, April went by fast, and now it’s already May! I’m hoping May brings some warmer weather because this gal could use a tan.
I figured with cinco de mayo coming up on Tuesday it would be fun to share a recipe for one of my favorite Mexican dishes, Fish Tacos!
When fish tacos are on a menu, nine times out of ten I will be ordering them.
These tacos are a little snazzy because I made some homemade pickled red onions to go with them. I love the tangy bite that the pickled red onions gives to the taco.
Pickling onions is super simple and takes no time at all. First you slice a red onion into thin slices and place the slices in either a jar like the one above or any type of sealed container. Then in a sauce pan goes apple cider vinegar (white or red wine vinegar would work as well), water, sugar, salt, and peppercorns. Bring the mixture to a boil and then remove from the heat and pour over the onions and seal the jar. And that’s it!
Whenever I make fish tacos I like to get all the toppings ready before cooking the fish. Cooking the fish should be the last step so that the fish stays nice and warm!
My recipe calls for cilantro in the slaw. I personally LOVE cilantro but my mom thinks it tastes like dirty socks so sadly that is why you see my slaw sans cilantro.
Next I toast up all the tortillas, which to me is a crucial step!
I prefer to do this over a gas flame on low, but if you don’t have gas in your home you can use either any type of skillet over high heat with no oil in the pan. Just toast for about 1-2 minutes per side and then wrap them all in foil until it’s ready to serve.
The last step is to coat the filet’s of fish in the seasoning. I like to liberally season the fish for extra flavor. It doesn’t really matter how the fish is cut at this point because the fish is just going to get broken up for the tacos anyways. I just try to cut pieces of similar width so that the fish cooks evenly.
The fish cooks really quickly, about 2 minutes per side. My not so professional method of knowing when the fish is done is to lightly touch the fish. If the fish gives away to the touch and starts to flake apart you know it’s done.
The key’s are to have the pan on medium high heat and to have enough oil in the pan so that the fish doesn’t stick. This is very important!
All together now. I like to squeeze some extra lime over the fish when it’s done as well.
Now all we need are some margaritas!
Fish Tacos with Pickled Onions and Sriracha Lime Crema
Serves 4
For the Pickled Onions:
- 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
- ¾ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 1.5 tbsp sugar
- ½ tbsp salt
- ½ tbsp black peppercorns
For the Sriracha Lime Crema:
- ¾ cup sour cream (or plain greek yogurt)
- Juice of ½ a lime (apx 3 tbsp)
- 3 tbsp sriracha
- 1 tsp salt
For the Fish Tacos:
- 1.5 pounds halibut (or any mild white fish)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 4 tbsp taco seasoning (or a mixture of garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, cumin, coriander, paprika)
- 1 tbsp salt
- 8 corn tortillas (or flour)
- 3 cups shredded cabbage
- 3 scallions, chopped
- 3 tbsp cilantro, chopped
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Optional garnishes: avocado, cilantro, cotija cheese, radishes, limes
Instructions:
- For the onions, heat up the vinegar, water, salt, sugar, and peppercorns in a sauce pot. Bring to a boil, remove from heat, and pour over the onions in some sort of container. Cover with a lid and keep a room temperature for 1 hour. Serve after or refrigerate until needed.
- For the crema, mix all ingredients together, season to taste, set aside.
- Pat the fish dry and liberally season with the taco seasoning and 1 tbsp of salt. You want the fish to be fully coated in the seasoning. Set aside.
- Toast the tortillas on an open gas flame until slightly charred on each side. You can also do this in a dry grill pan or cast iron skillet over high heat. Wrap and foil and keep warm.
- Mix together the cabbage, scallions, cilantro, honey, 1 tbsp of olive oil, and a couple pinches of salt and pepper. Toss together and taste for seasoning. Set aside.
- In a large saute pan over medium heat at 3 tbsp olive oil, you want the pan to be fully coated so the fish doesn’t stick. Place the fish in the skillet and cook for about 2 minutes per side. If the fish is varying degrees of thickness some pieces will cook faster than others. When the filets start to almost fall apart you know they are done.
- Serve the fish alongside the tortillas, slaw, crema, pickled onions, and whatever other garnishes you like. I think it is fun to let people build their own tacos!
Served up with some packaged spanish rice and beans! For the beans made by maju, he just saute’s some onion, garlic, and jalapeno. Then adds in about 2 cups of chicken stock, boils the mixture down for about 15 minutes, then adds in 2 cans of black beans, 2 tbsp ground cumin, and salt. Let the beans cook for about 35 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. That’s it!
Don’t get intimidated by the ingredient list and steps, these are super simple and come together relatively quickly! They are also very customizable. I hope you gives these fish tacos a try! They really are the most delicious supper!
xx Chelcie
