Any white fish can theoretically work (i.e. cod, flounder, scrod, sole). When I was at the fish counter, I was looking for wild scrod but I didn't think the filets that they had available would work well (they were square in shape and very thick). That's why I chose tilapia, because of their long slender shape, as my plan was to make "fish sticks."
Fish Tacos
-2 tilapia fillets
-cornstarch
-1 egg, beaten with a tsp. of water
-cornmeal
-Garlic salt
-Canola oil
-Soft flour tortillas
-Thinly sliced romaine lettuce
-Prepared tartar sauce (preferred brand: Trader Joe's)
-Mango Black Bean Salsa (recipe to follow)
-Cut the tilapia into strips (make sure all the pieces are more or less the same size in thickness, to ensure even cooking)
-Make a "dredging station"=
1: cornstarch
2: egg + tsp. water
3: cornmeal, seasoned with garlic salt
-Heat a thin layer of canola oil in a large dark saute pan over medium heat (you don't want to use olive oil for frying as it burns much quicker - recommended frying oils: peanut, safflower, sunflower, canola, vegetable). I prefer to heat the oil before dredging so that by the time I am ready to pan fry the strips, the oil is hot enough. If you're not sure if the oil is hot enough, take a piece of the dredged fish and lightly touch it to the oil, if you hear a light sizzle, then you know it's ready. If not, take it away & wait. You can dredge first and then heat the oil, just make sure you don't overheat the pan- it will BURN your fish.
-Dredge the tilapia strips in the cornstarch (rub off the excess), then the egg, & finally the seasoned cornmeal
-Add immediately to the oil (if you'd rather bake the fish, bake at a high temperature [450] on a rack layered atop a sheet pan for ~10 minutes)
-Fry 3-4 minutes per side until crispy
-Lay in a single layer on a paper towel lined plate
I decided to warm/brown the tortillas over an open (medium-low) flame. I saw Marcella Valladolid do it and she's the queen of tacos so I thought it was cool & I had to try it- just be careful & use tongs.
(how much do they look like Matzah!? They are regular flour tortillas I promise!)
Mango Black Bean Salsa
-Half a mango, cut into small cubes
-1 peeled kirby cucumber, cut into small cubes
-1/2 cup diced daikon or jicama (delicious & crunchy, radish-like)
-1/2 can black beans, rinsed
-1 avocado, diced
-1.5 tbsp. finely chopped purple onion
-Chopped parsley
-Lime juice, salt, and pepper to taste
-Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, and season to taste.
(Feel free to add jalapenos, chiles, cayenne, or whatever spicy ingredient you enjoy. I can't seem to get my palette around spice, or heat, oh well... however, my version was delicious just the same!)
-To assemble the tacos, spread prepared tartar sauce onto the tortilla (as odd as this sounds, I can't live without Trader Joe's [rather itty bitty] jar of tartar sauce. I should really give them Costco's #- it's that good)
-Place the lettuce in the middle of the tortilla, top with however many pieces of fish you'd like, and then top with the salsa - fold and eat - - - YUMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Happy belated Cinco De Mayo!!!!!!! ;-)
E
P.S. if you're short on time, or don't have fresh fish readily available, this is a great way to elevate plain frozen boxed fish sticks (Dr. Praegers- yum!)
