I'm home! Not just home, but officially a college grad. I've spent the last seven days unpacking, and while I'm not yet finished with that project, I just had to find the time to get in the kitchen. I love coming home to cook for many reasons: higher quality utensils, bigger kitchen, my mom's credit card, and, of course, some time to experiment! I've been eating shrimp tacos for 3 of the past 5 nights, and for some reason that craving has not yet died down, so I decided to hit the kitchen and tackle it myself. One of my favorite places to eat is a Mexican "Street Food" restaurant and bar where I also coincidentally work. My favorite dish? Not the shrimp tacos, but close--the fish tacos. My restaurant uses tilapia, which is an extremely mild, flaky, and fresh-tasting white fish. So as to not go overboard with the whole shrimp thing, I bought tilapia and attempted the fish taco. I surprised myself yet again--it worked! These things were delish:
1 filet of tilapia (or your choice of another fish)
Soft tortillas (I used whole grain. You can also substitute tortillas for bibb lettuce.)
1/4 c Grape Nuts (I used Publix generic brand)
Salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper
1 c shredded cabbage or cole slaw bag kit
1/4 t (a pinch) wasabi powder
1/4 t (a pinch) sugar (I used Truvia)
***this is a lot of ingredients! I was just messing around when I made the slaw (everything listed after shredded cabbage). You can toss the cabbage in any store-bought dressing--it doesn't even have to be Asian-inspired like mine! The dressing recipe for my
Asian Sesame Chicken Salad would work great, too!
Cut the fish into "chicken tender"-sized pieces; season them with salt, pepper, cayenne, and any other seasoning that suits your fancy. I used very little seasoning. In a small bowl, use a fork to beat your egg into a consistent yellow liquid. On a plate, blend the Panko and cereal and make a flattened but loose pile of the mixture. You can also season this mixture. On medium-high heat, melt 1 T of the coconut oil in a medium-sized, nonstick pan. A layer of liquid oil should thinly coat the bottom of the pan; add more coconut oil as needed. Prepare your assembly line hands! Coat each piece of fish in egg, then breading, then place on the pan of hot oil. Cook 2-3 minutes per side, and remove. I do not think the fish needs to be hot for a fish taco--in fact I prefer that it not be--which is why I cook the fish first. If you would rather it be fresh off the stove, prepare the fish last.
In a medium bowl, combine cabbage/slaw, sriracha, mustard, mayo, wasabi, sweetener, soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil. toss until cabbage/slaw is evenly coated. There may be extra liquid at the bottom. This makes a great decorative and tasty drizzle.
I removed the excess oil from my pan and used the warm pan to heat my tortillas one at a time. I also cut my warmed tortillas in half, as whole grain tortillas tend to be larger than the small flour or corn tortillas you can buy. Spoon a layer of slaw onto the center of the tortilla. On top of the slaw, place your fish, and then top with salsa. Fold the tortilla, and you have your fish taco! Because of the weird shape of a half-tortilla, mine are kind of folded like burritos. Don't forget your drizzle!
This is a fun way to achieve restaurant-style fish tacos right in your own kitchen. Because of the breading, frying oil, and shell choices, this is also a lighter variety of the typical fried-fish taco.
I'm so glad to be home!
Until your time again finds mine,
Julia
