Garry’s Fabulous Fish Taco.
If you are like me and my wife Judy, when we travel we like to try different foods and well as local variations on a couple of our favorite dishes. The fish taco is one of those watershed creations for us, from Kona to San Diego (the reputed birth place of the fish taco) to New Orleans, we sample the local offerings looking for what could be considered the ultimate fish taco.
Last week in my own kitchen I produced the best fish taco we have ever had. While it is easy to argue that there is not so much to a fish taco, I beg to differ. It needs to be a subtle combination of simple but critical ingredients properly prepared and in the right proportion.
1 pound fresh Mai-Mai.*
1 Tbls gee or clarified butter
Fresh limes for juice.
4 cups shredded green cabbage*
1 Roma tomato: seeded and diced
¼ red bell pepper: diced
½ small red hot pepper (use a green Serrano if nothing else is available) finely diced (optional)
Crumbled feta cheese
Chipotle-lime dressing*
Corn tortillas* (hand made if available)
Salt and pepper
Skin and remove the dark lateral line from the Mai. Cut into cubes ½″ to ¾″. Season the fish with sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Sauté with 1 Tbls gee. Toss or gently stir the fish to cook all sides. When fish is cooked about half way, squeeze the juice of ½ lime over the fish and continue to toss the fish, taking care not to break up the cubes. Continue to cook until fish starts to show light caramelization. When finished cooking, squeeze the juice of the other half of the lime over the fish. Set aside.
Combine the slaw, and dress lightly with the Chipotle-lime dressing and set aside.
Heat the tortillas on a griddle or other flat metal cooking surface.
Assemble the tacos. First the fish, then the cheese and then the slaw.
Makes 4 tacos
Notes:
Mai-Mai: I believe this is the best fish for tacos. If not available use any other firm white fish. Do not use a delicate flaky fish; it will fall apart during cooking
Cabbage: True tacos are made with cabbage not lettuce. In Mexico lettuce wilted in the dry heat without refrigeration, plus the cabbage has a stronger texture and taste.
Chipotle-lime dressing: I use Chipotle-Lime Fusion dressing and marinate as bottled by Gotta Luv It (gottaluvitfoods.com) in Petaluma California.
Tortillas: my preferred tortilla for this taco dish is the 8″ white corn tortillas made by La Tortilla Factory in Santa Rosa California. If using smaller 6″ tortillas, use two tortillas and lap them to make the taco approximately 8″ long.
