I didn't grow up with fish tacos, but when I tried my first one at a cheap burrito joint in Washington state, I was hooked. The fish taco seems to have come up from the Baja into Southern California and the fish is often served deep fried in a light batter alongside chunks of avocado, shreds of cabbage and a spritz of lime.
While deep-frying is something I can get behind when it's made by someone else, it's not a task I want to undertake at home. So I decided to marinate the fish full of spicy, Mexican flavours and use the marinade to give them a quick fry. Crema is a traditional Mexican condiment that is similar to sour cream or creme fraiche. While it's relatively easy to make yourself, I decided to use some Greek yogurt as a stand-in and it worked beautifully. It was slightly tart but packed a lot of goodness from the garlic, cumin and lime juice. 
I have no idea how authentic these fish tacos are, but they sure are delicious. While these are probably best eaten beach-side, they're just as fantastic served out of my tiny kitchen in the middle of a heat wave. Served alongside a frosty mug of Mexican beer or (in my case), some fridge-brewed iced tea, they make the summer heat a lot more tolerable.
Easy Fish Tacos with Yogurt Crema1/4 c olive oil
1 t cumin
2 t chili powder
1 t garlic powder
1 t oregano
1/8 t cayenne pepper
salt + pepper, large pinch each
1 lb cod, cut into large pieces
Yogurt Crema
5 T greek yogurt
1/2 cumin
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 small lime, juiced
hot sauce
salt
8 fresh corn tortillas
fresh salsa
fresh spinach, cut into ribbons
1. In a large shallow bowl, combine the olive oil and spices. Add the fish and let marinate for 15 minutes, flipping the fish so that it's well coated on all sides.
2. Prepare the crema by mixing together all the ingredients into a small bowl, adding hot sauce and salt to taste. Set aside.
3. Heat a large skillet over med-high heat and add the fish, along with the oil from the bowl and fry until the bottom of the fish is brown. Flip and cook the other side until brown. Turn off heat.
4. Wipe some olive oil into another skillet and turn heat to high. Add the each corn tortilla one at a time, flipping when one side gets warm and browns slightly. Repeat for remaining tortillas.
5. To assemble the tacos, place a large spoonful of the fish into the centre of each tortilla, spoon on the crema, fresh salsa and top with spinach.
16 comments:
Im going to the grocery store...uh...NOW. Looks DELISH!
Cheers
I'm making this for dinner tonight! I always have all those ingredients in my fridge. Thanks!
Looks super yummy! Definitely will try this out soon :)
These look amazing! I love fish tacos, and I like that this recipe seems easy enough to do even on a weeknight. Will be trying it soon! :)
Oh yeah! this is right up my alley. Thanks for posting this! Looks awesome! It's been a year since I first sampled a fish taco. Highly additive! I know what you mean about not undertaking deep frying in your kitchen, the mess, the smell! I too, made a jug of refrigerator iced tea yesterday and drank up the entire jug in a day :)
I love fish tacos in the summertime and this looks so delicious, especially with your marinade!!
we recently tried a cheat for deep fried fish...either fish sticks or other frozen breaded fillets. my husband loves fish tacos but won't eat them with just plain fish, so this has been a great solution. we just put fresh pico on ours (tomatoes + smidge of cilantro and chopped anaheim or jalapeno pepper)
Yum fish tacos! I love fish, and I love tacos, so I can only guess they would be great together! Thanks for the recipe, will be sure to use that one :)
x
tried this yesterday....and it was a success! thanks for the recipe!
Made this last night for my boyfriend and it was a hit! Can't wait to enjoy the leftovers for lunch. Thanks for the great recipe!
this made my mouth water this morning. i'm going to make this tomorrow!
Absolutely delicious! I made these tonight, and posted about it on my blog (http://northoftheforty-ninth.com). Thanks for sharing, I'll definitely be making these again!
I use to live in the Baja (San Jose) and let me tell you these remind me so much of that time! They usually don't deep fry them either in Mexico, I think that is a California adaptation. Can't wait to try your version of the crema
Wow! I have served these 3 times this week! I made them w/ fish, steak & shrimp. Our family LOVES them! Thank you for sharing!
I want to try making this. I have been a fish taco lover for a long time but I've never tried making our own. Thanks for the recipe.
Post a Comment