Fish Tacos
We fell in love with Rubio’s fish tacos way back when we first came to San Diego. Mr. Rubio had a small taco shop in Pacific Beach, which has now grown into a publicly-owned chain of restaurants.
The original recipe is said to have come from San Felipe, a small fishing village on the East coast of Baja California. Nowadays, lots of places serve fish tacos, in a variety of ways.
This recipe is from one that Rubio’s published in the newspaper a long time ago. The only thing I have changed (sorry, Mr. Rubio) is the white sauce.
Rubio’s original white sauce, and it’s very good, is a half and half mixture of mayonnaise and plain yogurt. My family and I think my sauce is a little more exciting. I suggest you try both. We also like to use our Aioli Cayenne Sauce for fish tacos. Or make up your own.
In the photo, I’ve served the fish taco with guacamole and salsa, with a piece of lime as garnish. The fish is catfish, which was great!
INGREDIENTS
1 cup mayonnaise
3 chipotle chiles, chopped
1 cup flour
1 cup beer
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon seasoning (garlic powder, cayenne pepper, one of Emeril’s seasonings, or your favorite)
12 filets of cod, tilapia, red snapper, halibut, catfish, or other firm white fish
Oil
12-24 corn tortillas
1 head green cabbage, shredded
Fresh cilantro, chopped
4 limes, cut into wedges
INSTRUCTIONS
As you can see in the photo, each taco doesn’t hold a very big piece of fish, so take that into account when you buy the fish. This recipe calls for deep frying the fish, but you can also fry it in a skillet, or you can grill the fish with no coating at all for a lower calorie version. You can serve each taco with one tortilla, or to make it stronger, use two tortillas per taco, as shown in the top photo.
Mix the mayo and chipotles together in a small bowl.
Mix the flour, beer, salt, and seasoning in a bowl to make a thick batter. Heat the oil to 375 degrees either in the skillet or in a deep fryer. Cut the fish into pieces that will fit into the taco shell. Rinse and pat dry, dip in the batter, and fry in batches for two or three minutes until golden brown. Set aside and keep them warm. This fish is so good I’m going to use this batter for fish and chips, maybe with a different seasoning.
Warm the corn tortillas on a griddle. Place a layer of chopped cabbage on half, top with a piece of fish, and top that with the white sauce. Fold the taco, and add some salsa and chopped cilantro. Garnish with a lime, which should be squeezed over the taco before eating.
Go start a taco shop chain.