Ingredients
- For the Cilantro Tartar Sauce:
- 1 cup low-fat mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup chopped cilantro
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 tablespoons capers, plus a little caper juice
- 1 small jalapeno pepper, minced (with seeds, if more heat is desired)
- In a small bowl, combine all the tartar sauce ingredients. Set aside. You can make this 1 day in advance.
- For the fish:
- 1 to 1 pounds cod fillets (or any firm fish mahi-mahi and tilapia work well)
- 1 cup fish-fry mix
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- teaspoon cayenne pepper
- teaspoon chili powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup oil for frying
Preparation
Step 1
To make the fish: Rinse and pat dry the cod fillets well. Cut fillets into 2- by 1-inch pieces. Set aside.
Combine the fry mix with to cup water. The batter should be very thin, like pancake batter. On a shallow dish or pie plate, mix the flour, cayenne pepper, chili powder and salt and black pepper.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
When ready to fry, in a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. The oil should cover the bottom and come up at least inch in the skillet.
Working in batches, dredge several pieces of fish in the flour mixture and then dip in the batter, allowing the excess batter to drip off.
Place in the hot oil and fry on all sides until browned, about 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a baking sheet and place in the oven to keep the fish hot. Repeat with remaining fish.
To serve:
12 (6-inch) flour tortillas
2 cups finely shredded cabbage
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 avocado, halved, pitted, diced
Microwave the flour tortillas to warm.
To assemble, place some cabbage on each tortilla. Top with 2 to 3 pieces of fish and a dollop of tartar. Garnish with green onions and diced avocado.
.Fast Facts
More ideas for fish tacos
If you don't want to batter and fry the fish, bake it. Brush with a little oil, season as desired and bake in a 400-degree oven. Bake 10 minutes for every inch of thickness.
Consider using shrimp in place of fish. Bake or saute shrimp until they're opaque. Serve with the same cilantro tartar sauce.
Try different sauces. Top the tacos with sour cream mixed with lime zest, cilantro and lime juice. Make an avocado sauce by pureeing ripe avocado with lime juice and sour cream until it's the consistency of a sauce. Drizzle over the fish.
Make pico de gallo. Mix chopped tomatoes, onions, cilantro, lime juice, a bit of olive oil and vinegar. Season with salt, pepper and a few pinches of sugar to taste. This goes well with any baked fish.