Fish Tacos, Street Food from Baja

Fish Tacos

By Hispanic Kitchen contributor Carolyn Swaney

Before I was a California resident, I thought that fish tacos were weird. Carne asada and chicken made sense. But fish? Well, I soon found that fish tacos taste fresher and more delicious than most taco shop fare. One bite and I was hooked!

Fish tacos originated in Ensenada, Baja Norte, where a constant, plentiful daily catch makes it easy and inexpensive local fare. Fish taco-dedicated restaurants then started popping up all over Southern California thanks to the surf-seeking population who crossed the border to hunt for waves, and to look for tasty street food along the beaches of Baja California. Many Baja style tacos contain chunks of beer-battered and fried mahi-mahi, but these take the cue from street side stands in Baja, where fish is marinated, grilled and garnished with your choice of toppings, spicy salsa and crema as a cooling agent.

In our house, fish tacos are a staple. Topped with traditional garnishes, they are a tasty combination of hot and cold, spicy and creamy, meat and vegetable. These have the added heat of roasted chipotle salsa and cool chipotle crema.

Fish Tacos, Serves 6

Ingredients:
1½ pounds mahi-mahi (aka dolphin or dorado)
1 jalapeño, seeded and cut into chunks
1 quarter of a small onion, cut into chunks
Juice of 3 limes
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1½ tablespoons chopped cilantro
12 corn tortillas
Salt
Pepper

Garnishes:

½ head of white cabbage, shredded
Chopped tomatoes
Crema or sour cream (recipe below)
Roasted Chipotle Salsa (recipe below)
Chopped red onion

Directions:
1. Place fish in a shallow baking dish. Preheat grill.
2. Put all other taco ingredients in food processor and process until smooth. Pour marinade over fish and marinate for 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, prepare garnishes and salsa.
4. Place fish on hot grill and cook 4 minutes on first side. Turn fish and cook an additional 2 minutes on second side or until fish is cooked through, depending on thickness. Remove fish and cover to keep warm.
5. Heat tortillas on the hot grill after removing fish, and place in a basket to keep warm.
6. Assemble tacos with a piece of fish that measures around 3 inches by 2 inches. Top with cabbage, crema, tomatoes, and salsa.

Salsa de Chipotle

Salsa de Chipotle

Makes about 1½ cups

Ingredients:
4 roma tomatoes
½ large onion (or 1 small tomato), quartered with skin on
2 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
2-5 chiles chipotles en adobo, depending on heat desired
½ bunch of cilantro, coarsely chopped
1 lime
Salt to taste

Directions:
1. Heat a pan over high heat. Add tomatoes and onions to the dry pan. Roast until skin blackens, turning to blacken all sides.
2. When turning to last side, add garlic cloves, and roast until blackened. Remove all vegetables to cool.
3. When cooled, peel the tomatoes and remove skin from onion and garlic. Place all vegetables in food processor. Add desired amount of chipotles, cilantro and a bit of salt. Pulse food processor until salsa is slightly too chunky.
4. Add lime juice to the processor. Stir mixture once or twice to move chunks of tomato and onion, then pulse a few more times to desired thickness, and to mix in lime. Taste and add salt or lime if needed! Pulse in more chipotles for more heat.

This is great on tacos or with chips!

Chipotle Crema

Ingredients:
¼ cup crema or sour cream
2 heaping tablespoons Salsa de Chipotle
Juice of ½ lime

Directions:
Mix crema and salsa in a small bowl. Add lime juice and salt if desired. Top tacos with a teaspoon of crema.

To print this page, "CTRL P" on your keyboard or use this environmentally friendly printing tool:

Fish Tacos, Street Food from Baja

You need to be a member of Hispanic Kitchen to add comments!