How to Make Fish Tacos at Home

Ever been to Miami Beach?
How about L.A.? What about good ol’ TO? Chances are if you have been to any of these places and like to eat, you have heard of (and hopefully consumed) fish tacos.
My first fish taco was poolside in a “swanky” hotel in South Beach (where I was hoping nobody noticed:

#1. I was, by far, the oldest person there

#2. my bathing suit consisted of more material than anyone else’s in the near vicinity

#3. that I’m not sure that I know how to do “swanky”

 The tacos were so yummy, that I think I ate all the fish tacos available…I mean I ordered a lot.

Don’t judge me…I’m a recipe developer…I have to get it perfect…I had no choice.I realized that everyone makes them with their own unique touch and that’s okay. That’s what is so great about this recipe…you can tweak it to your liking.  What it should contain is:1.  A fruit/sweet component
2.  a crunchy/vinegar-based veg component
3.  a creamy component (usually with sour cream)
4.  a wrap component (you can do carb free and use lettuce but the original is tortilla…make sure it is the freshest you can find!)
5.  And, fish (sorta important here).

Ingredients:

2-3 fillets of fish (I used tilapia but feel free to subsitute any fish – sole, cod, salmon, shrimp, scallops).
1 small bag coleslaw mix (this is a shortcut but a good one – you can shred a cabbage but you will end up with loads of coleslaw!)…or you can use this coleslaw recipe
about 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt or sour cream (I like the tang of yogurt)
1 lime
1 mango
fresh cilantro (about 1/3 c chopped which is less than 1/2 bunch)
1 avocado
1 red onion
1 chipotle in adobe, chopped finely (the can can be found in the international section of your supermarket or where you buy nacho chips; the remainder can be frozen in small snack bags for later use)
2 tsp smoked paprika (if you don’t have this, use regular paprika or a spoonful of the liquid from the chipotles)
a bag of small tortillas (make sure they are super soft…wrap them in foil and heat them in the oven to soften)
salt and pepper
2 tbsp olive or veg oil

1.  Get your stuff together…

2.  Start making the mango salsa by dicing the mango.  Cut it along the flat side of the pit (like this…up and down…you will feel the side of the pit with the knife…just run the knife along it)

3.  Score each half like this.

4.  Push from the back to pop up the mango.

5.  Cut along the bottom (close to the peel) to release the dice.

.  6.  Add mango to a bowl and add in chopped cilantro and chopped red onion (you can adjust to taste);  squeeze in the juice of one lime.  Mix well and set aside.

6.. In another small bowl, mix chopped chipotle and a spoon of adobe sauce into the yogurt; stir well.    Spoon about 1/4 of the mixture into another bowl and scoop out the avocado into the smaller amount; mash the mixture and set aside.  Scrape the remaining yogurt mixture (without the avocado) into the coleslaw mix; season with salt and pepper and set aside.

7.  Season the fish with salt, pepper and paprika.  Heat oil in pan and sear both sides of fish until it gets crispy; set aside.

8.  Assemble the tacos:  on half of one tortilla, layer a spoonful of mango salsa, a scoop of coleslaw, a piece of fish and a spoonful of avocado cream.  Close it up and chow down…yum!!