Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Fish Tacos
.
Sunglasses are to L.A. as fur coats are to Moscow. And being the L.A. girl I am, I can't leave the house without a pair. So yesterday when – horror of horrors – my electric blue, mirrored Versace's that I picked up in Vegas got crushed in a strange twist of events while I was tooling through the Valley, I was at a total loss.
Blinded by the sun, I had no choice but to continue, aimlessly searching for a mini mart or Sunglass Hut to save me from the glare while getting more and more lost by the moment. Desperate to see something familiar I drove on. Endless minutes passed as I squinted at passing signs, when suddenly I saw her. The Virgin de Guadalupe on the side of a taco stand. It was a sign, I was sure. In a flash, my quest for restored vision dissipated and my desire for a taco roared. Now, its not as if sunglasses and fish tacos have anything to do with each other, but at that moment (and apparently this moment) I didn’t care. The Virgin had beckoned me. I pulled into the shady lot only to have my hopes for sustinance crushed by a huge red sign declaring “cerrado.” (She must have sensed I’m not a Catholic).
I had reached the edge my friends. The edge. No glasses, no tacos and now, on further inspection, no gas. I sat silently in the deserted lot for a moment. Gathering myself together I got out a map figured out where I was (sort of) and headed off again. To keep my sanity, I spent the rest of the trip mentally sifting through the contents of my cupboard to see if I could make tacos at home. I could, and I did, and lucky you, here is that recipe. Maybe someday I will find that taco stand again, and they will be open, but in the mean time, I will make my own tacos and rejoice.
Vegetable oil for frying (¾ inch deep in your pan)
½ cup white flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 bottle (minus 6 sips) Corona beer
4 limes
Salt and pepper
1 pound red snapper or scrod, cut into finger sized strips
1 cup shredded green cabbage
1 red jalapeno pepper, sliced
Corn tortillas, warmed (about 10. Depending on size)
Optional garnishes : Salsa Fresca, Radishes, Cilantro, Crema Mexicana and/or Avocado
In a bowl sift together the flour and cornstarch. Slowly whisk in the beer and the juice of one of the limes. It should not be super thick, but also not too thin. (Gee Rachael, thanks for that concise info) Season with a pinch of salt and lots of black pepper.
Add the fish to the batter to coat. Using a slotted spoon remove a small batch of fish and let almost all of the batter drip off. Fry each small batch in the oil, over medium high heat until golden (about 3 minutes), remove from oil and drain on a paper towel. Repeat with the remaining fish. If you don’t want to fry them, just skip the batter and sauté or broil with some lime juice and oil.
Compose your tacos by piling some shredded cabbage, a squeeze of lime, the chile peppers and then the fish in the tortillas. Sigh longingly, fold over and devour.
Serves four.
(Oh, and two blocks later I found a gas station, and am now the proud owner of yet another pair of funky $5 sun glasses)
_____________________________________________________
Cabbage is 91 percent water
Taco Bell serves more than 35 million consumers each week in more than 6,500 restaurants in the United States
What does your burrito say about you? Take this quiz and see
Sunglasses are to L.A. as fur coats are to Moscow. And being the L.A. girl I am, I can't leave the house without a pair. So yesterday when – horror of horrors – my electric blue, mirrored Versace's that I picked up in Vegas got crushed in a strange twist of events while I was tooling through the Valley, I was at a total loss. Blinded by the sun, I had no choice but to continue, aimlessly searching for a mini mart or Sunglass Hut to save me from the glare while getting more and more lost by the moment. Desperate to see something familiar I drove on. Endless minutes passed as I squinted at passing signs, when suddenly I saw her. The Virgin de Guadalupe on the side of a taco stand. It was a sign, I was sure. In a flash, my quest for restored vision dissipated and my desire for a taco roared. Now, its not as if sunglasses and fish tacos have anything to do with each other, but at that moment (and apparently this moment) I didn’t care. The Virgin had beckoned me. I pulled into the shady lot only to have my hopes for sustinance crushed by a huge red sign declaring “cerrado.” (She must have sensed I’m not a Catholic).
I had reached the edge my friends. The edge. No glasses, no tacos and now, on further inspection, no gas. I sat silently in the deserted lot for a moment. Gathering myself together I got out a map figured out where I was (sort of) and headed off again. To keep my sanity, I spent the rest of the trip mentally sifting through the contents of my cupboard to see if I could make tacos at home. I could, and I did, and lucky you, here is that recipe. Maybe someday I will find that taco stand again, and they will be open, but in the mean time, I will make my own tacos and rejoice.
Vegetable oil for frying (¾ inch deep in your pan)
½ cup white flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 bottle (minus 6 sips) Corona beer
4 limes
Salt and pepper
1 pound red snapper or scrod, cut into finger sized strips
1 cup shredded green cabbage
1 red jalapeno pepper, sliced
Corn tortillas, warmed (about 10. Depending on size)
Optional garnishes : Salsa Fresca, Radishes, Cilantro, Crema Mexicana and/or Avocado
In a bowl sift together the flour and cornstarch. Slowly whisk in the beer and the juice of one of the limes. It should not be super thick, but also not too thin. (Gee Rachael, thanks for that concise info) Season with a pinch of salt and lots of black pepper.
Add the fish to the batter to coat. Using a slotted spoon remove a small batch of fish and let almost all of the batter drip off. Fry each small batch in the oil, over medium high heat until golden (about 3 minutes), remove from oil and drain on a paper towel. Repeat with the remaining fish. If you don’t want to fry them, just skip the batter and sauté or broil with some lime juice and oil.
Compose your tacos by piling some shredded cabbage, a squeeze of lime, the chile peppers and then the fish in the tortillas. Sigh longingly, fold over and devour.
Serves four.
(Oh, and two blocks later I found a gas station, and am now the proud owner of yet another pair of funky $5 sun glasses)
_____________________________________________________
Cabbage is 91 percent water
Taco Bell serves more than 35 million consumers each week in more than 6,500 restaurants in the United States
What does your burrito say about you? Take this quiz and see
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As I mentioned in an earlier post, my camera is no more (dropped one too many times, I fear) so until a replacement is found, food shots will be few and far between. Sorry!
Wow. I have discovered your site via Pink Sun Drops. I shall be here often :) Thanks for the great taco recipe... living in Texas, I have tacos quite a bit, but have never tried fish tacos! This shall be remedied soon :)
Rachael...I opened my computer this evening thinking of fish taco recipes to make for lunch on my day off and lo and behold, here they were..Now I have to make them definitely.
This is so funny I just love it so much thats just great thank you and keep up the great blog you are hilarous. I love the recipes and the commentary.
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# posted by 
: 4/14/2005 04:03:00 PM
: 4/14/2005 04:03:00 PM << Home
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