San Diego-Style Fish Tacos

A lot of times, Scot and I eat dinner really late.  Like really late.  Like we ate this at 10:30 pm last night.  

I love fish tacos.

We don't ever mean to.  Stuff happens.  I am talking about the late night dinners again.  

For me, I can usually handle a late dinner without too much pain.  Unless we are playing volleyball or something like that, and then I feel like I am going to die about 3 games in, if I haven't had a snack beforehand.  Late breakfast?  Heck no.  98% of the reason I wake up is because I am hungry.  Late lunch?  Very painful.  Sometimes I have to force myself to wait until noon to eat.  

But I love fish tacos.  And tacos.  All kinds.  

I made Our Best Bites grilled fish tacos a few weeks ago.  I always had the intention of making the fried version too.  Secretly couldn't wait.  And obviously, they are amazing.  

I love the beer batter.  I also tried some of the leftover dark beer that I used...out of curiosity.  Pretty sure I got drunk from one sip.  

I also LOVE the dressing, Creamy Cilantro-Lime Dressing.  HVR packet...my best friend.  I am not even going look at the ingredients list, as I normally am so insane about.  Because I don't want to know.  I want to feel like it is magic. 

For crunch, the tacos were topped with sliced cabbage and a pineapple/tomato pico de gallo.  I just chopped up one whole (and huge), tomato, half a pineapple, 1 bunch of cilantro, 1/8th of a red onion (finely chopped) and mixed in the juice of one lime.  

San Diego-Style Fish Tacos

from Our Best Bites

1 c. all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 egg

1 c. beer (I used a dark beer)

1 lb. cod fillets, rinsed, patted dry, and cut into 1-2 oz. strips

1 qt of light, frying oil (canola, vegetable)

Corn tortillas (as many as you have pieces of fish)

Pineapple/Tomato pico de gallo

Shredded cabbage (packaged coleslaw mix works great)

Creamy Lime-Cilantro Dressing (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 170 (or lowest setting on your oven).

Combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk an egg and then whisk in the beer. Add the beer mixture to the flour mixture.

Heat about 1 quart (3-4 inches) of canola oil to 375 degrees (use a candy or frying thermometer) in a heavy cooking pot. Lightly dredge each piece of fish in flour and then dip in beer batter. Gently drop into the hot oil and cook for about 7-8

minutes or until the coating is dark golden-brown and a test piece flakes easily with a fork. Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel-lined plate; stick the plate in the preheated oven to keep warm while you cook your tortillas.

Place tortillas, 1-2 at a time, in the hot oil and cook 1-2 minutes or until they start to get crispy but are still bendable. Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel.

Assemble each taco with a piece of fish, shredded cabbage, pico de gallo, and a drizzling of Creamy Lime-Cilantro Dressing.

(Servings: 4, Prep time: 1 hr., Cook time, 30 min., Difficulty: Intermediate)

Printable Version

Creamy Lime-Cilantro Dressing

from Our Best Bites

1 pack (1oz) Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix

1C mayo

1/2 C milk

1 lime, zest and juice

2 cloves garlic, grated

1/2 C roughly chopped cilantro

1/4 C green salsa (I used Herdez)

hot sauce

Place milk, mayo, lime zest and ranch mix in a blender. Juice the lime in there too, you should get about 2T juice. Toss in the garlic, cilantro and green salsa. Blend 'er up. Sample it and add hot sauce to taste. Make it several hours ahead of time to allow it to thicken.

(Servings: makes 2+ cups, Prep time: 15 min., Chill time: 1 hr +, Difficulty: Easy)

Printable Version