Tuesday 29 May 2018

Crispy Fish Tacos.



Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Let's switch things up for Iftar tonight and make tacos!

So when I was younger, I used to know tacos as those hard shells that you'd get in a box from the supermarket ready to be filled with spicy meat and cheese.
Even though they were super popular, I was never really a fan and always preferred fajitas with their soft flour tortillas instead.

Nowadays, tacos are all over the internet. And almost always, they're wrapped in a soft tortilla. Maybe one day I will give those crispy shells another try but for now, I'm happy with the soft ones and that's what I've gone for today.

Today, we're going to make crispy fish tacos. These are a real treat and are packed with plenty of freshness and flavour. The base is the tortilla. I love making my own flour ones but corn ones are more traditional and readily available in UK supermarkets these days.


Wrapped up in the tortilla are chunks of crispy fried cod, lashings of a spicy creamy chipotle sauce and plenty of fresh salsa. Drizzle over more chilli sauce if you prefer, and tuck in!

Tacos, previously: chicken tacos // breakfast tacos // chimichurri fish tacos

A Simple List of Ingredients:

For the Creamy Chipotle Sauce:
1. Mayonnaise
2. Greek Yoghurt
3. Chipotles En Adobo (chilli sauce is a good sub)
4. Lime Juice

For the Salsa:
1. Tomatoes
2. Red Onion
3. Jalapeno Chilli
4. Fresh Coriander
5. Lime Juice

For the Crispy Fish:
1. Plain Flour
2. Baking Powder
3. Iced Water
4. Cod Fillets

For the Tacos:
1. Tortillas
2. White Cabbage
3. Chilli Sauce

Bismillah, let's begin!

First, let's make the creamy chipotle sauce. Into a small bowl, place 3 tablespoons Mayonnaise.

Add 3 tablespoons Greek Yoghurt.

The main flavouring in this sauce is chipotles en adobo. You can buy them in tins online here or just use a few tablespoons of your favourite chilli sauce.

The tins contain smoky peppers in a smoky sauce.

Take 2 Chipotles En Adobo.

Finely slice the peppers and add to the bowl.

Squeeze in the Juice of 1/2 Lime.

Stir in Salt and Black Pepper and set aside until needed.

Next, let's make the salsa. Deseed and finely chop 3 Tomatoes before popping into a medium bowl.

Add in 1/2 Red Onion, peeled and finely chopped. Plus 1 JalapeƱo Chilli, finely chopped.

Throw in a Handful of Fresh Coriander, finely chopped.

And, squeeze in the Juice of 1 Lime.

Add in Salt and Black Pepper before stirring up. Set aside until needed.

Next, let's whisk up the batter for the fish. In a large bowl, sift in 200g Plain Flour.

Throw in 1 teaspoon Salt.

And, 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder.

Sift the ingredients in and sprinkle in Black Pepper, to taste.

Gradually add in 270ml Iced Water to the flour.

Whisk up until you have a smooth batter that isn't too thick or thin.

For the fish coating, stir up 100g Plain Flour with Salt and Black Pepper in a bowl.

Next, prepare the fish. I used 4 boneless and skinless Cod Fillets. You can also use any other white fish.

Slice the fish up into chunks and we're ready to fry. Heat enough Vegetable Oil to deep-fry in a deep pot.

When you're ready to fry, toss each piece of cod in  the flour mixture. Shake off any excess.

Dip each piece of cod in the batter. Shake off any extra batter.

Deep-fry the fish in batches until golden brown and crispy. In the photos, I'm shallow-frying but I wouldn't recommend it to you. With the battered fish, I find that shallow-frying leads to it spitting and making a big mess. Deep-frying is much better.


Drain the fish on paper towels and continue frying the rest.


To assemble the tacos, we'll need Tortillas. I made my own flour ones but you can also use corn tortillas.


For crunch, thinly slice up 1/2 small White Cabbage.


Grab your Salsa from earlier.


Along with the Creamy Chipotle Sauce.


You'll also need Your Favourite Chilli Sauce.

To assemble the tacos, take your tortilla.

Put on some sliced cabbage.

And, the crispy fish.

Spoon over the salsa.

Drizzle over the creamy chipotle sauce.

Finish with a squeeze of chilli sauce.

Guys, these tacos are so good. I kept the fish plain on purpose as there are so many other strong flavours at work here with the sauce and salsa. Wrap the tacos up and enjoy!

Crispy Fish Tacos.

battered cod pieces, creamy chilli sauce, and a fresh salsa all wrapped in a soft tortilla.

Prep Time: About 45 minutes.
Cook Time: About 20 minutes.
Serves: About 6 people.

Ingredients

For the Creamy Chipotle Sauce
3 tablespoons Mayonnaise
3 tablespoons Greek Yoghurt
2 Chipotles En Adobo, finely chopped (chilli sauce is a good substitute)
Juice of 1/2 Lime
Salt and Black Pepper, to taste

For the Salsa
3 Tomatoes, deseeded and finely chopped
1/2 Red Onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 Jalapeno Chilli, finely chopped
Handful Fresh Coriander, finely chopped
Juice of 1 Lime
Salt and Black Pepper, to taste

For the Crispy Fish
300g Plain Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
Black Pepper, to taste
270ml Iced Water, as needed
4 boneless and skinless Cod Fillets, cut into chunks
Vegetable Oil, to fry

To Serve
Corn or Flour Tortillas
1/2 small White Cabbage, very finely sliced
Your Favourite Chilli Sauce

Make the creamy chipotle sauce:
  • Mix together all the ingredients in a small bowl.
Make the salsa:
  • Mix together all the ingredients in a medium bowl.
Make the crispy fish:
  • Heat enough vegetable oil in a pot to deep fry over a medium-low heat.
  • For the batter, sift in 200g of the plain flour into a large bowl along with the salt and baking powder. Add the black pepper and enough iced water to make a batter.
  • For the fish coating, mix together the remaining 100g plain with salt and pepper.  
  • Dip each piece of fish in the coating before dunking it all over in the batter. Let any extra batter drip off then deep-fry in the hot oil. 
  • Continue adding in more fish and deep-fry until the fish is golden brown and crispy. Drain on paper towels and continue frying the rest.
Assemble the tacos:
  • To make a taco, take a fresh tortilla. To it, add the sliced cabbage, fried fish, salsa, creamy chipotle sauce and chilli sauce. Wrap and serve immediately.

Keep me in your Ramadan duas please, and enjoy your tacos!

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!


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