Friday, March 27, 2009

DIY: Fish Tacos

One of my favorite meals at a favorite joint is fish tacos. And, since we don't eat out very often, I don't get to order it very often. Tonight I made my own.

Cilantro is my friend. In my opinion, it's like fresh garlic ~ makes a big difference. It's well worth it to use the fresh stuff for this sauce. Oh, and I had a sous chef tonight. Lawman strapped on an apron and went to work. He's great at breading fish.


Here's the players:



These little fishies are about to take a swim in some hot oil. Here fishie, fishie.


Here they are after that swim. Aren't they pretty? Mmmm.




And finally, wala ~ dinner is served.



Here's my recipe (adapted from Taste of Home).

Fish Tacos

3/4 c. sour cream

4oz. chopped green chilies

1 T fresh cilantro, chopped

1 T lime juice

1 lb. tilapia fillets

1/2 c. flour

2 egg whites, beaten

3/4 c. panko bread crumbs

4 T canola oil

1/2 tsp each ~ salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika

8-10 flour tortillas (fajita size)

Chopped lettuce

Place the sour cream, chilies, cilantro and lime juice in a food processor; cover and process until blended. Set aside. Cut each tilapia fillet lengthwise into two portions. Place the flour, egg white and bread crumbs in separate shallow bowls. Dip tilapia in flour, then egg white, then crumbs. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook tilapia in oil in batches for 4-5 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Combine the seasonings and sprinkle over fish. Place a portion of fish on each tortilla; top with about 2 T Bulleted Listof sour cream mixture. Add lettuce and additional toppings of your choice. Makes 8-10 servings, 2 tacos each.

I intended to provide the cost of this and compare it with the cost of ordering it at my fave restaurant like I did here. But it's Friday, the list of ingredients is long, my little brain is tired after a week at the office, and the CDW has been waiting for this all week.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

you are becoming quite the cook! I love fish tacos. do you have Taco del Mar by you?

Nancy said...

We don't have a Taco del mar here but a great little place called So Long Saloon. Their fish tacos are excellent. Lawman and I liked our homemade version. I'll definitely be making them again. Maybe you should try them too.

Kerri said...

I'm going to be trying this. We just got a 'boatload' of fish in from the food pantry where we work every other Saturday. We brought some home for us to try. Fish Tacos will be perfect! I always love seeing what you're doing at your house! It's spring break here and I'm going to be enjoying time off from mega teaching kindergarten!!

Rechelle said...

Yummy! I will have to try them soon.

Amy said...

These look so good!! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. You know our family loves fish, but I can't say we have ever tried fish tacos. Thank you so much for the inspiration this morning!!

PS- Let me know what you think of that banana bread, if you get a chance to try it!!

kimj said...

These look delish! I think I might try them with a crunchy taco though...I think I need the crunch to go with the soft fish. Do you suppose So Long Saloon fries their flour tortillas?

Nancy said...

kimj ~ yes,the Saloon fries their tortillas. I'm a chicken when it comes to frying stuff so I haven't tried this part yet. I can only do one thing at a time.