Baja California is located about 15 miles from downtown San Diego and south of the California border in the country of Mexico. Baja cuisine is distinct from mainland Mexican cooking. Most food historians speculate that the fish taco emerged in this area when Asians introduced Baja natives to the practice of deep-frying fish. When this battered fried fish was combined with traditional Mexican toppings, the fish taco was born. It was also where I discovered fish tacos. While I do not deep fry the fish in my recipe, these tacos are delicious and come close to what I remember eating on my visit there.
Serve the tacos with black beans and sliced tomatoes.
Avocado Cream Sauce
1 ripe medium avocado, halved and pitted
1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro or 2 tablespoons cilantro paste
1/3 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Slaw Topping
1 cup thinly sliced cabbage
1/4 cup shredded carrot
1 scallion, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon unseasoned rice vinegar
Fish Batter
4 tablespoons arrowroot powder or cornstarch
2 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
Tacos
1 lb thin, firm fillets of mild, white fish, cut crosswise into 1-inch wide strips
1 tablespoon avocado oil, plus extra for the tortillas
4-6 regular or low carb tortillas
Lime wedges for serving
Directions
Scoop the avocado flesh into a mini food processor. Add cilantro, sour cream, lime juice, and salt. Process until smooth. Refrigerate until serving time.
Stir cabbage, carrot, scallion, vinegar, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Brush both sides of the tortillas lightly with avocado oil. Carefully drape each tortilla over two bars of the oven rack. Bake about 10 minutes until crispy but still pliable.
Mix together arrowroot powder, chili powder, cumin, and salt together in a medium bowl. Whisk in egg whites. Coat fish in the batter.
Heat the avocado oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the battered fish pieces and cook, until golden brown on both sides, 3 to 5 minutes. Place on paper towels to drain.
Spread a generous amount of the avocado cream sauce over one half of each tortilla. Top with some of the slaw mixture and some of the cooked fish. Top with more avocado cream sauce and serve.
Henrietta Watson
Reblogged this on All About Writing and more.
Animalcouriers
Haven’t heard of cilantro paste before — is it just finely processed leaves? The avocado sauce sounds delicious.
Jovina Coughlin
Yes, it is. The leaves are processed to a paste. Gourmet Garden is the brand sold in my supermarket. I like it because it doesn’t spoil like the fresh leaves – which I can never seem to use before that happens.
For the Love of Cooking
Yum! I love tacos and these look terrific.