BAJA FISH TACOS

Ingredienser

1 12-ounce bag tortilla chips

2 cups rice flour

2 cups buttermilk

1½ pounds fresh cod, cut into 2-inch pieces

Oil for frying

8 6-inch flour or corn tortillas

2 cups shredded green cabbage

¼ cup Chipotle Crema (this page)

1 cup Avocado Crema (this page)

½ cup store-bought mango salsa

1 tablespoon Tajín seasoning (see Trejo’s Tip, this page)

Vejledning

BREAD AND FRY THE FISH In a food processor, finely grind the tortilla chips until they form a fine powder. In three separate bowls, place the rice flour, buttermilk, and ground tortilla chips. One piece at a time, dredge the fish in the flour first, shaking off the excess. Then dunk it in the buttermilk, letting the excess drip back into the bowl. Lastly, dredge the fish through the ground tortilla chips, making sure to coat all sides. Set the fish aside on a plate or platter.

Fill a large deep pot halfway with oil. Heat over medium-high heat until the oil reaches 350°F on an instant-read thermometer. Working in batches, gently lower a few pieces of fish into the hot oil. Fry, turning the fish occasionally, until they are golden brown, about 3 minutes. Transfer the fish to a wire rack or to paper towels to drain. Let the oil come back up to 350°F before adding the next batch of fish.

MAKE THE TACOS Preheat the oven to 250°F.

Stack the tortillas, wrap them in aluminum foil, place them in the oven, and let them warm until they’re fragrant and pliable, about 15 minutes.

Remove the tortillas from the oven. Unwrap the stack and line up the tortillas, assembly-line-style, on your work surface.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the cabbage with the Chipotle Crema. Spread a line of Avocado Crema down the center of each tortilla. Place 2 pieces of fish on the Avocado Crema and then add a spoonful of mango salsa in between the pieces of fish. Garnish with the cabbage mixture. Sprinkle with Tajín and serve.

Notater

Down in Baja, just south of the California–Mexico border, fried fish tacos are synonymous with street food in the coastal beach towns. We use tortillas every which way you (and we) can imagine. But would you ever think we’d pulverize fried tortilla chips in a blender until they’re like flour and then coat fish in it and fry it? It adds this incredible additional crunch and flavor to our Baja Fish Tacos. (You can also use this preparation on shrimp.) These tacos are topped with sweet-hot mango salsa and tangy spicy Tajín.