The ultimate fish taco
Tortillas filled with crisp-battered fish, crunchy salsa and a flavour-bursting sauce with a bit of heat. What more could you possibly ask for in a taco? Follow these tips from Charlene Pretorius, formerly of The Kitchen at Weylandts in Cape Town
The fish
Choose a firm fish such as yellowtail. Dip it into a batter of beer (try Luke Dale Roberts' beer batter recipe) and mielie meal or polenta for extra crispness and flavour.
The tortilla
You should ideally use a corn tortilla but a wrap will also do. Crisp it up in a hot, dry pan. Or make your own crispy tacos in the oven following Clement Pedro's tips. Gluten intolerant? This recipe for pumpkin tortillas will be your saving grace.
The salsa
Adapt your salsa according to what’s in season. Try chilli and tomato or mango, cucumber, coriander and red onion. The trick to a balanced salsa is to add a splash of white wine vinegar, a pinch of sugar and seasoning.
The sauce
The Mexicans blend chipotle chillies with mayo, but if you can’t find these, roast peppers (or a Serrano chilli if you’re brave), seed, peel and blend with jalapeños and plain yoghurt.
NEXT-LEVEL FISH TACOS
“On a recent trip to Australia and Japan, I died and went to heaven when I ate the salmon belly nori taco at Mr Miyagi in Melbourne. I started experimenting when I got home and made a special wire mould, which I folded into a taco shape and used to deep-fry nori dipped in tempura batter. I filled it with refried edamame beans, sushi rice, grapefruit-dressed green slaw and yellowtail cured for a few hours in gin and buchu.” – Charlene Pretorius
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