When people travel, they not only dine in fine restaurants, but they also eat a lot of what we call “street food”. A few decades ago, visitors to Mexico discovered that the beloved taco had undergone some changes. And Chef Jerry Pellegrino will tell you, it was a great decision to incorporate deep fried fish into the classic taco.
I learned that the American fish taco was product of the San Diego surfing scene. In the 1970’s ardent surfers would slip across the border to Baja looking for that perfect wave. Being on a tight budget, they discovered an eminently affordable snack called a fish taco. One aficionado, Ralph Rubio took the idea back home, and eventually had dozens of fish taco shops all over southern California. By the 90’s the idea had spread across the nation, and it was not too hard to find a fish taco purveyor near you.
Now for the essentials: you’ll start with a soft corn or flour tortilla; you then will coat it with Rubio’s famous white sauce (just sour cream and mayo) and then comes the fish. And here the options are nearly endless; but let’s specify either deep fat frying or pan frying. As for the fish, Rubio started with Alaskan pollack because of its flaky white meat. But any fish along those lines would work just as well. In Maryland, our striped bass would be ideal. It has everything you want. But a cheaper alternative would be the blue catfish, whose texture and flavor is very similar to the rockfish. Bayside diners are discovering the blue catfish which swims in the clean waters of the Chesapeake. It is eminently flavorful, and it has none of that muddy taste associated with southern bottom dwelling catfish.
In either case, work with smallish fillets as you fire up your skillet. You’ll want to dip your fillets into a beer batter. The batter itself is a simple affair: flour, salt, cayenne pepper, eggs and beer. Fry the fillets until golden brown, and then begin to assemble the taco.
One key component is a creamy cabbage slaw, and if you work with purple cabbage, so much the better. Let’s mention chopped onion, chopped tomatoes, chopped chili peppers (the heat level is up to you), maybe a fruit salsa, pico de gallo, sliced avocados… the list goes on and on. If you make this at home for company, you might want to just have a dozen or so bowls of toppings available for custom made tacos.
In short, fish tacos are among the most informal meals you can eat. For added authenticity, wear a pair of your old surfer jams and crack open a bottle of fine Mexican beer.
