I think you should have a Cinco de Mayo party! Wouldn’t that be fun? Even if you’re not up for hosting a bunch of people next Saturday night, you at least need to prepare some delicious Mexican-inspired food for your family. Who needs to go to the local overcrowded Mexican restaurant and eat greasy, over-sauced, heavy food in the presence of too many inebriated partyers? Not me, friends! Although I don’t need it to be Cinco de Mayo to make Mexican food. My family requests Mexican about as much as anything else and I am happy to oblige with fresh, healthful and easy-to-prepare recipes.
The Mexican dishes I like to make and eat are perfect for busy weeknights, but even better for entertaining because they’re always crowd pleasers and often it’s all about the toppings and allowing everyone to make their own. I love this for many reasons — it gives kids more control in what they’re eating and really encourages them to try new things, it’s less work for me, and it’s fun!
One of my favorite Mexican dishes is fish tacos. Not only do I make them all the time at home, but I find myself ordering them whenever I can especially on vacation (what vacation?). I’ve been known to eat fish tacos every single day for a week and not tire of them. I love changing the toppings each time to keep it different. Sometimes I’ll even use a Savoy cabbage leaf instead of a corn tortilla. In my house we’re split down the middle as to the preferred fish preparation, so in my classes this month and on my blog post, I decided to demonstrate two delicious methods. I prefer a lime juice-based marinade and my husband likes the dry rub better, but you can’t go wrong with either. Where you can go wrong is not putting together a great assortment of condiments, because this is the KEY to building a perfect fish taco.
I went on a reconnaissance mission to Wahoo’s Fish Tacos in Manhattan Beach to see what a restaurant with the words “fish tacos” in its name does with fish tacos. Wow. Major disappointment. A piece of grilled fish in a soft corn tortilla with a pinch of thinly sliced cabbage. Ok so far. Plus shredded cheddar cheese. Huh? Fish and cheese? No. And then a tiny scoop of pico de gallo (fresh tomato salsa) on the side. People, we can do so much better! A delicious and satisfying fish taco has a balance of different tastes and textures (and no cheese!) Here’s what you need:
- creamy: I personally can’t even eat a fish taco without the white sauce I’ve shown here and/or some sliced avocado or guacamole.
- crunchy: thinly sliced cabbage or a firm lettuce, even a good slaw like this Cilantro-Lime Slaw.
- spicy: even just a little kick makes it better. Try adding a little heat to your sauce, slaw, dry rub or salsa.
- tangy: a tart, acidic flavor helps keep everything fresh and balanced. You can squeeze fresh lime over everything or incorporate it in a marinade, slaw or salsa.
I am excited to share a few more great Mexican-inspired recipes next week in hopes to inspire you to enjoy your own fiesta at home!
Grilled Fish Tacos
Ingredients
- White sauce:
- 6 Tablespoons mayonnaise, I like soy-free Vegenaise
- 6 Tablespoons whole unsweetened yogurt
- 1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce or ¼ teaspoon ground chipotle powder, optional (taco on the left has sauce with chipotle powder, taco on the right has sauce without)
- pinch of sea salt
- Marinade:
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 Tablespoons unrefined olive oil
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- OR
- Dry Rub
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 pound firm white fish, such as halibut or mahi mahi
- Oil, for brushing grill
- 8 6- inch corn tortillas, warmed either on grill or heated griddle pan until pliable
- Suggested Accompaniments:
- Sliced avocado, guacamole, pickled red onion or radishes, shredded napa, savoy or green cabbage or slaw,
- fresh pico de gallo, salsa, fresh lime cut into wedges
Instructions
- Whisk together ingredients for white sauce and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Combine lime juice, oil and cumin in a shallow nonreactive dish small enough to just hold the fish. Add fish and turn to coat in the marinade. Season with salt and pepper and marinate fish at room temperature for 30 minutes. OR mix dry rub spices together and sprinkle on both sides of fish.
- Preheat grill to medium-hot. Brush grill grate with oil. Grill fish until just cooked through, about 3-5 minutes per side. Break fish into large pieces.
- Fill tortilla with fish and desired accompaniments. Drizzle with white sauce and squeeze fresh lime wedges over tacos.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
Wahoo’s has excellent food. I wish I could make fish enchilidas as well. The fish tacos are also excellent also. These are pretty good to, especially the dry rub. I used it on Ono
Thanks for your feedback, Dan. The dry rub seems to be the more popular of the two.
We made these last night with fresh Mahi Mahi from the Pacific! Neil said they were the BEST fish tacos EVER! We made guacamole, crunchy slaw, and the white sauce! YUM! I will be asking you about some different fish we have in the freezer when you get back form France!
Mahi mahi is perfect for fish tacos! I just returned from France, so happy to talk fish with you 🙂
Disappointed with Wahoo’s? They make the best fish taco on the West Coast. They keep it really simple, just the basic ingredients.
My mouth waters thinking about their fish taco. I crave it. And trust me, I am a lover of fish tacos, I’ve gotten them at a lot of places. I know Rubio’s serves up a good fast fish taco too, but I prefer the grilled simplicity of Wahoo’s. I’ve been to Wahoo’s maybe a hundred times, and the only thing I’ve ever ordered is the fish taco plate. We’re trying your recipe tonight, but I just thought I’d say how much I love Wahoo’s, there’s a reason they’re so popular and the original Southern California fish taco.
Thanks for writing in as I totally welcome a difference of opinion here! To be fair, I’ve only tried the fish taco at the Wahoo’s in Manhattan Beach. In my area I think the fish tacos at Simmzy’s and Fish Grill are better. Personally, I can’t do cheese on a fish taco and Wahoo’s served it with that plus salsa and lettuce. Eh. Since I am crazy about fish tacos, I’d love to hear your other favorites!
Thanks so much for this recipe! I could eat fish tacos for breakfast, lunch and dinner, no lie but I just always get them at restaurants. This is so simple, that now I might actually do them at home! Yay! Saw you on a tweet from Steamy Kitchen…
Welcome, Cheri! Happy to have you here as you sound like one of my peeps! Enjoy the fish tacos 🙂
Delicious. My family loved this. My youngest (picky eater) made rolled fish tacos out of it and then ate the veggies on the side. Thanks for another great recipe.
I’m so happy , Renee! More yummy Mexican recipes to come!
I used pickled radishes with them on Sat. it was soooo good!
Never made pickled radishes myself, only eaten them in a restaurant. But they were off the charts in a fish taco!
I think I’ve made these 5 times since class and everyone, including my 6 year old loves them! She says that have to try it her way – which is a tiny bit of fish & a bunch of avocado on the tortilla… I personally love the white sauce (it definitely takes things over the top!) with the marinaded fish – so yummy, quick and easy! Thanks for this amazing recipe – definitely one of my favorites!
Woohoo! Thanks Alex~
Love fish tacos and can’t wait to try these! Thank you for such a beautiful recipe.
Please let me know if you make them, Diana!
The hubby and I made these for dinner last night and loved them! We grilled mahi mahi using the marinade and shrimp using the rub. The shrimp barely made it to the table! Extremely tasty, satisfying, and healthy with enough variety for everyone’s liking. Bravo!
I’m so glad, Diana. Good call on the shrimp! You’ll make these again and again.
I made these last week (the dry rub) and it was a big hit. It literally took minutes to prepare and was so delicious. Thanks for another great recipe.
Thanks Sunni! You aren’t exaggerating either — minutes to prepare!
These sound delicious. We don’t like mahi mahi and even frozen halibut is frightfully expensive now. What other locally available fish would you recommend?
Crappie or bass is great to use for fish tacos. We use halibut if we have any left from our Alaska fishing trip but if not we always have crappie in the freezer! Fish on!!
Thanks for the great suggestions! I’ve never heard of crappie, but the fish I used here was frozen, wild Alaskan halibut from Costco. $39.99 for a 2-pound bag. It’s really fresh-tasting and half the price of local markets.
I made these last week after class. Everyone loved them–even my super picky son. He seems to be willing to try anything in a tortilla. I did the rub and it took about 2 minutes. I didn’t have any mayonnaise so I left it out and the sauce was still good. Thanks for another great recipe!
Your son, too? So funny. I should write a book called “Finding Your Child’s Corn Tortilla.”