My Own Test Kitchen: Fish Tacos

Over the last year or so, I have been making a concerted effort towards trying new foods and re-trying foods I grew up hating. Through this adventure I have successfuly tackled the following: mushrooms, tomatoes, pork, broccolini, asparagus, nectarines, clementines, tangelos, black beans, cauliflower, parsnips, refried beans, kiwi, anchovies and tofu.

But there is one thing I have refused to try (or re-try I should say) and that is fish. And by fish I mean the entire food group. From shrimp to lobster to tilapia, I stay away from it all. Why is that, you ask? Well, I have several childhood memories, one involving me choking on a piece of catfish, one involving me getting sick after eating shrimp, and one involving my parents LYING TO ME about what calamari was and then after they came clean I was horrified. So, I just don't eat fish. The smell alone makes me want to gag and the thought of it entering my mouth sends chills down my spine.

On the other side of the spectrum, my husband loves fish. He orders it almost every time we go out (probably because I refuse to make it at home). He has begged me, countless times, to "just take a bite" and I always refuse. But this blog is all about testing and learning to cook new things so when my husband sent me a recipe for fish tacos, I said to myself, "You've already eaten tofu and God knows how weird that was so fish can't be any worse."

I combined several recipes found online to create this meal. The marinade came from Bobby Flay, though the cooking method and garnishes were based off other recipes I saw online. The crema was adapted from Allrecipes.

Hind sight 20/20, I am so glad he suggested this meal because now I can add one more food to my repertoire: Mahi Mahi. Without further ado, I am proud to present to you my fish tacos.

Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos
Makes: 4 servings
Start to finish: 1 hour

For the marinade:
1 lb Mahi Mahi
1/4 cup canola oil
juice and zest from 1 lime
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tsp salt

For the crema:
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
1/4 cup reduced fat mayonaise
zest and juice from 1 lime
1 jalepeno pepper, minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp dried dill weed
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

For assembly:
8 corn tortillas
1 cup shredded red cabbage
1/2 cup cilantro
2 roma tomatoes, diced

Mix all marinade ingredients together in a bowl and toss the fish to coat. Cover and let it sit in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes.

While the fish is marinating, put together your crema. Just combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until everything is well incorporated. I'd never had crema before this meal and I have to tell you, I wish I could spread it on everything. It's tangy but spicy at the same time. It really brightens up the whole meal.

This can go sit in the fridge with your fish. You should have just enough time to put together your garnish tray before the fish is done marinating. Julienne the red cabbage, dice the tomatoes, and lightly chop the cilanto, though don't chop it too much. We are treating it like lettuce in this meal.

By now, your fish should be done marinating. Heat a skillet over medium high heat. I did not put any oil in the pan because the fish is already coated in it. Lay your filets down in the heated skillet and let them brown for 90 seconds. I sprinkled them with some salt because previous reviews online had said there wasn't enough salt in the recipe.

After 90 seconds, they should be nice and browned on one side so flip them over and start watching the temperature. Don't forget to salt the other side.

If you don't have a meat thermometer, cook for another two minutes or so. I just stuck in my thermometer and waited for the temp to rise to 145 degrees. I don't know from experience but I have been told overcooked fish has a nasty texture so try not to do that :-)

Let your filets rest for several minutes before shredding them with a fork.