fish tacos: a baja-japanese fusion is born.

The fish taco has been known to be a true Baja experience. As a kid, I had the baja life up until pre-school, before moving to Los Angeles. In those first few years of my life I stuffed my chubby little belly with all kinds of Baja foods, ranging from shrimp, abolone, octupus, turtle soup, flautitas(long, skinny crunchy taquitos...no thanks, hold the pickled pig's foot that usually goes with them, agh!) birria, machaca, hot dogs a la baja(wrapped with bacon, topped with grilled onions and guacamole), comida china(a heaping chinese community abides in the town i grew up in, wonderful cantonese style food!) and FISH TACOS.

While craving something comforting, mexican and scrumptious the other day, I put two elements together or should I say my "tio chino" gave me a moment of culinary enlightenment! Well, you see I have an uncle who is of Japanese descent and was nicknamed "chino" by everyone around him(this was baja, and the barrio so you get very inappropriate, incorrect nicknames thrown around). My tio chino, who I should probably call tio Tamura, moving forward, made the most delicious salsas any of us had ever tried. He also once very carefully tweezed out tiny sharp pieces of glass from the bottom of my foot, a broken jar of mayonnaise being the culprit of that situation. So, it's safe to assume that he was patient and precise and was good with his hands an he also had a way with spicy food creations that went beyond salsa making. 

Okay, so moving on with the story. I'm trying to figure out what to make and we pass by Tokyo Fish Market and suddenly a big giant light bulb turned on in my head. Make fish tacos from ingredients found at this wonderful japanese market. Plain and simple. I knew I had tortillas at home, and other condiments to make this dinner, like rooster sauce, spices, mayo, flour etc. We bought some tilapia to deep fry, japanese cucumbers and red cabbage for the slaw and japanese beer for the batter. We also bought a couple ears of fresh corn and an avocado for a side salad. And off I went, into what felt so familiar yet so unknown. 

for the fish:

1 lb. of tilapia(or any white fish such as cod or halibut)cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces

1 12oz. beer(you can use any light beer I used Kirin)

2 cups of flour

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon salt

for the slaw:

1 small red cabbage (or half red and half green cabbage)finely chopped, sliced or shredded.

1 japanese cucumber cut into thin small slices

1 small onion diced

1 serrano chile minced

1/2 cup chopped cilantro 

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon lime juice

salt and pepper to taste

for the creamy sauce:

1/4 cup of light mayonnaise 

2 tablespoons of chili garlic sauce (i used the rooster brand)

1 teaspoon lime juice

for the salad:

2 ears of fresh corn

1 avocado cut in chunks.

5 cherry tomatoes halved

1 teaspoon olive oil 

2 scallions white and green parts

salt and pepper to taste

What to do:

Mix 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon of salt and dredge pieces of fish in the mix. Prepare the batter by pouring one 12oz. beer in a bowl with 2 cups of flour. Pour canola or vegetable oil into a deep skillet or dutch oven at a depth of about 1 1/2 inch at around 360 degrees. Coat fish in batter and fry in batches about 4 minutes until golden. Drain on paper towels. To make the slaw, mix the cabbage, cilantro, onion, serrano, cucumber, rice vinegar, lime juice, salt and pepper to taste. Mix mayonnaise and chili sauce with lime juice and mix well. To make the salad, husk the corn and slice the kernels with a knife, add avocado and tomatoes, scallions, olive oil, salt and pepper and toss.  Heat corn tortillas and place 1-2 pieces of fish on them. Squeeze lime wedges over the fish and top with cabbage slaw and creamy sauce, serve with the corn avocado salad.