Fried Tilapia Fish Tacos

I love fish tacos. I made them for the first time a few months ago using Catfish. Fish tacos can be made with pretty much any fleshy white fish. I've since refined my technique and while there is still a lot I can improve on, I have created a rather solid method for fried tilapia tacos. This is a wonderful meal for a party or large group. It's fun to create a buffet of toppings and allow guests to create their own tacos. It's difficult to go wrong with toppings; the hard part is making it all fit in the small corn tortillas! There is a well known restaurant near my apartment called Mercadito; I have yet to actually eat there but they have a $20 all-you-can-eat taco night on Tuesdays! I'll have to check it out for toppings and sauce inspiration. All the cutting and prep work for the toppings can be done ahead of time when you marinate the fish. This way it's all ready to go as soon as you fry the fish. Enjoy this meal with some mojitos or corona and you've got a fantastic fiesta on your hands!  I picked up delicious Indonesian Tilapia from Rainbo's Fish at Essex Market this weekend. They sell "Uptown fish at downtown prices" and have sushi grade fish too!

I also picked up a large Gwen avocado from the Essex Market. These are a large oval shape and the flesh is creamy and sweeter tasting that traditional avocado. The green skin is pebbly and these are available through late summer.

Fried Tilapia Fish Tacos

(5 large filets of tilapia can make about 20 tacos)

Ingredients:

Tilapia

Buttermilk

Hot pepper sauce

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 handful chopped cilantro

Flour
Cayenne powder
Olive oil

Toppings:
Spanish rice
Cilantro chopped
Green onions sliced
Chopped red onion
Avocado slices
Green cabbage sliced
Salsa
Lime wedges

Directions:
1. Wash the tilapia and place in a glass bowl. Fill the bowl with buttermilk until fish is immersed. Add in hot pepper sauce depending on how spicy you like your food. Then add in lime juice and cilantro. Gently mix the ingredients and flip the tilapia to make sure the pepper sauce and cilantro are evenly dispersed. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1.5 hours and no more than 3 hours.

2. In a large dish or bowl mix flour and cayenne powder (amount depends on your heat tolerance).

 

3. Heat olive oil in a pan. Keep olive oil readily available as you will need to add more between each fish filet.

4. Taking one filet at a time, remove from the marinade and place in the flour mixture to fully coat. Then place the coated filet bake in the buttermilk mixture briefly before placing back into the flour mixture for a second time. This double dipping in the buttermilk and flour mixtures makes the fried coating extra thick and crispy.

5. Place filet in the pan. Fry on each side for about 4 minutes. 

 

 6. Place fried filets on a pan in the oven at 200 degrees to keep warm and cook further while you prepare the other filets.

7. Heat corn tortillas over a flame for about 20 seconds on each side and flip with tongs. Cover to keep warm.

 

8. Put out the toppings and start creating delicious fish tacos!

 

CHEERS!!