I’ve been working in California for the last 2 months and have become quite addicted to Mexican street tacos. There are as many places to buy tacos here as there are delis in NY. In fact, I haven’t even seen a delicatessen here.
I became very fond of shrimp tacos a few years ago when a friend of mine took me out to a seafood store/restaurant on the north shore of Long Island. Oddly enough, when I worked in Florida in ’23, I couldn’t find a place that made them as good as what I had tasted at home. And here on the West coast they are very different – as expected, south of the border style. And delicious. I work with a woman from Atlanta who loves the tacos so much she eats them almost every day for lunch.
Tacos are made with beef, chicken, pork or fish and occasionally you can find a vegetarian version. Most are filled with cabbage, onions and peppers, onions and tomatoes, tomatoes and avocados, chopped cilantro, cheese, salsas or anything else a creative cook has come up with. And I love the crema sauce. It’s simply sour cream mixed with lime juice. It adds great flavor – especially on shrimp. When I get home, I might try it on my baked salmon.
The other thing about the tacos here is that they are served using the much smaller version of corn tortillas – usually 2 layers so it’s not so soggy. Sometimes messy to eat, but so delicious. Following are a few basic recipes and one for a nice cilantro lime sauce. Enjoy.
Easy Fish Tacos
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
3-4 Tbs. lime juice (from 2 limes)
1 tsp. hot sauce (optional)
1/2 small head red cabbage, shredded (about 4 cups)
12 taco-sized (small) corn or flour tortillas
1 lb. cod or other white fish filets (or shrimp!)
2-3 tsp. chili powder, enough to coat the fish
1 tsp. kosher salt
Olive oil for cooking fish
Toppings:
1 avocado, sliced
4 radishes, thinly sliced
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1/3 cup roughly chopped cilantro
More lime juice if desired
For the taco sauce: In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, lime juice, and hot sauce (if using). Stir until combined and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the shredded cabbage with 3 tablespoons of the taco sauce. Stir to coat and add more taco sauce if you like. (Just enough to wet the cabbage)
In a dry skillet over medium-high heat, warm the tortillas one at a time for about 30 seconds on both sides. (Or wrap 1 to 3 tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave for 30 seconds) Keep warmed tortillas wrapped in a clean dish towel while you make the fish.
Sprinkle the fish on both sides with chili powder and salt. Gently rub in the seasonings with your fingers to make sure the fish is entirely coated. Warm a large cast iron (or nonstick) skillet on the stovetop over medium-high heat. When hot, add one tablespoon of olive oil and tilt the pan to entirely to coat the bottom.
Add the fish to the pan and cook for 2 minutes. Flip the fish and cook another 2 minutes. Flip and cook 1 to 2 minutes longer if needed; the fish is done when it is opaque all the way through and breaks apart easily. Transfer to a serving platter and use a fork or a knife to gently break the fish into large chunks. Assemble the tacos with a few pieces of fish, some cabbage slaw and toppings of your choice.
Mexican Steak Tacos
1 Tb. vegetable oil
3 Tbs. fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
3 Tbs. low sodium soy sauce
4 cloves garlic minced
2-1/2 tsp. chili powder
1-1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1-1/2 tsp. dried oregano
2 lbs. flank steak or skirt steak cut in 1/2-inch pieces
12 mini-corn or flour tortillas
Taco Toppings:
freshly chopped cilantro
freshly diced red onion
fresh limes cut into wedges
Pour vegetable oil, lime juice, soy sauce, garlic, chili powder, cumin and oregano into a large bowl. Whisk to combine. Place steak pieces into the marinade; toss to coat all the steak pieces. Cover with a lid and place in refrigerator. Allow steak to marinate for 2 hours or up to 12 hours.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Using a slotted spoon, remove half of the steak from the marinade. (Cook steak in two separate batches to prevent over-crowding the skillet.) Place steak pieces in hot skillet. Cook and stir for about 4 minutes or until steak reaches your desired temperature. Place cooked steak onto a plate and tent with foil to keep warm. Cook remaining batch of steak to your desired temperature. Discard marinade. Serve the steak in warmed tortillas with any or all desired toppings.
Cilantro Lime Sauce
1 8oz. container of sour cream
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
2 limes
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped*
1/2 tsp. of kosher salt (or to taste)
Place the sour cream, chopped cilantro and the juice of 1 lime in a blender and blend until smooth. Add jalapeno – whatever amount your taste buds can handle. Then add salt and more lime if desired, to taste. Blend all until smooth. Serve on your tacos or maybe on a chicken enchilada or grilled fish.
*If you don’t want to chop and chance having to touch an itchy eye, buy a jar of already chopped jalapenos and add one teaspoon at a time until you’re happy with the flavor and heat of the sauce. Just saying…as I have not thought about the jalapeno juice on my fingers and just rubbed my eye. Boy does it burn! Then again, maybe you’re all smarter than that – LOL!