Easiest Fish Tacos, Red Rice and Black Beans
- Level: Easy
- Yield: 4 servings
- Total: 30 min
- Active: 30 min
Ingredients
Fish:
3 large fillets of tilapia or other sustainable white flesh fish
About 1 1/2 cups milk
About 1 1/2 cups Wondra superfine flour
Salt and pepper
About 1 1/2 teaspoons or scant half palmful chili powder
About 1 1/2 teaspoons or scant half palmful granulated garlic
About 1 1/2 teaspoons or scant half palmful granulated onion
About 1 1/2 teaspoons or scant half palmful ground cumin
About 1 1/2 teaspoons or scant half palmful ground coriander
Safflower or other neutral oil, for shallow frying
Red Rice:
1/2 small to medium white or yellow onion
2 cloves garlic
1 vine tomato
About 2 tablespoons olive oil or neutral oil
1 cup white rice
Salt and pepper
About 1 1/2 teaspoons or scant half palmful pimenton or smoked paprika
About 1 teaspoon chili powder
About 1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 1/2 cups chicken stock or water
One 4-ounce can chopped green chiles
1 cup fresh or frozen green peas
Black Beans:
1/2 small to medium onion
2 cloves garlic
1 jalapeno pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil or safflower oil
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 bay leaf
1-inch piece of cinnamon stick
One 15-ounce can black beans, drained of some of the liquid
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper sauce, such as Frank's Red Hot
Pico de Gallo:
1 jalapeno pepper
1 red finger or Fresno pepper
1 small red onion
1 large clove garlic
Salt
1 lime
4 plum, Roma or vine tomatoes or yellow vine tomatoes
A small handful of fresh cilantro
To Serve:
1 small head savoy cabbage
1 lime, cut into wedges, plus 1 lime, for juicing
8 to 10 corn tortillas or 4 to 6 flour tortillas
One 15-ounce jar Mexican crema or 1 cup sour cream, in a squeeze bottle
About 3 tablespoons jalapeno hot sauce, such as Tabasco Green Pepper Sauce
Pickled sliced jalapeno peppers, for topping tacos
Directions
- For the fish: Cut the fish into 3-by-1-inch batons and place in shallow dish or plastic bag. Cover with milk.
- Combine flour with salt, pepper and dry spices in shallow dish or metal pan and set aside.
- Place very large shallow skillet on stove with thin layer (about 1/8 inch) of neutral oil, about 1/4 cup. Place foil-lined tray and wire rack near stove for cooked fish.
- For the red rice: Peel and finely chop onion and grate or chop the garlic. Grate the tomato.
- Heat a 2- to 3-quart saucepot over medium to medium-high heat with oil, 2 turns of the pan; add onions and garlic and stir a minute or 2, then add rice and salt, pepper and spices. Stir a minute or 2 more, then add stock and chiles and bring to boil; cover and reduce heat to low. After 12 minutes or so, add peas and tomatoes and cook 3 to 4 minutes more until rice is just tender. Let stand a few minutes, adjust salt and pepper, fluff with fork.
- For the black beans: Peel and finely chop the onion and grate or chop the garlic. Seed and finely chop the jalapeno pepper.
- Heat oil in a skillet, 1 turn of the pan, over medium-high heat; add onions, jalapeno and garlic, salt and pepper, cumin, bay and cinnamon. Stir a minute or so, then add about 1/2 cup water and let it absorb. Add black beans and hot sauce, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until ready to serve.
- For the pico de gallo: Seed and finely chop chile peppers, put in a bowl and wash hands. Finely chop and add half an onion; reserve the rest. Add grated or chopped garlic, salt, juice of 1 lime. Seed and chop tomatoes; add to bowl. Chop and add cilantro; toss.
- To serve: Halve the cabbage, remove core and very thinly shred; reserve the other half for another use.
- When rice and beans are about ready, heat skillet with oil over medium-high heat. Remove fish from milk and shake off excess, then coat fish in flour. Fry to crispy and brown, then remove to rack and serve with lime wedges.
- Char tortillas over gas burner or in a stainless pan preheated over high heat to blister and soften.
- Build tacos: Tortilla, fish, cabbage, pico, crema, hot sauce and pickled jalapenos. Add juice of 1 lime to beans. Serve tacos with rice and beans.