Fish Tacos -- FINALLY

I finally did it! Ever since joining the cooking blogosphere I'd been itching to try fish tacos. Sure, I'd seen them on menus in Mexican restaurants, but the idea just did not sound palatable to me. FISH, in TACOS? I was picturing fishy bits, ground-beef style, seasoned like Taco Bell and wrapped in a tortilla. I pictured squishy, fishy, and the occasional innuendo male friends used to throw around in high school and think themselves very clever indeed. I did not picture this:

--or the many other gorgeous pictures I saw on my various favorite cooking blogs. Perhaps I was not giving fish tacos the chance they truly deserved. Slowly but surely, I built up my courage and tried this recipe from WeareNotMartha.com
They're right, this sauce cannot be beat. And with a quick broccoli slaw (made from memory from a recipe on a blog that is totally escaping me right now--if it's yours please send me the link!) and a dash of guac, these were pretty damn good. Next time around, I plan on seasoning the flour with cumin and chile powder, just to give it a bit more of a spicy, taco-ish kick. The garlic and onion salt didn't pack quite enough of a punch.

Crispy Fish Tacos with Broccoli Slaw
(from wearenotmartha.com)

Sauce:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
 
• 2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
 

Tacos:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
 
• 1 tsp garlic salt
 
• 1 tsp onion powder
 
• 1 tsp freshly ground white pepper
 
• 1 lb. tilapia fillets, cut into chunks
• 
2 large eggs, beaten
 
• 3 cups panko bread crumbs
 
• 3 cups vegetable oil, for frying

• corn tortillas

Slaw:

• 4 cups broccoli slaw
• 2 tbs lime juice
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

-Combine ingredients for the sauce, set aside. Combine ingredients for the slaw, set aside. Refrigerate both while making the tacos.

-Combine flour, garlic salt, and onion powder in a bag. Shake to combine. Put fish chunks in bag and shake until well-coated. Dunk each fish chunk in egg wash, then roll in panko.

-Heat oil over medium-high heat, then fry the fish until brown and crispy (WANM suggest 3 mins per side, I feel like it took me more like 5).

-Assemble the tacos!--tortilla, fish, slaw, sauce, guac.

These were pretty good. I'll be attempting a spicier version later in the summer most likely. Possibly a grilled one if I ever get off my butt and start that diet I've been meaning to, heh...