Recipe: Baja Style Fish Tacos with Lingham’s Sriracha Crema

I am always fascinated with the many cuisines of the world and are game to try them. Ask my family and my boys will tell you that I don’t stick to one particular favorite cuisine at any time. On a regular week, I would enjoy various cuisines from all over the world happily simply because sticking to one cuisine is boring for me.

I was first introduced to Mexican food when I went abroad to study in the States. Even then, I was a bit hesitant about this cuisine, maybe because I wasn’t a fan of brown beans and green mush. Eating my words later after trying them with much persuasion from my sister, I have now grown to love Mexican food so much that I am quite frustrated that this cuisine is not as easily available in Malaysia as I would have loved.

Those days of visiting a little Mexican grocery store near my house where the owners barely speak any English was a priceless experience. I pointed out to what others are having and after the explosion of flavours, I have fallen deeply in love with green mush of Guacamole and creamy brown beans in my tacos and burritos. I have even tried making tacos at home, eager to replicate those longing of my favorite Mexican grocery stall. Usually I make pork or beef taco but then I was craving for fish tacos the other day.

Fish taco is not common here but it’s very popular in US. Originating from Baja in Mexico, the US version took off by storm and I had one of the best Baja Style Fish Tacos in San Diego. It’s simply a treat of bombastic flavours when it comes to this taco. Crispy fish, coleslaw, spicy crema sauce and corn tortilla was a genius creation if you asked me. So I set out to try and make this home one weekend.

Though many uses flour tortilla as they are more easily available here, there are some grocery stores like Village Grover who carries corn tortilla. I love corn tortilla more because I like the rustic corn flavour but you can just use flour tortilla if you can’t find corn. Buy a nice white firm fish for the crispy fish to get better flavours like halibut, lemon sole, cod, tilapia and more. I don’t recommend using Dory as it can taste frozen and watery unless you can find imported John Dory, which is Not the same as our regular Dory.

And since its also harder to Chipotle chili, I used my all-time-favorite LINGHAM’s Chili sauce for the sauce. LINGHAM’s Sriracha Sauce is perfect for this as it is pungent and piquant, boosting the crema or sour cream to new spicy notes. I also added some LINGHAM’s Original Chili Sauce in the taco for extra sweet and spicy flavours. Coleslaw is added to balance up the taco to a lighter note. I also added avocado because it is a classic in many Mexican dish.

The result is certainly very tasty and satisfying! Even my boys who are not a fan of Mexican food (cos I have yet to convert them to love this cuisine) enjoyed this with me. The crispy fish with crunchy and tangy slaw with corn tortilla and spicy robust sauce was a joy to eat.

Taco is quite a flexible dish so simply adjust the ingredients to your liking and to also what’s available in store for you. Try this for a party and let your guest assemble their own taco too. Make this and let me try to convince you to love tacos just as much as I do…

Baja Style Fish Tacos with LINGHAM’s Sriracha Crema

Cabbage Slaw

300gm          Red or White Cabbage (finely shredded)

50gm            Carrot (finely shredded)

½                 Onion (finely shredded)

5 tbsp           Apple Cider Vinegar

1 tsp             Sugar

                    Pinch of Salt

Spicy Sauce

2 tbsp           LINGHAM’s Sriracha Sauce

4 tbsp           Mayonnaise

4 tbsp           Sour Cream

½                 Lime (squeeze for juice)

Crispy Fish

400gm          White Fish (Snapper, Lemon Sole, Tilapia – cut into thick long strips)

1 cup            Plain Flour

1 tbsp           Wheat Starch (optional)

1 tbsp           Baking Powder

1 cup            Cold Water

1 tsp             Salt

                    Extra Plain Flour to lightly dust fish

                    Pepper to season

                    Oil for deep fry

                   

Fish Taco

8 pcs            Flour or Corn Tortilla

1 box           Cherry Tomatoes (cut into small quarters)

1                  Avocado (optional)

some            Cilantro leaves

1                  Red Chili (optional)

                    LINGHAM’s Chili Sauce

Method

Mix all the Cabbage Slaw ingredients, season to your taste and chill in fridge.

Mix all the Spicy Sauce ingredients and chill in fridge till ready to use.

Mix plain flour, wheat starch, baking powder, salt and cold water to a smooth batter.

Season fish strips with pepper and lightly dust with extra plain flour.

Heat up oil in a deep pot till fairly hot to ensure that the fish fries well.

Dip the fish strips into the batter and deep fry the fish till cooked, crispy and golden brown.

Season the hot crispy fish strips with a little salt while it’s still hot.

On a grill pan, lightly toast and warm up the tortilla and keep them covered in a kitchen towel together.

When ready to eat, top the tortilla with coleslaw, crispy fish strips, spicy sauce, LINGHAM’s Chili sauce, chopped cherry tomatoes, sliced avocado, cilantro leaves, red chili and lime wedge.

Serves 4

Extra Notes and Tips

• Substitute white fish with Salmon or prawns or squid
• Double fry the fish for extra crispiness and keep in warmed oven
• Any cabbage will do but I use purple for colors
• Add more LINGHAM’s Sriracha sauce if you like it spicier
• Make your own Salsa or Pico de Gallo and Guacamole to add to the tacos for extra flavours