Family-Meal Fish Tacos

Family-Meal Fish Tacos
Marcus Nilsson for The New York Times. Food stylist: Chris Lanier. Prop stylist: Theo Vamvounakis.
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
5(1,959)
Comments
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This is a fast, satisfying fish dinner with Cajun flavors. Chad Shaner cooked it for staff meals when he was a line cook at Union Square Cafe in Manhattan. It was, he said shyly when The Times talked to him in 2013, one of the restaurant staff's favorites. “Everyone loves taco day,” he said. The recipe is not particularly Mexican. Shaner hails from Smyrna, Del., and served in the Navy before he went to cooking school. He makes a forceful kind of American food that borrows its flavors from wherever they are strongest. His fish tacos, he said, are something he cooked up one night with his brother, Andy, a bartender. “We were looking for intense flavor,” he said of the Cajun-style rub they used on the fish. —Sam Sifton

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 2tablespoons chile powder
  • 2tablespoons garlic powder
  • 2tablespoons paprika
  • 1tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1teaspoon red-pepper flakes, or to taste
  • pounds firm white fish fillets, like cod or red snapper, skinless
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • cups sour cream
  • 2chipotle chilies in adobo, finely chopped, or more to taste
  • 12white corn tortillas
  • 3tablespoons neutral oil, like grapeseed or canola
  • 6scallions, trimmed and cut into 4-inch lengths
  • 5radishes, trimmed and sliced thin
  • 8ounces Cheddar cheese, grated
  • 2limes, cut into wedges
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

765 calories; 49 grams fat; 21 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 17 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 49 grams carbohydrates; 9 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 38 grams protein; 1004 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Preheat oven to 350. Combine the chile powder, garlic powder, paprika, cumin and red-pepper flakes in a shallow dish. Season the fish fillets aggressively with salt and pepper, then press them into the spice mixture, turning to coat. Set aside.

  2. Step 2

    Combine the sour cream and the chipotles in a small bowl, and stir to combine. Set aside.

  3. Step 3

    Cook the tortillas until they are toasted in a large skillet set over high heat, approximately 30 seconds or so per side, then stack them on a large sheet of aluminum foil. Wrap the foil around the tortillas, and place the package into the oven to heat.

  4. Step 4

    Turn the heat under the pan down to medium-high, and add a tablespoon of the oil and then the scallions. Cook these, tossing occasionally, until they are about to char, then remove and set aside.

  5. Step 5

    Add the remaining oil to the pan and heat it until it begins to shimmer. Add the fish and cook until well browned and crisp, approximately 4 minutes per side. Remove from pan and slice into strips or simply break into pieces.

  6. Step 6

    Serve the fish with warm tortillas, garnished with the scallions, radishes, cheese and chipotle sour cream, and lime wedges on the side.

Ratings

5 out of 5
1,959 user ratings
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Comments

Lovely. But fish tacos need more veggies. Cilantro leaves, minced tomato, avocado. Maybe some finely sliced lettuce or cabbage. Put some California in it, dude!!

Generic recipe terms like "Red Snapper" and "Cod" represent both threatened species and safer alternatives. For example, rockfish from places like Alaska and CA may be labeled as red snapper and it is considered a good choice, but other fish labeled as red snapper may not be. Ditto for Atlantic cod. Seafood Watch has a wallet guide that I've found to be very helpful when shopping for ingredients.

I made this once and was so taken with the fish preparation that I've made the fish alone over and over.

Excellent flavor for the fish. And the overall palate melted well together. I used a rockfish out of California. Def hit this one up for a simple but tasty meal.

I've been making a similar version for years. I add some sugar to the rub (about 1 tsp or so) and cook the fish under the broiler. It's less messy than pan frying, and the sugar helps develop a nice caramelized crust on the fish.

We tried it with pickled cabbage because we didn’t have the veggies called for and it was FANTASTIC!

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Credits

Adapted from Chad Shaner

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