Saturday, December 18, 2010

Hot Young Fish Tacos

If you've hung around the Uncanny Valley Facebook or Twitter feed a while, or you have any sort of regular contact with Mike, you've probably heard about the hot young fish tacos. And why not? Everyone is talking about them.

They are, though, in all seriousness, one of the most delicious and satisfying dishes we make. Satisfying because they involve so much work. There's the preparing, battering, and frying of the fish itself, and then the three, count 'em three, side garnishes we consider essential to the dish. There is a habanero salsa, a chipotle mayonnaise, and a red salsa for pre- or post-taco snacking. All told, the tacos take us about three hours to prepare, requiring two separate fryings and three separate uses and washings of the food processor. There's something really gratifying about consuming something that took a good part of the day to create, especially if you've done a good job. And I guess there's also the fun of having our insane cooperative system, including strategic breaks for sitting or switchoffs on running the food processor, work just well enough to get everything done on time and served at the appropriate temperature.

Plus they're delicious. Here are some pictures.


Some delicious fish taco pieces waiting patiently on a plate.


Red salsa materials roasting. (Most of the carcinogenic stuff comes off. But not all. Also, yes, that's 2 habaneros and 2 jalapenos. We later added a third for even more crazy heat.)


The second frying on our beer batter-spattered stove.


The finished tacos. (Neither of us will ever eat store-bought taco shells again, and you shouldn't either.)


The finished salsa. We make a lot because we inevitably eat a lot. This bowl holds 1.65 liters. That is not that far from having a 2 liter full of salsa!

Love,
Tracy

6 comments:

  1. All I'm going to suggest is cabbage. You can grate it w/ carrots and get a wonderful thing to stuff into fish tacos. But these look amazing regardless.

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  2. The recipe is copyrighted but I bet I can hook you up.

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  3. Yes! There was a "cole slaw" recipe in the book that I've always thought of trying, but both of us have had negative experiences. It's not a Southern style cole slaw recipe at all, though, so I'm considering it for next time.

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