Fish Tacos with Cabbage and Mango
Is it just me or does everything always taste better when you put it in a tortilla shell? Call something a taco and I immediately say, “yup, I want that”. I always keep tortilla shells in my refrigerator so that on any given day I can use whatever I have on hand to make some version of a taco. Look in my refrigerator right now and there are probably small tortillas, large tortillas; corn ones, flour ones, wheat ones. When it doubt, put what you have on hand into a tortilla shell and look, you have a delicious taco. Ok, ok, this doesn’t work if all you have is ketchup and milk, but I’m willing to bet keeping extra tortilla shells on hand will pay off.
I play with recipes for fish tacos all the time. I like this particular one because the ingredients are minimal. Instead of making a separate slaw, a separate salsa, and a separate sauce, I kept everything simple. I used seasoned cod which is light and flaky and added mango, cabbage, cilantro, jalapeno and a dollop of cream. The flavors compliment each other well without needing a lot of prep. You could swap out the type of fish or substitute shrimp.
The recipe cooks fast, the clean up is fast, and the tacos disappear fast. It works great for a week night meal when you don’t have a ton of time to pull something together, but still want something fresh and flavorful.
Fish Tacos with Cabbage and Mango Recipe
Makes 3 tacos.
Ingredients
- 6 ounces fresh cod
- 1 tsp seasoning. I used Penzey’s Arizona Dreaming – (a mix of ancho chili pepper, black pepper, onion, garlic, paprika, spices, cumin, Mexican oregano, cilantro, lemon peel, chipotle pepper, red pepper, jalapeño, cocoa and natural smoke flavoring.) Fajita seasoning works as a substitute.
- 1/4 Tbsp butter
- 1/2 of a mango, cubed
- 1 jalapeno, chopped
- Handful fresh cilantro
- 1 cup napa cabbage, thinly sliced
- Crème fraiche or sour cream
- 3 small tortilla shells, corn or flour
- 1 lime
- 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp sugar
Directions
- Cut the cod into medium sized pieces. Spray the fish with cooking spray and sprinkle with 1 tsp of seasoning to coat all sides. (I used Penzey’s seasoning mix; substitute fajita seasoning.)
- Melt 1/4 Tbsp of butter in a medium sized skillet. When the skillet is hot add the cod. Let the fish cook about 2-3 minutes on one side and then flip fish cooking about 2-3 minutes on the other side. The fish will be tender so scrap gently from the bottom of the pan. Fish will turn opaque and start to flake when cooked through.
- Cut the mango in half around the inside pit. Take each half and run a knife in both directions to create cubes (don’t slice the knife all the way through the skin). Invert the mango half to separate the mango squares. Using a knife cut the mango away from the skin. Cut the large pieces into small bite size pieces if needed.
- Remove the top from the jalapeno and cut lengthwise. Remove the inside seeds. Thinly slice and chop the jalapeno, about 1 Tbsp.
- Remove the cilantro leaves from their stems and chop into about 2 Tbsp.
- Very thinly slice the napa cabbage into roughly 1 cup.
- In a bowl, combine 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice, 1 Tbsp rice vinegar, 1 tsp olive oil, 1/8 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp sugar. Whisk with a fork and add the cabbage and jalapeno.
- Warm 3 tortilla shells in the microwave.
- Divide the cod evenly between the three shells, top with cabbage, cilantro leaves, mango and crème fraiche or sour cream.
Investing in good spices or spice combinations may seem like an after thought to cooking. You glance through the recipe list and make sure you have the main ingredients forgetting to check in the depth of your spice rack for that 4 year bottle of cumin. Don’t be that person. The right spices can make all the difference. And even dried spices go bad. One of my favorite places to order spices is from Penzey’s. They have a few physical stores, but I primarily use their online catalog. Check them out at https://www.penzeys.com/. Or take advantage of a local spice store in your area.
Use the Extra Ingredients
If you have leftover mango add it to yogurt or oatmeal. Use extra cabbage in a stir fry or slice thinly and mix into a lettuce salad for an added crunch.
Home
