When you think of sunny San Diego beaches, I’m sure the thoughts of sun, surf, sand and surfers enters your mind. After a day of catching waves and hanging ten, you’ve worked up an appetite but don’t want something heavy. Somehow, the fish taco was introduced to the beach crowd, thus becoming the SoCal culinary staple that it is today. The recipe was simple: fish, batter fried or grilled, cabbage mixture, tortilla and fresh lime juice. Simple, easy, light, satisfying and delicious. The dish was found in restaurants, at beach stands and in food trucks. And the possibilities were endless for options.
Now, there is great debate on whether or not the fish taco actually originated in California or Mexico. Why wouldn’t the Mexican people who had already been putting protein in tortillas for years and eating them as tacos not do this with fish? They were surrounded by lots of water, had access to wonderful fish and could easily make this for themselves, which I believe they did. But when the dish resurged itself much to the delight of the clean eating folks in Southern California, the state staked claim to the meal. Just like anything else, there are two sides to every story. This one isn’t as big of a debate as the New York/Chicago pizza debate. But it is one that lives on to this day.
I am a big fan of fish tacos myself. I’m not a heavy eater and love having things that are different then the norm. This was actually a recipe I came up with a couple of years ago when we were jonesing for something different for dinner. It is actually quite easy to make and has become a bit of a staple in our supper routine. These have also been made for friends and I quote, “might have been the best tacos he’s ever had”. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but these came out damn good.
We use yellowfin tuna that we get at our local grocery store. Thankfully it’s of great quality and is actually not priced high at all. You can use any kind of fish you like for this recipe. We are just huge tuna junkies and love to have it whenever we can. Cod, snapper, mahi mahi, shrimp, lobster or even crab works well with this too.
If you are going to go with tuna and are going to sear it the way I prefer it, I can’t stress this enough. GET QUALITY TUNA. I cook mine rare as rare can be. I do not recommend you doing this with a low grade, freezer section tuna. Get Ahi or Yellowfin and make sure it’s legit. If it’s another variation of tuna, cook it longer. If you are not a fan of rare tuna, please feel free to cook this longer. I view Yellowfin and Ahi tuna as a quality steak. Some prefer theirs rare to medium rare. Cooking it well can be considered offensive to some. Please be conscious and aware of the fish you are eating. With anything else, not cooking it to the proper temperature of 145 degrees can put you at the risk of food borne illness.
Prepare all of your other ingredients ahead of time such as your slaw, your sauces and your lime wedges. This is what we can an ” a la minute” recipe, which is one that is done immediately in that moment. If you are looking to cook your tuna rare like mine, this is going to be a very quick process in a hot pan. Heat the pan with a little oil, sear quickly for a minute or two on each side and remove from heat.
I have found having a partner to heat tortillas in a pan during this time helps as well. We use soft flour tortillas but corn tortillas work as well. You can also microwave these to make your life easier.
Three sauces seem like a lot for one taco, but I’m here to tell you, they each bring something else to the table. Also, my name is Karen and I am a sauce addict. I love all kinds of sauces with chicken, fries and pretty much everything else. So bringing in a few to this dish worked out great. The soy glaze brings a saltiness to the dish. The spicy mayo not only gives great color to the dish, but offers some smoothness to the dish. And finally, a wasabi sauce offers great color as well but that a real punch of horseradish spice. If wasabi is new to you, it’s Japanese horseradish that is traditionally served next to sushi (the little green mountain of playdoh looking stuff). If heat is not your thing, feel free to omit that sauce and stick to just a bit of sriracha mayo.
Cali Tuna Tacos
Serves 4
- 1 cup Soy Sauce
- 1 Tbsp Corn Starch
- 1/4 cup Water
- 1 cup Mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup Sriracha
- 2 cups Red Cabbage, shredded
- 1 cup Green Cabbage, shredded
- 1 cup Carrots, shredded
- 1 lb Yellowfin Tuna Steaks (or Cod, Salmon, Flounder, Mahi-Mahi)
- Salt & Pepper to Taste
- 8 taco sized Flour Tortillas
- Store Bought Wasabi Sauce (Optional)
- Lime wedges for garnish
In a small sauce pan, heat soy sauce over medium heat.
In a separate small bowl, combine cornstarch and water. Stir until blended. Pour into hot soy sauce and continue stirring until thickened. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
In a small bowl, combine sriracha and mayonnaise together. In a large bowl, combine both cabbages and carrots together. Mix in 1/4 of sriracha mayonnaise, just enough to coat slaw mixture. Chill until ready to serve.
Season fish on both sides with salt and pepper liberally. Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat with a 1 tbsp of oil. Once good and hot, sear the tuna for a minute or two on each side for rare. Cook for 3-4 minutes for medium and longer for a more firm fish.
Allow Tuna to rest for 5 minutes before slicing into strips. Cut against the natural grain of the fish to avoid connective tissue.
Heat tortillas for 10-20 seconds and serve warm. Assemble tacos by layering tortilla with wasabi sauce, tuna, soy glaze, slaw, and additional sriracha mayo. Garnish with fresh lime wedges and enjoy!