Fish Tacos (with Pickled Slaw and Jalapeno Mayo)

Tacos are delicious morsels, packed with flavour and these fish tacos served with pickled slaw and jalapeno mayo are no exception!

Crispy slivers of barramundi with sweet n’ salty pickled onions and carrots, finished off with jalapeno mayo to spice things up a bit. These fish tacos are easy to put together that brings the whole family around at the dinner table.

It’s been a little crazy out here, with all of us getting sick and that paired with the start of the school holidays, when every routine gets unfollowed. A death in the family further put me back on spirits so there’s been very little work that I have actually been doing. Top that with the early winter sunsets, I hardly get to shoot any food if I haven’t prepared it on time.

I made these fish tacos for a client, so thought this was a good time to share it with you especially if you live Down Under and have hungry kids all day at home. Tacos are one of my favourite things to make in the kitchen because even though there is a bit of prep involved, it’s easy and everyday ingredients that can be put together really quickly.

You could use any white fish for this recipe; buy whatever is in season and locally available. We are lucky to get local and really fresh barramundi out here so that’s why I have used it. But any white fish with a relatively firm flesh can be used.

I always have an assortment of pickled veggies in my refrigerator; it’s just a convenient, affordable and simple way to add oodles of flavour to your food. For these tacos, I have made pickled slaw using carrots and onions with whole spices for that extra hint of flavour. And the jalapeno mayo, which is the simplest thing to make. I have grown quite fond of homemade mayo, it’s such an easy job once you begin to do it regularly and so much healthier than the bottled stuff. So do give it a try if you have never made it before.

Also, do check out this super delicious Chicken Tinga Tacos.

Print Recipe

Fish Tacos (with Pickled Slaw and Jalapeno Mayo)

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican

Ingredients

• Wheat tortillas
• 1 large carrot; julienned
• 1 large red onion; julienned
• 2 barramundi fillets; sliced into 1 inch thickness
• 2 eggs; whisked
• 2 cups breadcrumbs
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• Salt to season
• Black pepper to season
• Vegetable oil; to fry the fish
• Fresh coriander leaves
• Lemon wedges

Pickling liquid

• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1 ½ cup water
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 10 black peppercorns
• ¼ tsp brown mustard seeds
• ¼ tsp fennel seeds
• ½ tsp coriander seeds

Jalapeno Mayo

• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 2-3 fresh jalapenos; chopped
• Juice of ½ lemon

Instructions

• To make the pickling liquid, add the vinegar, water, salt, sugar and whole spices to a pot. Bring to boil and then simmer gently for 5 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.
• Place the carrots and onion in a bowl; strain the pickling liquid into this and refrigerate till it is time to serve.
• Marinate the fish slices with half of the paprika and chilli powder. Season with salt and black pepper; keep aside for 30 minutes.
• Add the remaining paprika and chilli powder to the breadcrumbs; mix well.
• Season the beaten eggs with salt and pepper.
• Heat oil in a large pan to fry the fish.
• Coat each piece of fish in the egg mixture and then roll in the breadcrumbs.
• Deep fry till golden brown and keep aside.
• To prepare the jalapeno mayo, blitz the chopped jalapenos with mayonnaise and juice of half a lemon. Season with salt only after tasting.
• Warm the tortillas just before serving.
• To serve, place 2 fried fish slices inside the tortilla; top with pickled onions and carrots followed by a dollop of the jalapeno mayo. Finish off with some fresh coriander leaves and a squeeze of lemon.

Notes

Corn tortillas can also be used. If you cannot find tortillas, you can make mini chappathis and use it as the tortillas.