Fish Tacos and Red Cabbage Slaw

Pacific Dover with mango, jalapeño glaze and red cabbage slaw and avocado.

Today AJ kicked my butt with an intense lifting circuit. I haven't lifted in months, so this was pretty hard for me. I really need to start lifting more. All the ladies out there should start too, because we all have to be worried about osteoporosis as we age. Weight lifting strengthens bones as well as making your muscles strong. Also, muscle burns more calories than fat, so you can eat more!

So after my workout session I was ready for some protein. I was in the mood for fish tacos and despite the plethora of Mexican food options in San Francisco I felt like making these myself. I ran to the store and picked out some pacific dover fillets from Oregon. I have never eaten dover before, but its a white fish that I thought would work with tacos. I marinated the fillets (which were super thin btw) in a store-bought mango jalapeño dressing. Always keep your marinade time to a minimum with thin flaky fish. One time I left some fish fillets in for a couple hours and they basically disintegrated. Those acids will par-cook the fish, so be careful! I seared the fillets in a pan and finished them off in the oven. They were super flaky and some of the fillets came apart in the process. But with fish tacos it doesn't really matter, it's all going in a tortilla.

Red cabbage, carrot, and cilantro slaw with a citrus, garlic dressing.

To compliment my fish, I immediately thought of cabbage slaw. I have been eating a lot of red cabbage in salads. It is super crunchy and adds great texture. It also holds up well to vinegars and citrus, so I knew it go well with the fish. I added some grated carrot and chopped cilantro to the sliced cabbage. The dressing was a simple lime, orange, vinegar, oil, garlic, salt mixture. It was delightful with the fish. The finishing touch was slices of avocado. Mmm now that's a good meal.

Fish Tacos

Ingredients

- 1 lb white fish (dover, tilapia, red snapper)

- mango jalapeno marinade (or your favorite storebought)

- 2 tbsp canola oil

- quarter to one half head of red cabbage, sliced thinly

- 1 carrot, grated

- 2 handfuls cilantro, chopped

- 1/4 cup lime, orange juice

- 1/4 cup champagne vinegar

- 1/4-1/3 cup canola oil (depending on how vinegary you like it)

- 2 cloves garlic (minced)

- 1/4 tsp salt

4 flour tortillas

1 avocado, sliced

lime wedges

Place fish fillets in a glass pan with marinade just covering them. Let stand in fridge for 20 minutes. Start on cabbage slaw while the fish marinates. Mix citrus juice, vinegar, oil, garlic, and salt in a bowl. Place the cabbage, carrot, and cilantro in a large bowl. Pour dressing on top and mix well. Place in fridge until ready to eat.

For fish, heat oil in saute pan on medium high. Make sure to wipe away excess marinade from fillets. Place fillets in pan in batches (I put 3 at a time). They cook very quickly, so they only need about 60 seconds on each side. You can preheat the oven and keep the fillets warm while you finish the rest. Warm tortillas in microwave or toaster oven for 30 to 60 seconds. Serve fish on tortillas with slaw, avocado and lime juice (if you desire).

Salud!

Mahalo Oahu!

View from John Domini's Restaurant in Waikiki.

I just got back from Hawaii and what a beautiful place it is. Although we stayed in the super touristy Waikiki beach, we still had a wonderful time. I did a little research on some good eats in the area. I was glad I did, because our concierge was less than helpful. We heard quite a few people say, "I don't eat in Waikiki." As our trip progressed we began to understand that the slew of chain restaurants and high prices would discourage one from eating around here. We did manage to find a couple gems.

Another view of the water.

When you're on a tropical island, you want to be able to look at the water as often as possible (at least that's my strategy). I was hopeful about John Domini's because of its good reviews and view of the ocean. We walked into the restaurant fairly early in the evening, to find only a few other tables occupied. The lack of a crowd can make one nervous, but we were not to be disappointed. The wait staff was friendly, albeit a little pushy about certain dishes. The local fish came highly recommended.

Opakapaka.

Lucky for us we were able to see the fish up close and personal. Whether or not this really aided in our decision, it was cool none the less. I ended up ordering the Opakapaka, with the waiter recommending the lemon butter sauce.

Onaga.

AJ was set on ordering Mahi Mahi that evening, but our persuasive waiter managed to steer him towards the local beauty - Onaga. Crusted with macadamia nuts and stuffed with crab, how could you go wrong?

Coco cabana.

Mojito.

Besides eating as much seafood as possible, you have to order tropical drinks while vacationing in a beach destination. You have to. The mojito has always been my favorite drink of choice, more refreshing than alcoholic. John Domini's prepared this one beautifully - fresh mint and lime juice, with rum, simple syrup, and club soda. A little on the sweet side, this mojito was the perfect accompaniment. AJ had been talking about pina coladas, but went with the coco cabana - a combination of pineapple juice, coconut rum, midori melon, and a dash of cream. A sweet tropical blend that screamed Hawaii.

Opakapaka sauteed in a lemon butter sauce with capers.

Our entrees came out fairly quickly to our delight. The portions were quite large. The fish were fresh, warm, and flaky. My lemon butter sauce was light, yet creamy, working well with the mellow white opakapaka. Although to be honest I think lemon butter sauce works well with cardboard.

Macadamia crusted Onaga stuffed with crab and tempura prawns.

AJ was pleased with his dish as well. The sweet crab meat and crunchy nuts were a welcome addition to the moist onaga. Both dishes were served with sauteed veggies and your choice of brown, white or fried rice, or mashed or baked potatoes. Our fried and brown rice were both rather bland. The fish are clearly the main event.

Happy faces and happy bellies.

Bottom Line: John Dominis is a pretty pricey place to eat. But the service, view, and wonderful seafood makes this destination much more appealing than the Cheesecake Factory on the Waikiki strip. Afterall, if you're on vacation you might as well do it up.

Salmon in a Cilantro Lime Sauce

Salmon, wild rice, and steamed asparagus.

I have been eating less meat recently, but that doesn't mean I don't have a craving for it every now and then. Recently I had been lusting after the beautiful rose colored flesh of the wild pacific salmon. While walking through the farmer's market, I stumbled upon a fish monger selling some beautiful fish fillets. The wild salmon looked too good to pass up. At $22 for 2 lbs of fish, I felt like we were getting a pretty good deal. Our fish guy informed us these beauties were from British Columbia. Not exactly local, but better than farmed, and still on the west coast.

I had some wonderfully fragrant cilantro and some limes, so I decided to mix up a cilantro lime sauce to serve with our fish. Take two handfuls of cilantro, three cloves of garlic, the juice of two limes, and add just enough olive oil to emulsify in the food processor.

To cook the salmon fillets (I used 8 oz pieces), heat a pan over medium to medium high heat. Place 2 tbsp oil to coat the pan. When the oil shimmers, place the fillets in the pan, skin-side up cooking for 4-5 minutes. Flip and add the cilantro lime sauce on top. Cook for three minutes. There will still be pink in the middle. To finish cooking through, place in a 325 degree oven for 5-10 minutes.

The flesh was buttery and sweet. The cilantro lime added bright fresh flavors that worked well with the supple flesh. Serve with steamed asparagus and rice, and some lemon wedges. Bon Appetite!

Fish Tacos - Wahoo!

Blackend fish tacos with brown rice and black beans.

As I mentioned earlier, Justin came to visit for the weekend. A San Diego native, Justin has a special relationship with fish tacos. With an abundance of fish taco options, he said he would often eat them once a day for weeks. We decided to check out the popular fish taco chain, Wahoos. Being a UVA grad, how could I resist a place with a name like that (a wahoo is a fish who can drink twice its weight)?

Close-up: blackened fish tacos with cheese, cabbage, and salsa.

Wahoos is known for its fish tacos, which can also be ordered blackened (aka "spicy"). In addition to fish tacos, they also offer chicken and shrimp options. Justin recommended the blackened fish tacos with black beans and rice. AJ and I both opted for the brown rice, a recent addition to the menu. The weather was beautiful (as it has been in California), so we decided to eat outside.

Do you think he fit the whole thing in his mouth?

Many fast food taquerias fry their fish, but Wahoos does not. I am a fan of the fresh unfried fish flavors. These fish tacos were flaky and moist, with a spicy kick. We debated as to what kind of fish they used - tilapia, snapper? We felt silly when a staff member informed us that it was Wahoo. DUH!

The rice and beans were tasty, but as AJ said, "I think I would rather get three fish tacos than the rice and beans." To which Justin replied: "Or get three fish tacos and rice and beans!" He had just finished his third taco.

Bottom Line: For cheap, fresh fish tacos Wahoos has this recipe down.

Hump Day Dinner Part II

Malia and I had finished baking parts of our dinner feast the night before. We still need to broil up some fish, make a sauce, and roast some veggies. But more importantly, we decided we needed some wine before we began. Jenny bought us a lovely Yellowtail pinot grigio. (I always believe it's nice to have a glass in one hand before putting a spatula in the other.) Nice and crisp on the tongue, with notes of green apple.

Natalie added to the pre-party with some delicious appetizers of hummus, smoked salmon spread, cheese, and crackers. We had to restrain ourselves from eating more, knowing how much food was to come in an hour.

After turning on the oven to 400 degrees, we tossed some onions, garlic cloves, carrots, bell peppers, and asparagus in olive oil, salt, and garlic pepper. We put those in a pan to roast for 35-40 min. Thinking the fish would only take 20 min to cook, we waited awhile before we began with the rest of the meal. Boy did we underestimate how fleshy the red snapper was. I had never worked with this fish before, and assumed it would be similar to a tilapia. The fillets were much bigger than that of a tilapia, but less steaklike than a tuna or swordfish. It took approximately 30 min to broil these all the way through.

Because we chose a simple seasoning of oil, salt, and pepper for the fish, we needed a little something extra to serve with the red snapper. Two cans of roasted red pepper, sauted onion and garlic, basil, salt, pepper, a touch of evoo went into the blender. This mixture was reduced to a thicker consistency on the stovetop for about 5-10 min on low heat.

The final product was served to our hungry friends, with a side of veggies and challah.

The fish was moist and slightly salty. The roasted red pepper sauce added a nice touch of sweetness with the bell pepper and sauteed onion. The veggies were a little lukewarm by the time they were served, but were still delicious. Roasted vegetables have a slightly caramelized flavor, making it one of my favorite (and simplest) ways to serve vegetables. The challah might have been the highlight of dinner in my opinion (and not just because I helped make it!) It was soft, buttery, and slightly dense. The cinnamon came through and the sesame seeds added a nice crunch as well as another complimentary flavor. Plus, the smell was amazing.

I think the rest of the gang would agree, this was an excellent way to finish hump day!

Thanks for joining us!