Swai Tacos

I've been insanely busy the last few days so I haven't been making much food. However, now that I have a little time to breathe, I got to relax and make a nice meal tonight.  I was out running errands today and decided to stop in the grocery store and see what, if any, fish looked fresh.  The swai looked great and it was on sale.  I'd never tried swai before but I decided to give it a shot.  It was very mild flavored but had a nice sweetness.  It cooked up very quickly and was still nice and moist when I flaked it after cooking.

I decided to turn it into fish tacos.  I love fish tacos and often order them when we go to Bros. Tacos which - for those in and around Albany - has some of the best tacos I've ever had.  To go with the fish, I picked up some cabbage, some avocados, and some limes.

I made some guacamole and a quick cabbage slaw to go on the tacos.  Not entirely necessary... it would have been delicious with just lettuce and tomato too.  But the tacos were yummy with a bit of guac and slaw mixed in with the fish.  

I used soft corn tortillas as I love the taste and texture of them with the fish.  Corn tortillas just need to be warmed before using.  I put mine in the microwave for a minute, wrapped in damp paper towels, and they came out perfectly pliable and delicious.

Overall, this was a really easy meal to make - and it could have been even easier if I didn't want to take the time to make the toppings.  And it was really healthy too.  The only issue I had was that the fish stuck to the pan a bit.  But given that I was flaking it for the tacos anyway it wasn't a big deal.  Still delicious.  

I think next time I might make a spicier salsa to go on it as well as everything I had was fairly sweet.  Jeremy said he didn't mind it though and ended up eating quite a few tacos.  Between us we finished all ten of the corn tortillas I bought today.  This meal didn't have leftovers (except for some slaw and about 2 tbs of guac), which is probably a good thing with fish - but we also didn't have side-dishes... just tacos. Yum!

Recipe:

1 lb. Swai fillets (or any other firm white fish)

salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Pat the fillets dry. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray, place fish on baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes until fish flakes easily. (Timing will vary depending on size/shape of the fillets. - I had two 1/2 lb fillets that were about 1/2" thick.)

4. Remove fillets from the baking sheet and flake with a fork into bite-sized pieces.  Serve on tortillas with your choice of toppings -- Many other combinations of taco toppings would also be delicious... I will definitely be making many variations on this in the future. :)

Guacamole:

2 avocados

1 tomato, diced

1 jalapeño, minced

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 lime

1. Remove flesh from the avocados and place in a large bowl. Squeeze lime juice onto the avocados and mash with a fork.

2. Add remaining ingredients and mix to combine.

Cabbage Slaw:

1 carrot, grated

3 c. shredded green cabbage

1/4 c. orange juice

zest of 1 lime

1/4 c. vegetable oil

1/4 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. salt

1. Add orange juice, lime zest, oregano, cumin, cayenne, black pepper, and salt to a large bowl.  While whisking, drizzle oil into the mixture to create an emulsion. 

2. Add carrot and cabbage and mix well.  Adjust seasonings as necessary.