Fish Tacos & Elote (Mexican Grilled Corn) Serves 4
Cod fried in tempura batter with chipotle remoulade and pickled cabbage, and grilled Mexican street corn with lime mayo.
This is the first recipe from Cooking Space.
If your family is like mine, they won’t be able to get enough of these fish tacos with Mexican street-style grilled corn. There’s a lot of ingredients, but they’re all relatively accessible and quick to prepare.
The cod is fried in my take on a Japanese tempura batter with one secret ingredient—vodka—but the alcohol will be cooked out, so this is still a kid-friendly meal. The crispy fish combines with the zingy quick pickled cabbage and creamy remoulade (with a kick from the chipotle) to form a perfect, lively balance of flavors, all achieved in just a few simple ingredients.
If you travel to Mexico, you’ll find elote (Spanish for “corn cob”) being prepared and sold at food stands in cities throughout the country. For my version, we’ll grill our corn to a perfect char, then smother it with lime mayo, and top it off with a sprinkle of traditional Cotija cheese and a dash of pequin chili powder. It’s seriously the perfect side for these tacos.
There’s no need to feel like a fish out of water. These are high quality tacos, but they’re so easy to make. I guarantee you’ll knock it out of the park, and your family will be thanking you for skipping the boxed taco kit this week to make this recipe instead!
Preparation
Prepare the cabbage
We recommend preparing this ahead of everything else, so it has the proper amount of time to rest before using.
- In a saucepan, bring the water and vinegar to a simmer. Stir in salt and sugar until dissolved.
- Turn off the heat and begin to cool. Meanwhile, using a knife or mandoline, shave the cabbage thinly chiffonade-style (in long strips). Store in a large mixing bowl.
- Pour the liquid mixture over the cabbage. Cover with plastic and allow to sit for at least one hour.
Cabbage can be reserved in the fridge for up to 1 week
Prepare the remoulade
- Finely chop your scallion and shallot, and place in a large mixing bowl. Do the same for the parsely and chives, and add them to the bowl.
- Chop your capers and add them to the mix along with the lime juice, chipotle en adobo, and mayo.
- Mix thoroughly using a whisk or rubber spatula. Season with salt, and adjust to your liking. Set aside.
Remoulade can be reserved in the fridge for up to 1 week
Prepare the batter
- In a mixing bowl, combine both flours, salt, and baking powder. Stir to combine.
- Stir in water and vodka until a thick, smooth batter forms.
- Add in malt vinegar and agave syrup.
- For best use, put batter in an iSi canister (charged whipped cream dispenser), and charge twice before use. Discard whatever is not used out of the canister.
Prepare the elote
- To make the lime mayo, combine 1 cup of mayo with the juice of 1 lime, and add salt to taste.
- Husk your corn and cut each ear into 2 pieces. Grill on a skillet, planxa, or grill for 5-7 minutes, or until all sides are nice and charred.
- Remove from the grill and add to a mixing bowl with the lime mayo. Add Cotija cheese and chile pequin powder.
- Mix until everything is fully combined and serve.
Prepare the tacos
- Fry the fish: Cut your cod into roughly 2 oz batons. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
- Submerge the fish in tempura batter and make sure it is coated all over.
- Heat vegetable oil to 350 F on the stove. Place battered fish in the hot oil and fry for 3-5 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through.
- Build the tacos: Warm your flour tortillas until soft and workable.
- Take half an avocado, pitted and removed from the rind, and slice thinly, about 1/8 in. each.
- Spread chipotle remoulade on the tortillas.
- Next, add your fish, then one or two slices of avocado per taco.
- Top with pickled red cabbage.
Ingredients
Tacos
- 12 flour tortillas
- 1 3/4 lbs. cod, cut into 2 oz. batons
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 4 cups vegetable oil, for frying
Chipotle Remoulade
- 2 cups mayo
- 2 chipotles en adobo, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp. chives, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp. parsley, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp. scallions, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp. shallots, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup capers
- 1 tbsp. salt
- 2 tbsp. lime juice
Tempura Batter
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup rice flour
- 1 tbsp. salt
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 cup water
- 1 1/2 cups vodka
- 1 tbsp. agave syrup
- 1 tsp. malt vinegar
Pickled Cabbage
- 1 head red cabbage, shaved
- 4 cups apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups water
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup salt
Elote
- 4 ears corn, on the cob
- 1 cup lime mayo (juice of 1 lime per cup of mayo, combined with salt to taste)
- 2 tsp. chile pequin powder
- 1/2 cup queso Cotija
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