For our family, no trip to California is complete without a trip to Wahoo’s Fish Taco. Most often we frequent the restaurant in Laguna Beach. The menu is unique, fresh and delicious. The atmosphere is fun and friendly. By the reactions we have gotten over the years, most eating establishments are not accustomed to having a family of 8 walk through the door. The folks at Wahoo’s have always been more than kind and so it has become a place we love to visit when California makes a bid for our vacation time.
Lately our trips have become few and far between so it became apparent that I would need to come up with some type of fish taco to satisfy the cravings of this family in between jaunts to the beach cities.
So this is what I have come up with. It’s become just popular enough around here that one of my daughters dubbed Friday as Fish Taco Friday at her house. Nothing will ever replace Wahoo’s in our hearts or our palate but this comes in a close second.
You will need two tilapia fillets, mild flavored olive oil, cajun seasoning, small corn tortillas, an avocado, a bag of coleslaw, a jalapeno, a lime, radishes, green onions, cilantro, mayonnaise, sugar and if you are feeling a little spicy–a bit of buffalo sauce.
Rinse tilapia fillets and pat dry. Place on a foil lined baking sheet. Drizzle the top lightly with olive oil and spread the oil evenly over the fish. Sprinkle with creole or cajun seasoning. Place in a 350° oven for about 20 minutes, turning and seasoning at the halfway point of baking. You want that delicious spice all over that fish! The fish should flake apart nicely with a fork when it’s done.
While the fish is cooking combine 3 cups of shredded cabbage (I like to just buy that convenient bag with the carrots in it), 3 radishes sliced thinly, 2 green onions sliced, 1 jalapeno seeded and diced finely and 3 tablespoons of chopped cilantro. Have half a lime at the ready.
Now let’s prepare the dressing for the slaw. In a small bowl combine 1/4 cup mayonnaise with 1 teaspoon sugar, 1/8 teaspoon celery salt and about 1/4 teaspoon lime zest. Don’t combine the dressing with the slaw and juice from the lime until the fish is done and you are ready to serve the tacos. If you want extra kick–add 2 tablespoons of buffalo sauce to the dressing mix and turn it into a buffalo slaw!
When the fish is done, flake it apart into lovely bite size pieces. Squeeze one half of a lime on your slaw ingredients and add the dressing, tossing to coat. Using a skillet and a small amount of oil, warm the tortilla shells. Or place 4-5 tortillas, wrapped in foil, into a 350° oven for about 10 minutes.
Place a slice of avocado on the shell with 3 bite size pieces of fish and top with coleslaw. Serve immediately. Hope this recipe gets you through until you can hit up your favorite beach city restaurant!
- 2 tilapia fillets
- olive oil
- cajun or creole seasoning
- avocado slices
- corn tortillas
For the coleslaw - 1 jalapeno seeded and diced
- 3 radishes washed and sliced thinly
- 2 green onions washed and sliced
- 3 cups shredded cabbage or bagged coleslaw mix
- ½ lime juiced and zested, use the juice for the salad and the zest in the dressing
For the dressing choices...choices
Sweet Slaw Dressing - ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon celery salt
- ¼ teaspoon lime zest
Buffalo Style - add 2 tablespoons buffalo sauce to the Sweet Slaw Dressing
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Rinse and pat dry tilapia fillets.
- Drizzle the fillets with mild flavored olive oil.
- Sprinkle cajun or creole seasoning over the top of the fish. If you like it spicy--keep shakin.
- Bake for approximately 20 minutes, turning carefully once and sprinkling the under side of the fish with seasoning.
- While the fish is cooking, prepare the coleslaw and dressing.
- In a bowl, combine cabbage, green onions, sliced radishes, seeded and diced jalapeno and cilantro. Toss together and set aside with ½ a lime. We will squeeze this lime at the last minute.
- In a separate bowl, combine mayonnaise, sugar, lime zest and sugar.
- Stir.
- In a skillet, begin heating 8-10 small tortillas. This can also be done by wrapping 4-5 tortillas in foil and placing them in a 350° oven for about 10 minutes.
- Flake the fish into bite size pieces.
- Squeeze the lime half over the cabbage mixture and add the dressing.
- Toss.
- Slice an avocado and start making tacos!
- Lay three pieces of fish on each tortilla.
- Put a slice of avocado next to the fish.
- Top with slaw.
- Eat up!