Pardon My Crumbs: Just for the Halibut... It's Fish Taco Time!

Those in the Bishop household – meaning Bryan and yours truly – can't get enough of fish tacos. We're regular patrons at our neighborhood Wahoo's Tacos and have just discovered Sharky's Mexican Woodfire Grill, perhaps more even delicious and nutritious. But our love for fish tacos extends far beyond Los Angeles. Last year on our Maui honeymoon, Bryan and I discovered a fish taco truck on the outskirts of Wailea. We ditched fancy poolside hotel lunches to drive down a dirt road, sit at the truck's dusty picnic table and enjoy freshly-caught Mahi Mahi tucked inside perfectly warm corn tortillas. There was nothing better in the world to us than relaxing in our bathing suits, listening to the crash of the ocean waves while enjoying the taste of warm corn tortillas, flaky white fish, shredded cabbage, diced onion and fresh lime juice. Throw on a splash of spicy salsa and I was in heaven.

Honeymoon lunchtime heaven: Maui's Mahi Mahi fish tacos

Jawz Taco Truck on Maui

While we can't get back to Maui as easily as we can get to Wahoo's, we tried to recreate the fish tacos in our own kitchen. The great news: they're incredibly inexpensive and quick to make. We just marinated the fish filets in some oil, lime juice and salt and pepper, then sprinkled on some chipotle chili pepper and threw them on the grill top. We warmed up the tortillas (wrap them in foil to keep them warm during dinner), bought pre-shredded cabbage, sliced some onion and lime wedges and we had a fantastic dinner! You can do the same! It's great for a small dinner for one, for two or for a group of friends. You can even get fancy and make a taco bar with additional toppings like avocado, pico de gallo, cilantro, etc.

Here's our recreated version of fish tacos

Here's our recipe:

Fish Tacos

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons chipotle chili pepper
1 pound white flaky fish fillet, like Mahi Mahi, tilapia, halibut or catfish
1 1/2 cups shredded cabbage (we bought a pre-shredded cabbage slaw)
1/2 cup diced white onion
Sliced wedges of lime
1 package corn tortillas
Optional: Sliced avocado, pico de gallo, etc.

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lime juice, salt and pepper. Pour over the fish fillets and let marinate for 20 minutes. Remove the fish from the marinade and sprinkle filets lightly with chipotle chili powder. Grill on a preheated grill or nonstick grill pan over a medium-high heat until cooked thorough, about 3 minutes per side. Set the fish aside on a plate for 5 minutes.

Heat the stack of corn tortillas in the microwave for one minute (wrapped in a damp paper towel) or grill individually on a grill pan for 30 seconds on each side. Flake the fish with a fork. Top tortillas with fish, cabbage and onion and serve with lime wedges.

Marinate the fish and grill it for ~3 minutes per side