Halibut Tikka Tacos

This is another in the series of posts on Alaskan fish tacos.  I agreed to blog some posts for the Alaskan fish taco board, or some such organization, and was compensated for doing so.  Truthfully, the compensation wouldn't be enough to get me to do the posts if I didn't like Alaskan seafood and feel it were important to promote sustainable fisheries.  In addition, Sunh Fish in Sacramento has moved and expanded and they have some of the freshest fish available.  The halibut for these tacos was pristine, one of the nicest pieces of fish I have ever had.

Halibut marinated in Indian spices, then quickly grilled and served with a cilantro garlic yogurt sauce seemed like a good idea for a taco with a twist.  This was a simple dish to prepare and could have been even easier had I used a packaged tandoori spice mix.  I made up my own, a simple mixture of cumin, coriander, paprika and cayenne.  This I mixed with some fresh ginger, garlic, salt, and yogurt.  I marinated cubes of the halibut in this for about two hours before grilling over coals on my sate grill. As this was for tacos, I served this in a homemade flour tortilla with shredded cabbage, a simple mango salsa, and the cilantro garlic yogurt sauce, but it would have been equally delicious with rice.

Halibut Tikka Tacos

1 pound of fresh halibut fillet
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 thumb of ginger, peeled and sliced
juice of one lime
1/2 cup of plain yogurt
1 TBS garam masala
1 TBS coriander seeds, toasted, cooled and ground to a fine powder
1 TBS cumin seeds, toasted, cooled and ground to a fine powder
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 1/2 TBS paprika
salt

Skin the fillet and cut into 1-inch cubes.  In a mortar, crush the garlic and ginger with the salt to a smooth paste.  Transfer this to a glass container, or baggie, and stir in the remaining ingredients.  Marinate the fish in this mixture in the refrigerator for up to two hours.  You don't want to marinate too long because the lime and yogurt will begin to affect the texture of the fish.

Thread the marinated cubes of fish onto bamboo skewers.  Grill briefly, maybe about 5 minutes altogether, over hot coals.  Place several pieces of fish into a warmed flour tortilla.  Add some finely shredded cabbage, mango salsa, and thinly sliced pickled red onion.  Add the cilantro garlic yogurt sauce.  Serve with black beans and rice.  A good cold beer or a well made margarita is the perfect drink to accompany this.  Enjoy.

Indonesian Pepes Ikan Tacos with Mango Salsa

Ikan pepes is a traditional method of preparing fish throughout Indonesia.  The fish may be whole or  filleted, covered with a spice paste, wrapped in banana leaf and then steamed or grilled.  The paste keeps the fish moist and gives it a wonderful flavor.  Although banana leaves are used to wrap the fish in Indonesia, foil can be used if you don't have a Hispanic or Asian market from which to purchase frozen banana leaves in the US.

I decided to adapt a pepes ikan recipe for a twist on fish tacos.  The spice and heat of the pepes ikan makes perfect sense in a fish taco, and the mango salsa with jicama and daun laksa is one that could easily be made in Indonesia.  A drizzle of sambal kecap might have been an interesting addition; I'll try it with that next time I make these.

Unfortunately, today was a cold, rainy day more suited to a bowl of pozole than fish tacos.  They tasted good, but I was cold and wet from the grill, dreaming of white sand beaches while my feet were as cold as the coldest beer in Bali.  Fitting, perhaps, for a recipe entered in the Alaska fish taco contest.

Indonesian Pepes Ikan Tacos with Mango Salsa

1 12 oz package of Alaskan cod
6 shallots
3 cloves of garlic
2 slices of laos (galingal) about the size of quarters, peeled and chopped
2 slices of ginger, peeled and chopped
2 stalks of lemongrass, chopped, using only lower third, tough outer layers removed
2 tsp sambal oelek (Indonesian chili paste)
4 kemiri (candle nuts)
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp light brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp vegetable oil
6 cherry tomatoes, sliced
banana leaves (or aluminum foil) for wrapping the fish

mango salsa
1 cup of mango, preferably fresh, diced
1 shallot,  small dice
1 to 2 red chilies, seeded and cut in small dice
1/2 small jicama, diced
1/4 cup of laksa leaves (Vietnamese rau ram) finely chopped
juice of 1/2 lime

red cabbage, finely sliced
avocado, sliced

tortillas

Add the shallots, garlic, laos, ginger and lemongrass to a food processor with a metal blade and chop fine.  Add sambal, kemiri, turmeric, brown sugar, salt and lemon juice, blending to a fine paste.  Heat oil in a frying pan and fry the spice paste for several minutes until fragrant, but take care not to brown it. Remove the paste to a bowl and allow to cool.

On an 8 x 12 inch banana leaf (or aluminum foil) lay one fillet of cod.  Spread the fish with some of the cooled spice paste.  Turn it over and spread the other side.  Top the fillet with some of the sliced tomatoes.  Fold the banana leaf into a packet, using toothpicks to seal the folds. (If using banana leaves, it may be necessary to use two leaves to ensure your packet doesn't leak.) Follow the same procedure for the remaining fillets.

Grill on a medium-hot grill for 20 to 25 minutes, flipping the packet over  halfway through the cooking time. 

While the packets are being grilled, prepare the other elements.  Make the salsa by mixing together the ingredients in a bowl.  Add more lime juice if necessary.

To serve, slice open the grilled packets.  Slice off some fish from a packet and add it along with some slices of cherry tomatoes to a warmed tortilla.  Add some of the red cabbage and slices of avocado.  Top with some of the mango salsa.  Enjoy with Bir Bintang or a crisp lager.

Chile Colorado

Mexican food for me is comfort food. I spent a number of my younger years living in Southeast Asia and as much as I love the food from the region, there were times I sorely missed Mexican food. I love a good plate of rice and beans, and I've been making my own flour tortillas since eighth grade. One semester in college I practically lived on a diet of homemade burritos, keeping my food budget to a minimum so I could buy more wine.

It's interesting that so many ingredients indigenous to Mexico found their way into Asian cuisines, most importantly the chili pepper. It's hard to imagine Indian, Thai, or Indonesian food absent the chili, yet that was the case until the sixteenth century when the Spanish or Portuguese (there appear to be arguments for each) introduced chilies to Asia. Mexican cooking incorporates a great variety of chilies, both fresh and dried, into its dishes.

This version of chile colorado is probably a greatly bastardized version of the original. It has been a go to dish in my family for more than thirty years. I believe the original recipe comes from Sunset's Mexican Cooking, a 100-page or so 8 1/2-inch by 11-inch paperback for which my mother probably paid about $4.95. I can't recall any other recipes from the book, but this one was a winner. By the way, if you're looking for heat, this ain't the dish. You could add cayenne, of course, or some other chili to raise the heat quotient, but try it as it is first.

BRAISED PORK WITH RED CHILE SAUCE

3 lbs lean boneless pork butt
2 TBS salad oil
2 large onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 TBS ancho chili powder
2 TBS chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp oregano leaves, crumbled
1 3/4 cups water
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 TBS canned tomato paste
1/2 cup whipping cream
Roasted pumpkin seeds warm
soft tortillas or hot cooked rice

Garnishes: 1 large avocado,peeled, pitted, and sliced; 1 large tomato, cut in wedges; sour cream sprinkled with chili powder; 2 limes, cut in wedges.

Directions

Trim meat and cut into one inch cubes. Heat oil in frying pan over medium-high heat; add meat a few pieces at a time and cook until lightly brown. Push to side; add onion, garlic, chili powder, oregano, and cumin; cook until onion is limp.
Stir in water, sugar, tomato paste and salt. Sim- mer, covered about one hour. Skim off fat and discard. Add cream, and cook, stirring until mixture boils.
Turn into a serving dish and garnish with pump- kin seeds. To serve, fill warm tortillas with meat and garnish with avocado, tomato, and sour cream.

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