Fish tacos with cabbage slaw and lime yoghurt

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A bloke at the fish counter in Mayfield asked me last week why anyone bothers battering fish for tacos when a hot dry pan does the job in four minutes flat. Fair question. He’d clearly had a bad experience with a soggy wrap somewhere, and once you’ve had one of those you remember it.

Fish tacos are one of those dishes everyone’s third-hand opinion is strong about, mostly because the Mexican takeaway version leans hard on batter and mayo and calls it a day. That’s fine as an occasional feed, but it’s not what I’m after on a Tuesday when I want something that tastes like the fish, not the fryer. This version leans on good fish tacos cabbage slaw balance, a properly hot pan, and a lime yoghurt that does the job of three different sauces at once.

Why this combination actually works

Cabbage slaw and fish is an old pairing for a reason. The cabbage brings crunch and a bit of acid-friendly bulk, the fish brings protein and very little else in the way of effort, and the lime yoghurt ties it together without drowning everything in oil. Swap mayo for yoghurt and you drop a good chunk of saturated fat without losing the creaminess that makes the whole thing work in your mouth. Nutrition Australia and the Eat For Health guidelines both point the same direction here: more fish, more veg, less deep-fried everything. This recipe doesn’t need convincing on that front, it just happens to land there.

I’ll admit I used to over-season the slaw and under-season the fish, which is backwards. The fish is the star. Season it properly and the slaw just needs enough salt and lime to stay honest.

Picking the right fish, don’t muck about with this bit

You want a firm white fish that won’t fall apart in a hot pan. Flathead, snapper, bream or barramundi all work. If you’re near the coast, whatever’s come in that morning off a local co-op is going to beat anything that’s spent three days in a truck, regardless of species. Ask what came in that day and build the meal around the answer rather than the other way round. Frozen barramundi fillets are a perfectly decent fallback if fresh isn’t on offer, just thaw them properly in the fridge overnight rather than under a tap, which does nothing for the texture.

Ingredients

• 600g firm white fish fillets (flathead, snapper or barramundi), skin off
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• Sea salt and black pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 8 small soft corn or wheat tortillas
• 1/4 white cabbage, very finely shredded
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 small bunch coriander, roughly chopped
• Juice of 2 limes, divided
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup plain Greek yoghurt
• 1 small garlic clove, crushed
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1 fresh chilli, finely sliced (optional)

Method

1. Pat the fish dry with paper towel, this matters more than people think because wet fish steams instead of searing.
2. Mix the cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, a good pinch of salt and some black pepper in a small bowl, then rub it over both sides of the fish.
3. In a separate bowl, toss the cabbage, carrot, red onion and half the coriander with the apple cider vinegar, the juice of one lime and a pinch of salt. Set aside so it can soften slightly while you cook the fish.
4. Combine the yoghurt, crushed garlic, remaining lime juice and remaining coriander in a small bowl with a pinch of salt. Taste it and adjust the lime, it should have a proper citrus kick, not just a background hint.
5. Get your pan properly hot, cast iron or heavy-based, over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil.
6. Cook the fish for 2 to 3 minutes a side depending on thickness, until it flakes easily with a fork and has good colour on the outside. Don’t move it around in the pan, let it sit and form a crust.
7. Rest the fish for a minute, then break it into rough chunks with a fork.
8. Warm the tortillas in a dry pan for 20 to 30 seconds a side.
9. Build the tacos: fish first, then slaw, a few avocado slices, a good dollop of lime yoghurt, and chilli if you want the heat.

A serving idea that actually feeds a table

I put everything out in separate bowls and let people build their own, which solves the problem of someone insisting they don’t like coriander while everyone else does. It also means the fish doesn’t sit around getting soggy under a pile of toppings before it’s eaten, which is the single biggest failure point in a fish taco. If you want to round the meal out, a side of Aromatic Spiced Rice with Quinoa, Tofu or Chicken does the job without competing for attention on the plate.

The one shortcut that doesn’t work

Buying pre-shredded coleslaw mix from the supermarket to save five minutes. I’ve tried it more than once out of laziness and it’s always slightly wrong, either too fine so it goes limp in ten minutes, or bulked out with ingredients you didn’t ask for. Shredding your own cabbage takes about ninety seconds with a sharp knife and holds its crunch for the whole meal. That’s not a big ask.

A variation worth trying

If you’ve got leftover slaw and want a lighter lunch the next day, the same cabbage and lime combination works brilliantly folded through the Vietnamese-style chicken slaw recipe, just adjust the dressing ratios. And if you’re cooking for someone managing their intake of processed carbs, lettuce cups instead of tortillas does the trick without losing any of the flavour, which ties back to what I’ve said before about how to read a food label without getting lost when you’re trying to work out what’s actually in a packet of tortillas versus what you could make yourself.

What to do with the leftover lime yoghurt

It won’t last more than a couple of days once the garlic’s in it, but it’s good enough to use as a dip for raw vegetables or spread thin on toast with some avocado the next morning, in the same spirit as the mushroom and thyme toast with whipped cottage cheese I ran a while back. Good sauces earn their keep across more than one meal, in my kitchen anyway.

For general guidance on fish intake and omega-3s, the CSIRO’s dietary research and Healthdirect’s fish nutrition information are both worth a read if you want the detail behind why two serves a week is the usual recommendation.

This one’s gone into regular rotation at my place, mostly because it takes less time to cook than it does to set the table, and because the lime yoghurt means I’m not standing at the fridge trying to remember which three sauces I was meant to buy.

– Dave Forsythe, Golden Door Living kitchen