Love a good pun? We do, so just for the halibut, we tried this version of a fish taco without the messy, less-healthy step of frying the fish. This dish boasts a flakey, delicate fish with a smoky, charred finish. We’ve also arranged a beautiful marriage of flavors, bringing the essence of Asia and Latin America together in our fresh, crisp sesame slaw. Served on top of warmed corn tortillas, this dish is gluten-free, healthy, and completely craveable.
Satisfy your sweet tooth with this easy-to-make recipe for Not Fried Halibut Tacos with Asian Sesame Slaw.
1. Info for Not Fried Halibut Tacos with Asian Sesame Slaw
- Cook Time: 15 min
- Total Time: 15 min
- Servings: 4
- Calories: 777.51 kcal
2. Ingredients for Not Fried Halibut Tacos with Asian Sesame Slaw
- 24 ounces halibut (4-6oz. portions, or a flakey white fish like cod or hake)
- ½ red cabbage (about 2 handfuls)
- 2 avocados
- 3 limes
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 12 corn tortillas
- 1 handful smoked paprika (plus a dusting for garnish)
- 1 handful coriander seed
- salt (healthy sprinkle)
- ¼ cup soy oil (a.k.a. vegetable oil)
3. Directions:
- Equipment: grill pan for fish (great for use during winter’s months or if you find yourself sans grill), mortar and pestle for rub (a tea towel and a hammer or rolling pin can pinch hit here), mandolin (optional), medium bowl for slaw, bench scraper (optional), microplane
- Start by throwing the grill pan on the heat.
- Gather your mortar and pestle and spices. Combine the smoked paprika, coriander seed, salt, in your mortar and grind-it-like-you-mean-it to make a rub. Grab your halibut (or proxy fish) and coat generously with the rub, covering every single surface of flesh. Now pour the soy oil over the fish and give it a good massage. Lay the fish in the grill pan, you should hear the intoxicating sizzle, resist the urge to move the fish during grilling (guys, talking to you here). Go wash your paprika-stained, Halloween hands.
- Moving on to the slaw. Take your ½ head of cabbage, remove the limp outer layer. Shave the cabbage into thin ribbons using a knife or mandolin. Scoop the cabbage into your medium bowl using your bench scraper (bench scrapers save knives!). Halve your avocado, remove the seed using your knife and a towel, and scoop the velvety inside out onto your cutting board.
- After being on the grill pan for about 6 minutes, the halibut is getting a nice char. Now is the time to flip the fish and continue cooking for another 6 minutes.
- To finish off the slaw, give the avocado a rough, random chop. Grab a lime and give the avocados a quick zest, using a microplane. Then halve the limes and add their juices to the slaw. Next, we’ll add the honey, fish sauce, sesame seeds, and toss to combine.
- Grab 3 corn tortillas and nestle them all cozy on the sides of the grill pan, next to the fish, to loosen them up. Once warm, remove the tortillas from the pan and arrange on a plate. Check the doneness of the fish by taking a spoon and peeking into the fish, if it’s flakey then it’s cooked. Take a portion of fish, tear it up, and arrange on each taco. Decorate the fish with the slaw, garnish with smoked paprika, or even some radishes if you have them, and call it a taco.
- Hot Tips: Replace your pantry spices about once a year, past that they tend to lose their potency.
- Hot Tips: Save any extra rub in a jar for future use, it’s fantastic on chicken!
- Hot Tips: Whenever you’re cutting something round, like cabbage, first make it flat by cutting it in half, this preserves your fingers for later use.
- Hot Tips: So many avocado tips:
To properly cut an avocado, place it flat on your board, insert your knife sideways until you hit the seed, then move the avocado, not the knife, in a full circle, and twist to open.
If you ever end up with brown avocado, don’t toss it, use it instead of butter in your brownie batter. The kids will never know.
To prevent an avocado from browning, either toss with citrus as we do here or place an avocado half, skin-on, face down, onto a plate in the refrigerator. The plate traps the moisture and prevents oxygen from touching the avocado, therefore preventing browning. - Hot Tips: The slaw can hang out in the fridge for up to 3 days, ideal for making ahead or saving leftovers. A nice addition to the slaw would be some crisp radishes.
- Hot Tips: To easily juice limes, or anything else juice-worthy, place a halved piece between a pair of tongs and squeeze.
- Hot Tips: Don’t’ be afraid of the pungent, umami, greatness that is fish sauce. If you absolutely cannot bring yourself to use fish sauce, we can’t be friends. Just kidding, you’re forgiven, try using soy sauce or mushroom powder to deepen the flavor on the slaw dressing.