fish tacos

I finally tricked my kids into watching "Top Chef" with me and they were surprisingly engaged. The competition aspect and the fact that there is a clear winner and loser really appeals to them. The "Quickfire" that they watched was from season 13, where the chefs make fish tacos in San Diego. Every taco looked so delicious that I ran out and bought cod and tortillas. 

I wanted something between deep fried and grilled--with some crust but not heavy and not to light and flaky either so that the fish just falls apart immediately. I made up the following recipe and it was really good after a couple tweaks. I didn't force the tacos on the kids but at some point during dinner, Mack pushed his pasta away and decided he'd like to be the taco judge. I made him one without the hot sauce and he took thoughtful bites just like Padma does on "Top Chef" and declared it a winner. There was no competition but I'll take it. 

Crispy Cod Tacos

Cut 1 pound of cod into 2 inch pieces and soak in milk for 10-20 minutes. Drain and blot with paper towels. Sprinkle with salt. In a plastic Ziploc, combine the 1 cup rice flour, cayenne, cumin, cilantro, salt and white pepper. Toss the fish.

In a large nonstick skillet over high, heat canola oil. Cook the fish in batches, turning heat down to medium high, until the bottom side is crispy and golden, 2 to 4 minutes. Turn and cook until crispy, another 2 to 4 minutes.

Serve immediately with warm tortillas, creamy slaw, limes and hot sauce.