Rockfish tacos (and a bonus recipe)
Life at Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, OR was ideal for the hunter-gatherer lifestyle. The mudflat behind the dorms was full of bay clams, the town next to us had fields of blueberries, and a variety of fishes from the Pacific Ocean. I was also lucky to live next door to a group of guys who studied oysters.
To collect black rockfish stomachs for my research, I drove down to the bay front and waited for one of Captain's Reel Deep Sea Fishing charter boats to return. Customers would walk off the boat joyously with their catch, and waited in line for Dickey, the filet master, to clean their fish. Everyone went home with beautiful filets leaving me with the carcasses to sort through. After I finished taking measurements and removing stomachs, Dickey would take the carcasses and stuff them in crab pots to be used as bait for the next trip. If there were extra carcasses, he'd send me home with some to bait my roommate's crab pot. Freshly caught dungeness crab was an afternoon snack in my apartment.
I had gone almost the whole summer without ever eating my study species, so it would only make sense to join one of Captain's charters. This would be one of the last outings with my adopted lab.
Price of admission included a fishing pole and an equal share of whatever crabs were caught in the pots during the trip. I don't remember how many fish I caught, but I knew that I wanted to make fish tacos for my dorm mates. After a few hours of fishing, we stored the fishing poles and boated back to the crab pots we dropped off at the beginning of the trip. Each pot was full of crabs, enough for every person to take home their limit. 12 crabs per person. It was glorious.
I had gone almost the whole summer without ever eating my study species, so it would only make sense to join one of Captain's charters. This would be one of the last outings with my adopted lab.
Price of admission included a fishing pole and an equal share of whatever crabs were caught in the pots during the trip. I don't remember how many fish I caught, but I knew that I wanted to make fish tacos for my dorm mates. After a few hours of fishing, we stored the fishing poles and boated back to the crab pots we dropped off at the beginning of the trip. Each pot was full of crabs, enough for every person to take home their limit. 12 crabs per person. It was glorious.
No work for us this time. When we got back to the docks, we waited to get our fish filleted like everyone else. I was also waiting on my share of the crabs that was boiling in a giant stock pot. I got back to the dorms, dropped off the bag of crabs on my porch, and went straight to the kitchen to turn my beautiful filets into fish tacos. A few dorm mates sat down in a circle around the bag-o-crabs, ate til they were full, got up, and their seats were taken by other hungry interns. Everyone still had space for tacos.
Recipe
Rockfish tacos
Adapted from Isabel Eats
Ingredients
Batter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup beer (you know I'm going to choose Corona...salud mi familia!)
Cabbage slaw
head of one, small red cabbage
1/2 red onion, minced
cilantro, chopped to your liking
cider vinegar to taste
olive oil
salt to taste
Sauce
yogurt or mayo
juice of 1 lime
chipotle chilies optional
Everything else
tortillas
black rockfish, sliced into 1"x4" strips
canola oil for frying
Directions
Mix cabbage slaw ingredients and set in fridge.
Mix sauce ingredients and set in fridge.
Add flour, salt, and pepper to a large bowl. Slowly pour in beer, stirring frequently until most clumps are gone. Dip black rockfish strips in beer batter. You can deep fry or pan fry the fish. I deep fry using a wok, and suggest that you do too. Fry til golden brown and place fried fish on a plate lined with paper towels. This will help to soak up excess oil.
Warm tortillas in a pan, then assemble tacos however you see fit.
Bonus recipe: sinigang na isda
a seafood soup that reminds me of home
Adapted from Panlasang Pinoy
Ingredients
1 lb rockfish, cleaned and filleted
1 lemon or tamarind paste
1 onion, quartered
1 jalapeno, sliced in half (seeds optional)
1 medium tomato, quartered
a bunch of bok choy
long beans, cut into 2 inch pieces
fish sauce
pepper
2 quarts water
Directions
1. Add water, tomato, onion, and jalapeño to pot and bring to a boil.
2. Add rockfish. Cover and cook on medium between 8 - 12 minutes.
3. Add beans. Cook til they're done but are still crisp.
4. Add bok choy and cook for another minute-ish
5. Add lemon, fish sauce, and pepper to taste
6. Serve with rice
Adapted from Isabel Eats
Ingredients
Batter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup beer (you know I'm going to choose Corona...salud mi familia!)
Cabbage slaw
head of one, small red cabbage
1/2 red onion, minced
cilantro, chopped to your liking
cider vinegar to taste
olive oil
salt to taste
Sauce
yogurt or mayo
juice of 1 lime
chipotle chilies optional
Everything else
tortillas
black rockfish, sliced into 1"x4" strips
canola oil for frying
Directions
Mix cabbage slaw ingredients and set in fridge.
Mix sauce ingredients and set in fridge.
Add flour, salt, and pepper to a large bowl. Slowly pour in beer, stirring frequently until most clumps are gone. Dip black rockfish strips in beer batter. You can deep fry or pan fry the fish. I deep fry using a wok, and suggest that you do too. Fry til golden brown and place fried fish on a plate lined with paper towels. This will help to soak up excess oil.
Warm tortillas in a pan, then assemble tacos however you see fit.
Bonus recipe: sinigang na isda
a seafood soup that reminds me of home
Adapted from Panlasang Pinoy
Ingredients
1 lb rockfish, cleaned and filleted
1 lemon or tamarind paste
1 onion, quartered
1 jalapeno, sliced in half (seeds optional)
1 medium tomato, quartered
a bunch of bok choy
long beans, cut into 2 inch pieces
fish sauce
pepper
2 quarts water
Directions
1. Add water, tomato, onion, and jalapeño to pot and bring to a boil.
2. Add rockfish. Cover and cook on medium between 8 - 12 minutes.
3. Add beans. Cook til they're done but are still crisp.
4. Add bok choy and cook for another minute-ish
5. Add lemon, fish sauce, and pepper to taste
6. Serve with rice