Serves: 4 tacos
Prep Time: 15-20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes to pan fry the Mahi
Notes: I like to use either soft or hard corn tortillas but you can absolutely use flour tortillas as well. This recipe is also great as a salad bowl, just toss your favorite corn chips on top of everything on a bed of greens! Nothing like the combination of fresh Mahi, mangoes, and crunchy slaw to remind me of Florida after an afternoon at the Atlantic Ocean’s turquoise beach at the local tiki bar & restaurant that plays steel drum music, Island Reggae, and musica de Tropicana in the background and the smell of salt water misting in the air.
Ingredients (For Mahi Tacos):
- 1 large Mahi filet (make sure you pat as dry as possible with paper towels)
- 1 cup of panko
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 4 tortillas
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons of your favorite cooking oil (I like to use avocado)
- a handful of chopped cilantro (to garnish)
Ingredients (For Slaw):
- 1 cup very thinly sliced red cabbage
- 1/4 cup shredded carrots
- 1/4 cup shredded cucumber
- 1/4 cup of white, sweet, or multi-colored corn (freshly cut from the cob is best, but frozen is fine)
- 1/8 cup white vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- half of a fresh lemon’s juice
- 1 whole lime’s juice
- salt and pepper to taste (less is more for this)
Ingredients (For Mango-Cream Salsa):
- 1-2 mangoes, pitted, peeled and sliced
- 2 whole avocadoes, pitted, peeled and sliced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1/2 a fresh lemon’s juice
- 1/2 a fresh lime’s juice
- half of a tomato, diced small
- half of an onion, diced small (red, yellow, white; any of these are fine)
- 1/3 cup of dry milk (you can also use just a splash of regular milk)
- 1/3 cup of chopped cilantro
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or tabasco sauce if you only have that on hand)
- salt and pepper to taste (less is more for this)
Steps:
- Coat both sides of the Mahi filet with egg, cornstarch, panko, garlic, paprika, salt and pepper. Put oil in a large skillet or frying pan and turn on stove to high heat. When oil ripples, turn the heat down to medium. Carefully place the Mahi into the pan. Leave it alone in the pan to brown slightly (for about 8-10 minutes), only moving it occassionally with a spatula to prevent sticking to the pan. Carefully flip the Mahi over and do the same for the other side. When the fish is cooked through, put to the side to let it cool slightly while you prepare the slaw and salsa…
- For the slaw, toss all the ingredients together in a large bowl. For the salsa, put the mangoes and avocado in a blender or food processor and mix on high for 1 minute or until smooth. Add all the other ingredients except for the tomoatoes and onions and mix again for 1 minute until smooth (a little chunky is fine if you prefer that). Now assemble your tacos…
- Take a fork to “chop” and scrape the Mahi into small chunks then distribute the fish and the slaw evenly into the tortillas (depending on the size of your tortillas you might have plenty leftover — save this for a salad topping! Eat within a couple of days). Scoop out some salsa (about 2 tablespoons, give or take depending on preference) and put onto your tacos. Top with onions and tomatoes. Garnish with cilantro to your taste and enjoy!!