I was never in love with fish tacos until we moved to San Diego. One random Saturday afternoon we wandered into a little taco stand in La Jolla. A lot of La Jolla is upscale and ritzy. To be honest I often feel quite out of place. It’s very reminiscent of Beverly Hills.
This taco place was not. It was actually a 1960s tract house that had been converted into a restaurant, with the 1960s decor to match — right down to the shag carpet and the armed dining chairs on wheels. It was pretty trippy. Especially since I don’t think they were going for the retro look.
However, the food was fantastic. We ordered both grilled and fried fish tacos, and they were fantastic. The white sauce contrasting with the juicy tomato, acrid onion, and crisp fish just made it “Happiness on a Plate.”
And I don’t even like fish.
We’ve since tried our hand at making fish tacos at home. Since we’re trying to eat better, we haven’t busted out the deep fryer, but instead, have settled for grilled fish tacos instead. Hubs makes up a batch of corn tortillas while I add this spice mix to a bowl of shrimp or rub it onto shark or cod steaks. We add shredded lettuce or cabbage, diced tomato, chopped onion, Yogurt-Dill Dressing, and some avocado if we have it.
And you know what the result is? That’s right. Happiness on a plate.
Grilled Shrimp or Fish Tacos
1 pound shrimp, peeled and rinsed OR 2 fish steaks, such as cod or shark
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1-2 teaspoons Spicy Seafood Rub, depending on how hot you want it
one dozen corn tortillas, preferably homemade
shredded lettuce or cabbage
diced tomato
chopped white onion
diced avocado
lime wedges
1 batch Yogurt-Dill Dressing
In medium bowl, toss shrimp with oil and spice rub OR if using fish, brush steaks with oil and rub with spice mix. Allow to marinate while you heat the grill. Grill until done.
If using fish, slice fish steaks into slices that will fit in tacos. Assemble tacos as you like. Serve with lime wedges. Use plenty of the yogurt dressing. It makes it super special.
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Rubio’s (chain in California)…we go evertime we go down to Cali for vacation! The BEST fish tacos!!!
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Jessica Reply:
July 4th, 2010 at 2:07 pm
I’ve had those. They are yummy.
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These look great Jessica! Have you ever tried making them with already cooked shrimp? I have a 2-lb bag in the freezer and was wondering how I could modify the recipe to make those work . . . Happy 4th!
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Jessica Reply:
July 4th, 2010 at 2:06 pm
I don’t ever buy those because I worry that they will get tough on reheat. How do you normally reheat them? I imagine if you tossed them with a little olive oil and the spice and then heat how you normally do (or vice versa), I would think that would work. Tell us how it goes, Paige.
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I’m not a fan of fish either, but i love fish tacos!! We’re in VA, so no place to get them around here, but I send my husband out fishing (yes, such a chore, i know) and we grill them. I don’t put anything on the fish other than salt to grill it, but I always make two different salsas to put on them. On another note, when I was in San Diego years ago, I actually had a lobster burrito. I was skeptical at first, but WOW!!
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Yummy!!! These look delicious!
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I’m pretty sure we tried to eat at that same La Jolla taco place on Sunday but they closed early for the 4th. (We were visiting family.) We were very disappointed!
I was actually planning on trying the CA burritos- carne asada, cheese, fries, and guac. The fries sound weird but my sister in law swears they are really good!
I had fish tacos for the first time in Costa Mesa. They were great! (I was skeptical before.)
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Jessica Reply:
July 7th, 2010 at 6:54 pm
That is funny! I think it has a woman’s name in the title….
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Oh my GOODNESS!!! I made these last night and my entire family LOVED them, even my one child who is a bit on the picky side. Thank you for sharing!
I do have a question if you have time to answer…. do you know how long the yogurt-dill dressing is good for? We loved these so much, we are inviting family over this weekend and making some more! I have a lot of the “white sauce” leftover and hate to see it go to waste, but I don’t know how long it can be refrigerated for before going bad.
Thank you again so much! Your website/blog is a great source of encouragment to me.
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Jessica Reply:
August 19th, 2010 at 12:40 pm
I have frozen the white sauce in small amounts as a test. It doesn’t stay “the same” on thawing. But, it didn’t taste bad. Otherwise, I wouldn’t keep it more than 4 days, per USDA recommendations?
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Thank you so much, Jessica… so if I made the dressing Wednesday… one, two, three, four… it should be good on Sunday, I hope? LOL I think I will just keep all of the ingredients on hand just in case I need to make some. I don’t want to be getting everyone sick. LOL
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BTW… the best fish taco I’ve ever had is a small little hole-in-the-wall in Bonita, California called “TJ Oysters”. Their fish tacos are only .99 cents and they are soooooooooo good. They make them fresh right there in front of you.
I do have to say that last night when I made these fish, my husband told me, “these are the BEST fish tacos I’ve ever had!”
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Yum! I love fish tacos!! We usually skip the tzatziki sauce since I’m the only one here who really likes it…
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Made these last night… yum! And I am NOT a fish lover (seafood, yes, but not usually fish.) These are a good way to get more of it in my diet.
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