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Before I begin telling you about this must make meal, I want to share with you that The Galley Gourmet is temporarily out-of-order for a very short time for two reasons. The first reason I am out of order is with the recipe that I am sharing today. I wanted to share two other seasonal recipes this week and the reason that I was unable to do so, leads me to out-of-order reason #2. The LCD screen on my camera died and because of that, I cannot transfer the images from my camera to my flash drive. Ugh! Fortunately, I already had this photo and the recipe (I was going to publish it in a week or two) saved as a draft and I can share it with you until my new camera body arrives sometime on Sunday 🤞.
Now, on to my our new-favorite meal. My husband has declared that he he loves this bowl better than eating a fish taco and I absolutely agree! Super crispy and lightly fried cod strips on a bed of cilantro-lime rice, served with thinly sliced red cabbage, diced avocado, pico de gallo, and a drizzle of a cilantro crema is fish taco bowl lovers dream! My jaws crack just thinking about it!
There are a few steps into creating this meal, but trust me, it’s worth it and it really doesn’t take that much time.
It’s just prep work and dirty dishes. I like to start by making the pico and slicing the cabbage. I like to make my homemade Pico de Gallo, but of course, you can use store-bought and that will save some time and dishes😉. Then I make the cilantro crema and keep it in the refrigerator until I am ready to serve.
While the rice cooks, I start working on the fish. It is dredge in seasoned flour, dip in eggs, then rolled in Panko also known as Japanese-style bread crumbs. You won’t believe how crispy the fish fries up. Thank you, Panko! As the fish rest, I dice the avocado and slice a lime into wedges and then it is load-up-the-taco-bowl time! I make this on weeknights, weekends and it even is perfect for entertaining. Taco bowl buffet anyone?! Happy Cooking!
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Baja Fish Taco Bowls
Ingredients
For the Cilantro Crema
- 1 cup Mexican crema or sour cream, light or full-fat
- ½ cup chopped white onion
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- ½ cup loosely packed fresh cilantro, chopped
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
For the Cilantro-Lime Rice
- 1 cup white rice, I like to use Jasmine
- 1 ½ cups water
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
For the Fish
- 1 pound fresh cod fillets cut into ¾-inch strips
- ½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoons chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 extra-large eggs, beaten
- 1 ½ cups Panko, Japanese-style bread crumbs
- 1 cup vegetable oil or more as needed
For the Bowl
- ½ small red cabbage, cored and thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
- 2 cups Pico de Gallo, homemade or store bought
- 1-2 avocados, halved, pitted, peeled and cut into ½-inch dice
- Lime wedges for serving
Instructions
For the Cilantro Crema
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine the crema (or sour cream), onion, lime juice, cilantro and salt and process until smooth. Transfer to a bowl or squeeze bottle and refrigerate until ready to serve.
For the Cilantro-Lime Rice
- In a medium saucepan, bring the water, rice and salt to a a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat, fluff the rice with a fork, cover and let rest for 5 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and lime juice.
For the Fish
- Meanwhile, combine the flour chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Add the eggs to a separate shallow dish and beat. Add the Panko to another separate shallow dish. Working with three to four strips of fish at a time, dredge them first in the flour, then the egg, and lastly the Panko. Transfer to a wire rack set over a baking sheet.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add the coated cod strips to the skillet and cook, turning once until golden and crispy, about 1 1/2-2 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
For the Bowls
- Divide the Cilantro-Lime rice into the bowls. Top with cabbage, pico de Gallo, avocado and fish. Serve with Cilantro Crema and lime wedges. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
