Someone told me that putting beans on a fish taco was a cardinal sin. And that I would certainly burn in whatever circle of foodie hell it is that they punish people who pretend that their Tex-Mex food is authentic.
Although apparently fish tacos aren't anything like traditional Mexican food anyway, so... why did I make them for Cinco De Mayo? Well, in the future I'll have to do more research into my meals. Maybe next year I'll use it as an excuse to make tamales. I'm not sure you can get much more authentic than that.
Maybe putting the beans on the tacos was not very authentic of me, but you know what? They needed it. I had three little tacos for dinner. And a margarita. Mama Bird decided if we were gonna have fish tacos for dinner, they would be incomplete without margaritas to go with them.
I like the way she thinks.
Now, these tasted fine. They certainly aren't that interesting to look at, though, are they? The white plate, the corn tortilla, and the fish all sort of blur together. The only splash of color is the tiny bit of red cabbage poking out from under the fish. But even if it didn't look that interesting, it taste good. Not amazing, but pretty good. I had two tacos in this style, and I was about pleasantly full.
Then Mama Bird reminded me I had bought cilantro for this, and the pot of beans I had been simmering for the last hour finally felt soft, and I decided that in the name of Science, I had to eat another fish taco.
And I was not disappointed by this decision. The beans really gave more texture, and mixing the cilantro in certainly helped.
Our fish tacos were corn tortillas, salt-and-peppered tilapia, cilantro, a mayo/sour cream/lime/seasoning cream, and some black beans. The beans were actually dried beans that I soaked during the day, and then realized that the directions said 'simmer one to two hours.' I was too hungry to wait for them, so I tried to just boil them, and... look, if you're gonna make dried beans, don't be a idiot. And don't think they're just magically ready to go as soon as they've soaked for a while.
On a related note, I now have about a pound of black beans just waiting for me to devour them.
But as far as 'authentic' goes for fish tacos, I think these were pretty on target. Sadly, I am still not a huge fan of corn tortillas, although I'm glad I gave them another chance. But the next time I make fish tacos, I think I'll just ask Boyfriend Bird's father for his recipe. Because those tacos are delicious.
Today's lessons learned:
- It's okay to cook something you know.
- Dry beans take a while to cook if you make all of them at once.
- Beans are delicious on tacos.
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