Crisp, Bright and On the Table in 25 Minutes

Back home in Guadeloupe, we did not have tacos. We had the bokit.

You know the bokit? Fried dough, puffed golden in hot oil, split open while it is still too hot to hold, then stuffed with whatever came off the boats that morning. Salt cod. Fried snapper. A bit of cabbage, a squeeze of lime. You buy it from a van by the road in Sainte-Anne, you eat it standing up, and the oil runs down your wrist and you do not care. That is the food of my childhood, and it taught me something I still believe: the best fish you will ever eat is fish that has just been fried, in your hand, with something sharp and green on top.

So when my kids started asking me for fish tacos, I did not roll my eyes. I recognised it. Different island, different bread, same idea. The fish taco came out of Ensenada in Baja California, from fishermen who wanted their catch fast and hot and cheap, and that is the same instinct my grandmother had with a bokit.

The version I make now is the two of them shaking hands. Caribbean spice on the fish. A slaw that is sharp, not creamy. A green herb sauce doing the work of six ingredients.

It takes 25 minutes. I make it on a Wednesday, when the fridge is thin and everyone is hungry at once. Let me show you.

Recipe at a glance

• Cuisine: Caribbean fusion
• Prep: 15 minutes • Cook: 10 minutes • Total: 25 minutes
• Serves: 4 (8 tacos)
• Featured sauce: Fresh Herbal Sauce
• Heat level: 0/10, no heat at all, just herbs and lime
• Diet: Gluten free, dairy free, pescatarian

What you’ll need

Buy the freshest white fish you can. Cod, haddock, pollock, all of them work, and pollock is cheaper without anybody noticing. Ask for skinless fillets from the thick end, because thin tail pieces overcook before they colour.

The one thing I will not compromise on is the Fresh Herbal Sauce. It goes into three places here: the fish, the slaw and the drizzle. No chilli heat, just herbs and garlic and green lift, which is what fried fish wants. Gluten free and vegan too.

For the fish

• 600g skinless white fish fillets (cod, haddock or pollock), cut into finger-width strips
• 2 tbsp Fresh Herbal Sauce
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp ground allspice
• ½ tsp garlic granules
• 3 tbsp fine cornmeal (or gluten free plain flour)
• ½ tsp fine salt
• Black pepper
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil, for frying

For the lime slaw

• 200g white cabbage, shredded as finely as you can manage
• 1 medium carrot, coarsely grated
• 3 spring onions, sliced thin
• Small handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp Fresh Herbal Sauce
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Juice of ½ lime
• Pinch of salt

For the green drizzle

• 4 tbsp mayonnaise (or a dairy free plain yoghurt)
• 2 tbsp Fresh Herbal Sauce
• Squeeze of lime

To serve

• 8 small corn tortillas
• 1 ripe avocado, sliced
• Lime wedges
• A few more coriander leaves

How I make it

1. Start with the fish, because it wants a few minutes to itself. Put the strips in a bowl with 2 tbsp of Fresh Herbal Sauce and the juice of a whole lime. Turn them over gently with your hands. Not a spoon, your hands. Leave it while you do everything else, ten minutes is plenty.

2. Now the slaw. Cabbage, carrot, spring onion and coriander in a big bowl. Add 2 tbsp of Fresh Herbal Sauce, the olive oil, the lime juice and a pinch of salt. Toss it properly, lifting from the bottom. Then leave it alone. It softens as it sits, and by the time the fish is fried it will be exactly right.

3. The drizzle takes thirty seconds. Mayonnaise, 2 tbsp of Fresh Herbal Sauce, a squeeze of lime, stir. Pale green, loose enough to run off a spoon.

4. Mix the cornmeal, cumin, smoked paprika, allspice, garlic granules, salt and a good grind of black pepper on a wide plate. Cornmeal is the secret. Flour goes soft the minute it meets a wet slaw, cornmeal stays crisp.

5. Lift the fish out of the marinade one piece at a time, let the excess drip off, and press each strip into the spiced cornmeal on both sides. Lay them on a board, not touching. Do this just before frying, never ahead.

6. Heat the oil in your widest frying pan over a medium-high heat. Shimmering, not smoking. Drop a pinch of cornmeal in first: if it sizzles straight away, you are ready.

7. Fry in two batches, and here you must be patient. Lay the strips down and leave them 2 to 3 minutes without touching. Let the crust set. When the edge goes deep gold, turn and give it another 2 minutes. Crowding the pan steams the fish instead of frying it.

8. Lift the fish onto kitchen paper and season with a pinch of salt while hot. That is when it takes seasoning best.

9. Warm the tortillas. Dry pan, thirty seconds a side, until they puff a little and smell toasty. Keep them wrapped in a clean tea towel so they stay soft.

10. Build at the table and let everyone do their own. Tortilla, a spoon of slaw, two or three pieces of fish, slices of avocado, the green drizzle over the top, a wedge of lime on the side. Eat immediately, standing up if you like. I usually do.

The role of Fresh Herbal Sauce in this dish

Fried fish has one enemy, and it is heaviness. The moment the crust goes from crisp to greasy, the whole plate falls flat. What saves it is something green and sharp arriving at the same time.

That is the job of the Fresh Herbal Sauce here. In the marinade it seasons the fish right through, and its garlic and herbs cling to the cornmeal so you taste them in the crust, not just underneath it. In the slaw it replaces four separate ingredients, because the herbs and the acidity are already balanced in the jar and you are not chopping parsley on a weeknight. In the drizzle it turns plain mayonnaise into something bright and grassy that cuts through the fried edge.

No chilli heat, which surprises people who know us for hot sauce. That is deliberate. This is the jar for when you want the Caribbean without the burn, and at a family table where somebody does not do spice, it is the peacemaker.

Tips from my kitchen

• Dry the fish first. Pat the fillets with kitchen paper before they go in the marinade. Wet fish will not crust, it just sits there going pale and sad.
• Cornmeal over flour, every time. Fine cornmeal, sometimes sold as polenta, gives a crust that survives contact with slaw and sauce, and it is naturally gluten free.
• Two batches, no exceptions. I know you are hungry. Crowd the pan and you boil the fish in its own liquid. Four extra minutes saves the whole dinner.
• Salt after frying, not before. Salt in the crust draws water out and softens it. Salt on the hot fish sticks and tastes of something.
• Make it a bokit if you want. Skip the tortillas, split a small soft roll, fry it lightly, fill it the same way. That is how I ate it as a boy and it is still my favourite version.

What to serve it with

This is casual food, so I keep the rest simple. Rice and red beans if there is a bigger table to feed. Fried plantain, always, because sweet next to salt and lime is one of the great pairings of my island. To drink, cold beer or a jug of lime and mint water with plenty of ice.

If somebody at your table reaches for heat with everything, put a bottle of Caribbean Hot Sauce out and let them add their own. The fish stays gentle for the children and fierce for whoever wants it. Not sure which of ours suits your kitchen yet? The Fruity & Herb Discovery Trio is the easy way to find out, or have a look at the full shop.

FAQ

What is the best fish for fish tacos?

Any firm white fish. Cod and haddock are what most people reach for in the UK, and both are excellent. Pollock is cheaper, holds together beautifully, and I cannot tell the difference once it is spiced and fried. Avoid anything thin and delicate like plaice or sole, because it breaks apart when you turn it. Frozen fillets are fine, just defrost fully and dry them well.

Can I make fish tacos without frying?

You can. Toss the coated fish in a tablespoon of oil, spread it on a lined tray and bake at 220°C fan for 10 to 12 minutes, turning once. An air fryer at 200°C for about 8 minutes works too. Fried is better. Baked is still a good dinner on a Tuesday.

Are these fish tacos gluten free?

Yes, as written. Use fine cornmeal for the coating and corn tortillas rather than wheat ones, and check the label on your mayonnaise. Our Fresh Herbal Sauce is gluten free and vegan.

How spicy is this recipe?

Not spicy at all. Fresh Herbal Sauce has no chilli heat in it, so this comes out fresh and herby rather than fiery. That is on purpose. If you want heat, add a little Caribbean Hot Sauce to the green drizzle, or put a bottle on the table and let people help themselves.

Can I prepare any of it ahead?

The slaw and the drizzle, yes, both keep in the fridge for a day and the slaw is arguably better after a few hours. The fish, no. Coat it and fry it at the last minute, and eat it hot. Fried fish waits for nobody.

Final word from me

This is not a fancy recipe and I will not pretend it is. It is what I cook when the week has been long and I still want everybody sitting down together, eating with their hands.

Get the fish crisp, keep the slaw sharp, be generous with the green sauce. That is the whole thing. And if you make it as a bokit instead, I will take that as a compliment.

JP