blackened fish taco bowls

how to buy + cook fish, and not choke on the bones

Click here to skip the the printer version of the recipe, but you’re missing out on lots of great fish intel!

A few weeks ago I threw out a poll on Instagram: “What are you afraid to cook?”

The largest response by far was “FISH!” The second largest vote was for “any fish other than salmon.” So: White fish it is! We’ll skip my usual ramblings this week because we’ve got a lot to cover.

Most Americans do not cook or eat fish often (or at all) because they are intimidated to cook it, afraid it will stink up their house, think it’s expensive, the list goes on. I’m here to debunk those myths and help you (and me, to be honest) start eating more fish!

TLDR — we’re making blackened fish taco bowls this week, using a fish cooking method that is impossible to botch. In the mood for tacos instead? Cool, skip the rice and grab some tortillas instead.

Plus, $5 (normally $25) COOKING CLASS ALERT!

Come learn how to make a Whole30-approved version of this fish taco bowl LIVE via Zoom with me this Wednesday at 3 pm PST / 6 pm EST!

Ready? Let’s dive in. That’s a fish pun.

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How to Buy and Cook Fish, a Beginner’s Guide

How to buy fish

The most fun, fresh, and delicious way to buy fresh fish is by visiting a “fishmonger,” aka a fish shop. I grew up going to Sea Products in my hometown of Winston-Salem, NC, every time my mom was cooking fish for dinner. We’d buy it fresh, that day, from this funny little shop down a funny little alley. He was our fish dude. He still is my parents’ fish dude — my dad proudly told me about the scallops he bought from Streblo (fish dude has a name) to cook my mom for Valentine’s Day. This is how you should buy your fish. Not only is it a kind of fun, special activity in the never-ending year of zero special activities. If you have a personal fish dude, you can show up and say, “I’ve got $20, gimme your freshest fish and tell me how to cook it.” A good fish dude will happily do both of those things.

Very important: If you have a fish dude, please comment and let us know the city and fish dude residence. I’ll add my Monterey, CA, recommendations below!

Unfortunately, we can’t all have fish dudes. And that’s OK! The fish department at a grocery store that you love and trust will also do right by you. But here’s the thing: If you’re not buying fish from a store that exists solely to sell fish, the fish probably isn’t a fresh catch. So you need to ask. You’re going to say, “Hi, fish dude! Was this fish previously frozen?” If he says yes, ask when, and if the answer is anything other than “this morning” you’re gonna skedaddle on out of there and head to the freezer section. Yep, you’re going to buy frozen fish, in a bag. Why? Because this is actually your freshest option! If you buy previously frozen fish from the fish dude, that means it was flash frozen on the boat, then unfrozen who-knows-when so that they could put it out on display. Yuck, no thanks. If you buy it frozen, in the bag, you know that it was flash frozen often within hours of being caught, and it won’t be unfrozen until you’re ready to cook it, thus making that your freshest option.

In sum: If your town has a local fish market, go there. Introduce yourself, ask questions, make friends. It might be a little pricier, but it is worth it, and we must support the little guys! If your town lacks a fish market, you can still try to buy fresh fish at the grocery store, but if they only sell previously frozen fish, just buy the frozen fish!

And if you buy frozen fish (which is a GREAT, not bummer option!), defrost it by placing the bag in lukewarm water for about an hour, or letting it defrost in the refrigerator overnight. Before you ask: Yes, I like Trader Joe’s frozen fish!

Why does everyone tell me to eat more fish?

I asked my friend Claire (a kind, brilliant, and empathetic nutritionist who I barrage frequently with questions like, “I only ate cookie dough yesterday, why am I bloated?) to weigh in on why everyone’s always telling us to eat more fish.

White fish like cod, halibut, and grouper are high in protein, vitamins, and minerals and low in saturated fat. Cod in particular is a great source of B vitamins, selenium, and phosphorus. The B vitamins help our bodies turn our food into energy while selenium is a powerful antioxidant that helps prevent chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer. Aim to include at least two servings of fish or seafood in your diet per week to reap all of their benefits.

Dang. Are you eating fish twice a week? Me neither. These taco bowls will help.

When farmed or caught sustainably, fish also has a much lower carbon footprint than other animal proteins. Healthy and good for the planet, let’s go.

Should I buy wild-caught, or farm-raised, or…

Frankly, they usually taste very similar. It is an unpopular opinion, but I actually prefer farmed salmon to wild salmon. I find it to have a much nicer, smoother texture and milder flavor. Wild can be a bit dry for my liking. But in terms of white fish, I really don’t notice a big difference, so buy whatever is freshest.

credit: New Yorker, Roz Chast

How to avoid “fishy” fish

Fish should not, in fact, taste or smell “fishy” in the negative sense of the word. At least, not any fish that I’m going to recommend you eat. Here’s how to avoid fishy fish:

• If you’re buying it fresh, cook it the day you buy it. If you get home and plans change and you will not be cooking that night for whatever the hell reason, freeze the fish, even if you’re going to cook it tomorrow. I know, annoying right? Do it.

• When you’re purchasing fresh fish, ask the fishmonger to press the filets. Their finger should not leave an imprint in the fish flesh. It should be firm, like a raw chicken breast.

• Most people think of white fish as “fishy fish,” but, actually, salmon and tuna, which according to my poll you guys were less scared of, has a much stronger fish taste — it’s oilier and fattier, which makes it delicious, but most definitely stronger in flavor. So if you’ve been avoiding non-salmon fish because you thought it was fishier, you’re in for a nice surprise!

• Stick to white fish! See below for some good non-fishy options…

The most common, most tasty white fish

• Cod (That’s what we’re using in this week’s recipe!)

• Halibut (I like serving halibut because it’s a beautiful filet versus cod or tilapia which are long and skinny, but it’s insanely expensive because of supply and demand. It was $25/pound at my local market versus cod which was $7/pound!)

• Tilapia

• Grouper

• Flounder

Isn’t overfishing a thing?

Yes, a major thing. This is another reason why buying your fish from a reputable fish dude is a good call. You can always use Seafood Watch to ensure you’re buying a sustainable fish. All of the ones I recommended above are on their “best choice” list!

But the bones scare me

Totally — me too. I pat my fish down like an aggressive TSA agent before cooking it, a step that I find is often left out of fish recipes. Before you season the fish, run your fingers firmly all over each filet, feeling for those little tiny bones. If you’re having a hard time yanking them out, you can use tweezers! There should not be a lot of bones, this will not take long.

It makes my house smell like fish

Yes, fish smells like fish and thus when you cook fish your house will smell like fish.

• You can avoid this by cooking it in the oven. Try slow-roasting it like we did with the miso-ginger salmon, or, try broiling it for about 6 minutes on a foil-lined baking sheet. That’s what we’re going to do with this recipe.

• Or, cook it in a skillet and just recognize that your house is gonna smell fishy for an hour or so. This too shall pass.

I don’t know how to cook it! It always sticks!

• White fish in particular is very low in fat. Fat is necessary if we don’t want our food to stick. So…

• If using a skillet, make sure it’s a nonstick and use lots of oil/ghee/butter. Don’t try to flip your fish before it’s seared properly! If it hasn’t seared yet, it will stick and the fish will crumble apart. Have you ever ripped up a chicken breast while trying to grill it or cook it in a skillet? Same thing was happening there: It hadn’t formed a proper sear yet. Leave it, and try again 20 seconds later.

• If roasting in the oven, use parchment paper (which is naturally nonstick) or a Silpat.

• If broiling in the oven, don’t use parchment paper. It’ll singe and maybe even catch on fire. Use aluminum foil and don’t forget to spray it or coat it with oil before adding the fish. Aluminum foil sticks badly to fish if not coated in oil!

• How can I tell when it’s finished? When it reaches 130°F internally, or when you prod at it with a fork and it easily breaks into big flakes.

Without further ado, let’s make fish taco bowls. But first, a grocery list. This recipe has several different components so it LOOKS like a lot of ingredients, but actually there are only 11!

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Grocery list

• Aluminum foil

• 1 pound boneless skinless cod filets (or swap in any of the white fish options above!)

• Neutral cooking oil

• Brown sugar (white works too)

• Kosher salt

• White or brown rice (white is better, duh — and making the coconut rice from the 30-minute pork lettuce wraps for your bowl base is also a good idea, so grab a can of coconut milk if you want to go that route)

  • Optional: Instead of rice, grab corn or flour tortillas (I prefer flour with fish) to make it a fish taco night.

• Unsalted butter

• 1 (10-ounce) bag shredded purple or green cabbage (or buy a head of cabbage and shred it yourself!)

• 1 bunch fresh cilantro

• 1 grapefruit

• 2 oranges

• 4 limes

• 1 large avocado

• Optional: 1 small serrano pepper (or a small jalapeño)

• Cajun, jerk, or blackening seasoning (or check out the Blackened Cod ingredient list below to see if you already have all — or most — of the spices at home to make your own)

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blackened fish taco bowls

Serves 4

Tools:

• Small pot for rice (I love my Le Creuset rice pot so much)

• Cutting board

• Chef’s knife

• Mixing bowls

• 1 rimmed half sheet pan

Lime Butter Rice:

• Kosher salt

• 1 1/2 cups white or brown rice

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

• Juice of 1 lime

Cilantro Slaw:

• 1 (10-ounce) bag shredded purple or green cabbage (about 2 packed cups)

• Kosher salt

• 2 tablespoons neutral cooking oil

• Juice of 1 small orange or 1/2 large orange (about 3 tablespoons)

• Juice of 1 lime

• 1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro

Citrus Salsa:

• 1 grapefruit

• 1 orange

• Juice of 1 lime

• 2 tablespoons neutral cooking oil

• 1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro

• Optional: 1/2 jalapeño

• Kosher salt

Blackened Cod:

• 3 tablespoons neutral cooking oil, divided

• 1 1/2 tablespoons cajun, jerk, or blackening seasoning, OR:

  • 2 teaspoons smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (omit if you can’t handle the heat!)

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon brown sugar

• 1 pound boneless, skinless cod filets

• 1 large avocado, thinly sliced

First, we’re going to cook our rice just like we’d cook pasta. No perfect water:rice ratios needed with this method!

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season the water with 1 tablespoon kosher salt and stir in 1 1/2 cups rice. Cook white rice for 15 minutes, or until tender. Cook brown rice for 25 minutes, or until tender. Drain in a colander. Return rice to the pot, add 2 tablespoons unsalted butter and the juice of 1 lime and cover for 10 minutes to allow the rice to steam and the butter to melt.

Meanwhile, make the rest of dinner!

Finely chop 1 cup of cilantro leaves and stems. We’ll use half in the slaw and half in the salsa. After chopping it, you should have about 1/2 cup chopped cilantro.

To make the Cilantro Slaw: Add 1 (10-ounce) bag shredded cabbage to a large bowl. Add a pinch of salt and massage it into the cabbage by squeezing the cabbage with your hands over and over until it starts to feel tender. Stir in 2 tablespoons oil, the juice of 1 small orange, the juice of 1 lime, and half of the finely chopped cilantro. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.

To make the Citrus Salsa: peel and chop 1 grapefruit and 1 orange. Add them to a large bowl along with the juice of 1 lime, 2 tablespoons oil, the second half of the finely chopped cilantro, and a big pinch of salt. Cut the stem off of 1 serrano pepper, cut it in half lengthwise and remove the seeds if you don’t like a lot of heat. Finely mince the pepper and add it to the salsa. Stir the salsa to combine and adjust seasoning as needed.

To make the Blackened Cod: preheat oven to broil on high. Add 2 tablespoons oil, 1 1/2 tablespoons Cajun/jerk/blackening seasoning (or all of the spices listed), 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1 teaspoon brown sugar to a large bowl. Stir to combine. Add the cod filets to the bowl one at a time, carefully feeling each filet for bones before you add it. Toss to coat them completely.

Prepare a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Coat the foil with oil. Add cod filets in a single layer. Broil on high for 5 to 6 minutes, until the fish flakes easily. (If your filets are thick, you may need to cook them longer — see note below.)

Transfer fish to the cutting board (the filets might fall apart — that’s OK!) and use a fork to break the fish into big flakes.

Build the bowls with rice on the bottom, then pile on the cilantro slaw, fish, and citrus salsa. Be sure to get lots of the citrus salsa juice on there too, not just the fruit. Slice the avocado at the last minute and place on the bowl. Squeeze lime wedges over the fish. DIG IN!!!!

blackened fish taco bowls

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Notes:

• Whole30 it: Omit the rice and cook cauliflower rice instead. You know how I like to cook it: heat a little bit of oil or ghee in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Saute until tender, about 4 minutes. Season with salt at the very end so that it doesn’t release liquid (which happens when you salt things) and make it soggy. Omit the sugar from the fish rub.

• I forgot to buy foil: Just cook it straight on the sheet pan, but be sure to oil the pan well!

• My family hates fish: Totally. It was worth a shot though, right? You can use chicken! See the note below for how to cook it.

• But this makes an insane amount of fish and I’m eating alone: Only buy as much fish as you’re going to eat that night. Leftover fish sucks. Everything else is great as leftovers, see the leftovers note below…

• Leftovers are a good thing: Fish leftovers are not for me. But the rice, slaw, and salsa? SO GOOD the next day! Grab a rotisserie chicken and repurpose those leftovers into chicken taco bowls!

• Make ahead: Absolutely everything can be done up to 24 hours in advance, except the fish. The fish should only be marinated the morning of or later, and should be cooked right before eating. You can go ahead and put it on the foil-lined baking sheet so that all you have to do is pop it under the broiler at dinner time!

• What to do when you really don’t feel like cooking: Grab pre-cooked frozen rice and some slaw from the deli section of your grocery store, chop up some pre-sliced mango or pineapple for your fruity topping (or buy pico de gallo or a fruity salsa), and maybe just forget the fish and grab a rotisserie chicken instead.

Substitutions:

• Rice: Cauliflower rice, make coconut rice, omit and double the slaw for a more salad-y situation.

• Butter: You can omit it, but damn rice is good with butter.

• Cabbage: Buy cabbage and shred it yourself. Use kale instead. Buy pre-made slaw at the deli counter and add the juice of 1 lime to add the tang I want here.

• Orange: In the slaw, you can sub in 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar + 1 teaspoon sugar.

• Lime: Each lime = 2 tablespoons of any light-colored vinegar. But lime is better here!

• Grapefruit: Use 2 oranges instead for the salsa.

• Cilantro: Basil or parsley will do the trick.

• Cajun/jerk/blackening seasoning: Swap in as many of the spices listed in the alternate as you have. It’s OK if you don’t have them all, just add a little extra of one that you do have.

• Brown sugar: The sugar helps us get that beautiful blackening. You can use white sugar instead.

• Cod: Sub in any white fish. You can even use skinless salmon filets! Ask your fish dude what else would be good. Cod is a really thin filet, so if you are using a filet that’s more than 1/2-inch thick, you’ll need to flip it after 5 minutes and broil for 5 minutes on the second side. Shrimp (broil for 2 to 3 minutes, no need to flip) or scallops (broil for 1 1/2 minutes per side). Can’t do fish? Use boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs. Roast in a 450°F oven: breasts for 12 to 15 minutes, thighs for about 20 minutes, until an internal thermometer reaches 160°F (they will continue cooking to reach 165°F).