Surf Shack Tacos (Vegan and Gluten-Free)

Here in our house, if you can fit it in a taco shell, then by all means . . .

We love tacos!  Being from California we were used to the convenience of  fantastic Mexican food on virtually every corner.  Here in upstate, New York, there is hardly anywhere you can go and so it's up to me to bring the Mexican to us.

This recipe is more Cal-Mex style and taken straight out of my "Nom-Nom: Vegan Style" personal pinterest board via foodgawker.  As always altered every so slightly here and there.

If you haven't already BE SURE TO CHECK OUT our Peas in the Pod Pinterest page HERE

The original pinner titled the recipe "Surf Shack tacos".  While I thought that was just a cool name at first, I discovered with a little research that there is, in fact, a place called the Surf Shack Coastal Kitchen (located in beautiful sunny Florida, my kind of place) and that they are kinda famous for their beer-battered fish tacos.  I'm not entirely sure if this place is the origin of the recipe but I liked the sound of it, anyway.  When I think of fish tacos, I think first of Baja, California and those little street vendors in the border towns.  Regardless, of their origin they have become quite a popular dish.  The tastiest part, in my opinion, has always been the combination of the crispy sweet cabbage, the spice of the hot peppers and the creamy goodness of the sauce.

THESE tacos have all of that . . . and more.

And the best part: I assure you there were no fishies or sea creatures harmed in the making of these, the Peas in the Pod variation of fish tacos.

Ours start with . . .

~THE SAUCE~

• 1/3 cup raw natural cashews
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons almond milk
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• 1 tablespoon organic agave nectar
• 2-3 teaspoons sriracha (depending on taste)

At least 20 minutes prior: soak cashews in hot water.  

We will come back to our sauce momentarily.

In the meantime . . .

Assemble the following veggies for garnishing your tacos:

1 cup of thawed frozen or fresh organic corn

1 small tomato or a handful of cherry or grape tomatoes

1/2 cup each of red and yellow pepper (orange and green is fine too)

1-2 cups of finely sliced/shredded green (and/or purple) cabbage

Sautee the corn and peppers together in a pan with about a teaspoon of oil (coconut gives it the best flavor), until they start to char a bit and toss in your tomatoes.  Cook until tomatoes soften. Set aside.

~Now onto YOUR "TO-FISH"~

You will need:

1 block of extra firm tofu

1 cup of almond milk

1 tbsp. of kelp powder (optional)

1-2 cups of GF breadcrumb mixture (lightly seasoned)

Oil for frying

lime for seasoning

  Cut your block of tofu into wedges (think fish sticks) and lightly press them leaving some of the moisture intact.  Dissolve kelp powder in almond milk (or other non-dairy milk). Whisk to make sure it is fully incorporated.

NOTE: This is an optional step but it helps to lightly flavor the tofu.

 

Dredge your wedges of tofu in the milky kelp mixture and then into a gluten-free bread crumb mixture.*

Fry the tofu wedges lightly in a pan heated with a shallow layer of oil, turning to brown evenly. Once all of it has been cooked, give the wedges a light squeeze of fresh lime.

NOW for the SAUCE:

Drain the water from your cashews (they will have softened) and blend in a processor or blender with the remaining ingredients until creamy.

AND FINALLY . . .

Warm your tortillas and fill 'em up!

I like to start with a layer of cabbage, then my to-fish, the corn garnish, followed by a generous drizzle of the cashew-sriracha sauce.  

I also dropped a healthy helping of homemade guacamole on mine too. 

NOTE: Pictured are 5 but this recipe actually yielded about 8 tacos total.

My recommendation: serve with spanish rice and a margarita for the optimal Baja experience. heehee

"Buen Provecho"

Love and Light,

Amber

*I use toasted rice cereal (inexpensive and similar in texture to panko), pulverized in my Nutri-Bullet, mixed with a bit of rice flour and seasoned with salt and pepper and just a dash of chili powder.