Tacos de Mayo

Happy Cinco de Mayo! So much has happened in the last month in terms of new energy, new friends, and new goals entering my life. Quite recently, a rash of positive things happened to my friends and I including completion of a doctoral thesis, a new job, a new baby, a graduate school acceptance with full scholarship, and the completion of a marathon. Congratulations, everyone!

With all of these awesome occurences, I've been very interested in celebrating. To celebrate Cinco de Mayo (which contrary to popular opinion is not a holiday of Mexican independence, but rather one commemorating the victory of Mexican armies over French fighters), I have chosen to skip the margarita happy hours in favor of taking a yoga class, going home and enjoying a new recipe. I hope you enjoy!

Before I delve into the meat (fish?) of this evening's dinner, I would like to preface that this meal is partly inspired by Mexican gastronomy and partly inspired by the contents of my refrigerator and pantry.

Additionally, I advise those of you just learning how to cook fish to focus on sustainably sourced products. Salmon is coming back in season, and soon, those of you in the USA will see both Pacific, Wild Alaskan, and Atlantic salmon in your supermarkets. If you shop at an upscale store, you may see some salmon steaks sourced from Norway and Ireland. To eat the most environmentally friendly product, I recommend purchasing Wild Alaskan salmon. Rather than raised on a salmon farm, these fishies come to you straight from the streams. They haven't traveled across the Atlantic to arrive in your tummy, thus saving air miles and, of course, greenhouse gas emissions. If you have any questions about purchasing sustainable fish products, check out Changing Seas, an amazing group brought to my attention by Nora Pouillion of Restaurant Nora.

On with the menu!

CHILI STEAMED SALMON TACOS


Necessary Kitchen Appliances:
Steamer (mine is part of my rice cooker, but you may have a bamboo steamer. To create a steamer, fill a large pot with 2 inches of water and fit a colander with a flat base inside the pot so that no water enters the colander. There should be a few inches of room between the water level and colander)

Ingredients:
2 small corn tortillas, room temperature
1 uncooked, thawed 6 oz. salmon steak
2 tbsp spicy taco seasoning (you can make your own by mixing cayenne pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and cumin)
1 tbsp canola oil
1 cup shredded cabbage, room temperature
1 tbsp organic, unsalted chunky almond butter (you can use peanut butter as well)
1 tbsp Thai sweet chili sauce
1/4 cup low fat plain yogurt
1/2 lime, cut into wedges

Method:
1. First, prepare the salmon marinade by mixing canola oil with taco seasoning. Brush generously on salmon steak and let sit for at least 15 minutes, preferably overnight.
2. Second, make the salad dressing by mixing almond butter, Thai sweet chili sauce, and plain yogurt together. Place in your refrigerator to chill.
3. Steam salmon steak for 10-15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the steak and strength of your steamer. Allow the salmon to cook and flake into smaller pieces.
4. Mix salad dressing with shredded cabbage.
5. Fill each corn tortilla with chili steamed salmon and cabbage salad. Serve with lime wedges.
6. If you are a beer fan, open up a Tecate and enjoy! I had my tacos with VitaCoco coconut water, which was a wonderful complement.