← Nouns Cooking · Mexican

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg whole red snapper or sea bass, scaled, gutted and butterflied (ask your fishmonger)
• 4 Dried guajillo chillies, stemmed and seeded
• 3 cloves Garlic
• 60 ml Orange juice
• 3 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp Soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Mayonnaise
• ½ tsp Dried oregano
• ¼ tsp Cumin
• 1 tsp Salt
• 2 tbsp oil, for the grill
• 12 warm corn tortillas
• 1 Cucumber, sliced
• 1 Red onion, thinly sliced
• 3 Lime, cut into wedges

Method

1. Toast the guajillos in a dry pan for 20–30 seconds per side, then soak in hot water for 15 min. Drain and blend with the garlic, orange and lime juice, soy sauce, oregano, cumin and salt until smooth. Stir in the mayonnaise.
2. Open the fish out flat, skin-side down, and spread the adobo thickly over the flesh. Leave for 30 min while you light the grill.
3. Get a charcoal or gas grill to medium-high heat and oil a fish-grilling basket well. Clamp the fish inside.
4. Grill flesh-side down for 8–10 min, until nicely charred, then turn and grill skin-side down for 10–12 min, until the thickest part flakes easily and is opaque all the way through.
5. Slide onto a platter and let everyone pull the fish off the bones into tortillas with cucumber, onion and a squeeze of lime.

Tips

• Without a fish basket, grill the fish skin-side down on oiled foil for most of the time and finish it briefly under a hot grill.
• Use tamari instead of soy sauce if you need it gluten-free.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Rick Bayless Rick Bayless (tacos)