More than 4.5-billion fish tacos
are consumed in the United States each year and Americans do not even have to
look beyond the country’s inner-city streets for the finest ones.
“The best tacos in America are those you get from the
taco trucks,” Gqeberha chef Mthobeli “Sunshine” Ndaleni said.
“For people coming from Mexico, they always remind them
of home.”
Ndaleni, who has cooked for celebrities in the States for
a number of years, aims to replicate this authenticity in his creation featuring
on the Radisson hotel’s menu this summer.
It depends on who you ask, of course, but most agree
that the origins of the fish taco can be traced to Mexico’s Baja Peninsula.
Centuries ago locals met Asian traders who introduced
them to deep-frying techniques, a game-changer that enabled them to combine
battered local fish and their beloved tortillas.
The legend goes that it was San Diego native and
surfer Ralph Rubio who “discovered” fish tacos and brought them to the rest of
the world in the 1980s.
In an interview with On the Water magazine this
year, he told how he had encountered a man selling beer-battered fish and
tortillas in the Bajan village of San Felipe, when the area was still largely
unknown to people outside Mexico.
The trader on the beach was happy to write down the
recipe and when Rubio returned to San Diego, residents were introduced to this
exciting new taste.
The secret to the dish was the batter, which comprised
beer, mustard powder, garlic powder, oregano and black pepper.
As it so often is when it comes to food, there will
always be debates around what makes the perfect fish taco too. Is it the
batter, its originality or the infusion of new flavours that innovators love
but traditionalists hate?
The best placed South African to answer these
questions is perhaps Ndaleni
with his first-hand experience
of America’s fish taco fixation.
“You need your ingredients to be fresh and the spices
are what give the tacos their flavour.”
Together with Radisson Blu executive chef Tyran Vaghi,
he has produced blackened fish tacos with mango and pineapple for the season.
He brings together a range of spices – including ancho
chilli, ground cumin, dried oregano and cayenne pepper – for the rub in his own
dish.
The combination, he found, gives the taco the
authenticity it needs.
While Ndaleni is humble by nature, even he believes the
offering must be a contender for the country’s greatest fish taco.
Before deciding on the make-up of his version, he
travelled around the republic sampling different variations of the North American
favourite.
Nowhere had he come across that distinctive flavour
that made the Mexican taco what it was.
Research completed, he and Vaghi spent months testing
different combinations before settling on what now features on the menu.
“The reason we did this is because we want our guests
to be reminded of home. At the same time, we want our locals to be able to
taste the world,” Ndaleni said.
“It’s the best taco I’ve tasted [in SA].”
