Cook's Country

-"Cook's Country" is about more than just getting dinner on the table.

We're also fascinated by the people and stories behind the dishes.

We go inside kitchens in every corner of the country to learn how real people cook, and we look back through time to see how history influences the way we eat today.

We bring that inspiration back to our test kitchen so we can share it with you.

This is "Cook's Country."

Today on "Cook's Country," Bryan visits San Diego and shares his take on fish tacos, Jack challenges Bridget to a tasting of tortilla chips, I share the history of shrimping in America, and Ashley and Bridget make crispy fried shrimp.

That's all right here on "Cook's Country."

-Beautiful San Diego, California -- for many, it's paradise on Earth.

Fresh seafood and tacos and working out and sunshine.

And in this unique city, where the U.S., Mexico, and the Pacific Ocean meet, you'll find some of the best Mexican seafood in America.

This is so much harder to do than what it looks like.

-Yeah, right.

You need to have a really good knife.

-Yeah.

Great attention to detail from start to finish.

That's something that David Contreras Curiel and his family have been doing since they moved from Mexico to San Diego to follow his father's dream of opening a restaurant.

-I want to try this small one.

It's the best breakfast.

We opened in 1981.

My parents started it out in a little shop in Spring Valley here in San Diego.

It was a small, hole-in-the-wall kind of place.

Maybe had six tables or so.

-Today, what started as a small hole-in-the-wall is now a sprawling restaurant empire with multiple locations.

I met David at one of their newest locations, Karina's Cantina in the historic Gaslamp District, where David and his siblings continue their father's legacy.

-He would be surprised and excited for where we've taken his vision.

-David's dad, Don Arnulfo Contreras, worked in the restaurant industry in San Diego, while David and the rest of the family lived in Mexico.

-We lived in Tijuana, and he would cross the border every day and come and open the restaurant.

And slowly, the restaurant started getting busier, and he decided to bring us to San Diego.

-So, at just 7 years old, David started working in the restaurant alongside his older siblings.

-I was doing the accounting when I was like 10 years old.

You know, so that was like my responsibility.

I was doing hiring, firing -- a little bit of everything.

My dad wanted me to learn every aspect of the business.

That's what we had to do to survive in this new country that my parents decided to move to.

And it was to work and help the family be in a better place.

-David and his family's work ethic is reflected in the meticulous food that Karina serves to its guests every day.

That's why the family left nothing to chance and opened their own fish market, which allows them to control the quality of the fish from sea to plate.

Today, the fish market provides fresh seafood to the family's restaurants, as well as many other restaurants in the San Diego area.

-We deliver a lot of product to many of the restaurants, but, also, a lot of the chefs come here, and they buy directly from the store.

-Yeah.

But the thing I really came here for is their fish taco.

-They can be fried, which is like the Baja style, or Sinaloa is more of like grilled.

-On the flattop, the fresh cod is doused in the zarandeado sauce -- a combination of mayonnaise, chilies, beer, and spices.

The fish is then added to a warm corn tortilla and piled high with fresh toppings.

David and his team have the process down to a science, and as they continue to grow, there's one variable that will always take top priority.

-Family-owned and operated.

And that's how we intend on keeping the growth -- always having the family be a part of it.

-Today, Bryan's gonna show us how we can make San Diego-style fish tacos at home.

-Yeah.

But first, can we talk about that restaurant?

-It was beautiful.

-David has such an eye for artwork and design.

That restaurant was gorgeous.

-Yeah.

And what I liked about it is you think about the taco, it feels like a humble food.

But here it is, displayed in this beautiful restaurant.

It really elevates it as food.

And I love that.

-I love those tacos, and I'm happy to share that recipe with you today.

And it all begins with what they call the zarandeado sauce.

It's a very flavorful sauce.

So, we're gonna start off in the blender here.

We have 2/3 cup of mayonnaise, 1/3 cup of sour cream.

We have one chipotle chile in adobo sauce.

That's gonna give us some heat and a little bit of smokiness.

One rbol chili that's been stemmed and seeded.

-Right.

-You can leave the seeds in if you wanted to make it a little spicier.

-Mm-hmm.

-A tablespoon of your favorite Mexican hot sauce.

This is Tapato.

We've got a tablespoon of beer here, So, a light, lager-style beer.

Key ingredient.

-[ Laughs ] -A tablespoon of yellow mustard.

Now, we're gonna add a garlic clove to it.

Whenever you're making a sauce in the blender, you don't want to throw whole garlic cloves in there because they tend to bounce around.

-Yeah.

-So we're just gonna give this a real quick chop.

The garlic goes in there.

Alright.

Then we can go with 3/4 teaspoon of soy sauce, 3/4 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 teaspoon of Mexican oregano and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper and 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt.

Alright, so, we're just gonna blend this till everything's nicely pureed, so it takes about 20 seconds.

And sometimes you might need to scrape down the sides of the bowl as you're going.

[ Blender whirring ] Alright.

We can transfer this to a little bowl here.

So, most of that will be used as the garnish for our finished tacos.

But one thing that they did there at the restaurant that I've never seen before, but I highly approve of, is that they take a little of this zarandeado sauce, and they use it while the fish is cooking.

So it gets applied to the fish, and it tightens up and really sticks to the fish and gives it the flavor of the sauce.

-Oh!

That's really interesting.

-Yeah.

So we're gonna save some for that purpose.

We're gonna save 6 tablespoons altogether.

And since we're gonna cook the fish in two batches, we'll save it in two, 3-tablespoon portions.

Okay, so, our sauce is all set.

-Okay.

-And now we're gonna make pickled onions to garnish our tacos.

-Mmm!

-So, I have a cup of distilled white vinegar here.

We'll add 1/3 cup of granulated sugar and then a teaspoon of kosher salt.

And we're just gonna turn this on.

Just gonna let it come to a simmer.

We're really just trying to dissolve the sugar.

Then we can slice up our onion.

Just remove this root end from it.

And you see that our sugar has been dissolved in the vinegar... -Mm-hmm.

-...and it's just barely coming up to a simmer?

That's all we need.

And we're just gonna pour it overtop of the onions.

We're gonna let this sit for at least 30 minutes to cool down and to fully pickle, but you just keep this in your fridge for a good week or so if you want it to.

-Mm-hmm.

-So, we're gonna let this sit, and we'll come back and start working on our fish.

-Alright.

-So, today, we're gonna be using cod for our tacos.

These are four 6-ounce cod fillets, but you could use any fish that you like.

So, we're gonna cut these filets into three equal portions, cutting it right into thirds, just like that.

So, these are substantial tacos.

-Mmm.

-So we can just drop these here on our plate.

Alright.

And then we're just gonna season our fish all over with 1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt and then 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper.

Now, to give our fish a little light crust in the skillet, we're gonna coat them with a little bit of flour.

So I have 1/4 cup of flour here.

-Mm-hmm.

-Before I start dredging the fish, I'm gonna heat the skillet up so that -- I have a tablespoon of vegetable oil in here.

I want to get it over medium-high heat until it just starts to smoke.

And now we're just gonna lightly dredge our fish in the flour.

And what this does, it forms a nice, light crust on the fish and also helps some of that zarandeado sauce stick to the fish.

-Aha.

-We'll do six pieces here.

So, we'll hold off on flouring the others until before we saut them.

-Okay.

-So, our oil's been heating up nice and hot, just about to smoke.

They cook their fish in a combination of butter and oil.

-Mm-hmm.

-So we're gonna add a tablespoon of butter here.

Alright, so now we can just drop our fish in there.

Alright?

And we're gonna let this fish go and cook until it's nice and crusty on the first side.

And it takes about two minutes.

So, our fish has been cooking for about two minutes on the first side, and now we can add 3 tablespoons of that zarandeado sauce.

So we're just gonna kind of pour it overtop of each of the pieces.

-[ Chuckles ] That is cool.

-Yeah.

-And now we'll just give it a flip.

-Wow!

-Sometimes it helps to use two spatulas here.

-Oh, wow.

That fish is gorgeous.

Whoo-hoo!

I can smell the sauce.

-Yeah.

Okay.

And now I'm just gonna shake this around a second, just to kind of get that sauce working in.

And we'll let this go for another one to two minutes until the fish is just cooked through.

-Very cool.

-You can see our fish is just beginning to flake.

-Mm-hmm.

-You want to stop it before it just completely falls apart.

So, we are going to now kill the heat on the skillet.

-Mm-hmm.

-And we can just drop this fish onto a wire rack.

And now we're just going to wipe out our skillet with some paper towels, and we'll repeat the process with our remaining fish.

-Alright.

-We are ready to build our tacos.

But first, we need to finish up a couple of garnishes.

So, avocado -- classic.

-Mm-hmm.

-And then we could use a spoon.

I kind of hug the skin and just go all the way around.

-Mm-hmm.

So, we'll just give this a few slices.

And then we are going to cut up a tomato.

And we'll just slice it up.

Nice, small dice.

Alright.

So now we're ready to build our tacos.

And if you don't mind throwing those warm tortillas into our little taco caddies.

You're gonna build it in the caddy?

-Yeah.

I love these things.

-Yeah.

-Do you own them at home?

-Yes.

Yes, I do.

-[ Laughs ] -So, now we can throw a piece of fish in each one of these.

That's my little chunk of fish.

-That fish looks delicious.

-I bet it tastes delicious, too.

So, to garnish our taco, we are going to start with a combination here of 1 1/2 cups of red cabbage and green cabbage.

We're just gonna toss those two together.

Alright.

Now we'll add a little bit of our cabbage.

A few tomatoes on each of the tacos.

A little bit of cilantro.

And then some of our zarandeado sauce, some of our wonderful pickled onions.

Look how beautiful those are.

-Oh, gorgeous.

-And then a little bit of avocado.

-Goodness!

These tacos are beautiful, Bryan.

My goodness!

-Yeah.

Wait till you taste.

-Oh!

Alright.

Enough talking.

I'm ready to dive in.

Mmm.

This is brilliant.

And I see what you mean about the sauce.

It really ties the whole thing together.

And the fish is perfectly cooked.

-Mmm.

Just layers of freshness, layers of spice.

-Mm-hmm.

The freshness of the cabbage, that little bit of crunch, the tomatoes, the sauce, the onions -- it all works together.

-Just really, really solid tacos.

-It's really good.

-[ Laughs ] -Bryan, I can barely stop eating long enough to tell you these are the best fish tacos I have ever had, hands down.

-You say that to all the cooks.

-[ Laughs ] No.

Thank you for showing me how to make them.

-You're very welcome.

-I loved it.

If you want to make the ultimate fish tacos, start by making a flavorful zarandeado sauce.

Cook the fish in a combination of a little oil, a little butter.

Add some of that sauce and serve with warm tortillas and lots of fresh toppings.

From "Cook's Country," with special thanks to Karina's Cantina in San Diego, a spectacular recipe for San Diego fish tacos.

-You've already finished one.

-[ Chuckles ] Yeah.

I couldn't stop eating it.

-I'm so far behind.

-These are incredible.

Tortilla chips -- they're crunchy, they're crispy, they're corny, they're delicious.

And without them, we would be scooping up guacamole with our hands.

And that can get really awkward very fast.

So Jack is here, and he's gonna tell us all about tortilla chips.

-Yeah, I've avoided that 'cause I didn't bring you any guacamole.

This guacamole is for me.

-I noticed it's over there.

Yes.

-So, I want you to start tasting.

-Okay.

-So, the first thing is about texture, right?

The ingredients are all pretty much all the same.

There are three ingredients -- corn, oil, and salt.

Big difference in texture.

We like flaky, crispy, irregular, kind of bubbly surfaces.

And when we talked to an expert at Texas A&M University, he told us it's not about stone-ground.

And in fact, the stone-ground chips kind of were at the bottom of the ratings.

-Really?

-It's about the distance between the rollers, whether they're stone-ground or whether they're steel rollers.

-Huh.

-And more distance gives you a more irregular chip, which is just more pleasing.

The second thing that's really interesting and why I brought some guacamole is we did a dip test.

And we did this over and over again, and I'm gonna try it here.

This is a sturdy chip, and what you want to be able to do is to go into that bowl and come out with your fingers not covered with guacamole... -Right.

-...the chip not in the bowl, but on the plate.

So, the first one went -- well, let's see.

I'm gonna take a second chip, go back in.

-Not good.

-Not good.

Now, we did this over and over again, 'cause, obviously, one fail is not the problem.

But if you get repeated failure, that is a sign it's not a sturdy chip and it's not meant for dipping.

-Right.

-Crispness and freshness.

We discovered two secrets.

One is some of the manufacturers -- and they don't need to disclose this -- are flushing the oxygen out of the bags and replacing it with nitrogen.

-Huh.

-Doesn't have to be on the label, but that's actually a good thing.

They're spending extra money to keep your chip fresh.

-Gotcha.

-One thing we could see -- the bag construction.

So, you'll see here this bag is plastic on the outside, but foil on the inside.

-Right.

-I folded this down.

And it doesn't matter.

We saw paper and plastic together.

That's a good combination.

You just want multiple layers.

The brands that only had plastic, a single material, weren't as crisp.

And, again, the expert we spoke to at Texas A&M said that's because they're more susceptible to the harm from light, from oxygen, from moisture.

-Okay.

-And there's basically more layers in the bag -- again, it's more expensive.

Gives you more protection so that when you open that bag, it's crisp.

Right.

Enough talking, enough dipping.

Anything that you want to sort of comment on here?

-Well, these.

They've got nice, crisp texture -- light, flaky, good corn flavor.

-This one a very dippable chip.

It's got really good saltiness to it.

-Mm-hmm.

-And that last one -- I'd say that's my least favorite here.

-Do we have a favorite yet?

-I'd say my two favorites might be between these two.

This one would be great for anything.

if I could take one chip with me onto a desert island, as long as there's salsa there, too, I'm going with this one.

This one seems a little bit more delicate, but really good flavor, too.

I really like it.

-Okay.

You want to start with the one you like the best?

-Sure -- this one.

-Yeah.

You picked the winner.

-Alright.

-This is from Tostitos.

It's a restaurant-style chip.

This is kind of a perfect chip.

It's got great flavor.

-Yeah.

-Super sturdy, so it's great for dipping so you can get a lot of guacamole on your chip.

And your next choice was the runner-up.

-Hey!

-So, this is Tortiyahs!

-[ Chuckling ] -It has a funny name, yeah.

So, interesting spelling.

It is a little thinner, which you noticed, but it was still sturdy enough to pass the dipping test.

-Yes.

-Alright.

Little, round ones.

-Those are the Mission chips.

They were in third place.

-Okay.

-I thought they did fine in the dipping test.

Nice corn flavor.

-Good corn flavor.

-And, again, there's lots to like here on the table.

Last, but not least, this is the only one that our tasters weren't wild about.

This is Late July.

It's actually made by Campbell's Soup, so it seems like it's a boutique brand... -Yeah.

-...but it's really not a boutique brand.

-Right.

-They weren't as tasty as the other chips, and they also did not do as well in the dip test.

-Gotcha.

Well, there you go.

If you want to have some tortilla chips at home, with or without guacamole, then you want to pick up the winners -- the Tostitos Original Restaurant Style tortilla chips.

-I think since you picked the winner, you might have earned some guacamole.

-A little bit?

Yeah?

-Eh, just a little bit.

-Will work for guac.

-That about sums up Bridget Lancaster.

-Yeah.

-[ Laughs ] -Humans have been eating crustaceans for a long time, since well before recorded history.

Indigenous Hawaiians practiced aquaculture beginning around 1200 A.D. And in Louisiana, there are records of shrimp harvesting in the bayou as early as the 17th Century.

By the 1900s, the practice of using large trawl nets to catch shrimp became common along the Gulf of Mexico.

Up until the 1940s, shrimp were harvested with nets set close to shore and hauled by hand.

Later, bottom-trawling gear made it possible to catch shrimp in the deeper waters of the Gulf.

But while wild shrimp was once common in many places along the coast, it now accounts for less than 10% of all shrimp we eat in the United States.

Habitat destruction caused by pollution has drastically reduced wild populations.

The future of shrimping may indeed move from the sea to the land, and a number of shrimp-farming operations have already set up shop in Indiana, over 600 miles from the Gulf Coast.

At "Cook's Country," we put America's favorite crustacean to work in a tender, tasty version of crispy fried shrimp.

-A big basket of hot, juicy, crispy fried shrimp -- well, those are the things that my summer dreams are made of.

But too often, I get a nightmare.

That shrimp that's been fried until it's rubbery, it's dried out.

And the coating?

Well, it's either soggy or it's fallen off.

But here is Ashley.

And I'm very excited, because she's gonna show me how to fry shrimp the right way.

-You bet.

We're gonna have some shrimp today, Bridget, that are crispy.

-Mmm.

-They are gonna be tender and, also, crunchy.

-Yes.

-Alright.

-Then we're also going to make a sauce today that you are just gonna want to put on everything.

-Okay.

Sold, sold.

-Alright.

So, I'm gonna start with some ketchup.

There's 1/2 cup.

The best thing about this sauce is that it mimics two of the best sauces for dipping fried shrimp into, and that's tartar sauce and cocktail sauce.

-Mmm!

-So you get the acidity.

You get a little bit of a bite.

That's 1/2 cup of mayonnaise.

-[ Chuckles ] Alright.

-And here I have 1/4 cup of prepared horseradish.

-Yeah!

-And then we have some Worcestershire sauce.

So, this is 2 teaspoons.

And some lemon juice.

This is 1 teaspoon.

And then we have Old Bay Seasoning.

And this is 1/2 teaspoon.

And then 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.

-Ooh!

-Mm-hmm.

-Alright.

So, this make-ahead option, you can put this in the fridge, and you bring it out when you're ready to eat the shrimp.

So, one of the best things about this fried-shrimp recipe is that we are gonna season it at every stage.

This is gonna be a seasoning blend for the shrimp.

I have some granulated garlic.

This is 1 teaspoon.

I have 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper.

And finally, 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.

So I'm just gonna give that a mix.

And now on to the shrimp.

Here I have tail-on shrimp.

They're 21/25, also known as extra-large shrimp.

-Mm.

-And I have about 1 1/2 pounds here.

What I did is I went ahead, and I shelled them and deveined them, but I left the tails on.

I'm gonna add all of the seasoning blent into the bowl with the shrimp and then just give it a toss, making sure that the seasoning blend is covering all the bits and bobs of the shrimp.

Okay.

You guys hang out for a minute.

[ Both chuckling ] Now I'm gonna mix together our batter for the shrimp.

You'll notice we're not doing a standard breading procedure.

We're making a batter.

And I swear it is the most delicious thing.

-Okay.

-I'm going to add two eggs right here into 1/2 cup of water.

And I'm gonna pour that into the shallow plate here.

I have 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour.

And then I have some salt and pepper.

I have 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper.

-Seasoning at every step.

I like it.

-Mm-hmm.

Alright, I'm just gonna give this a whisk, just to make sure that everything's combined.

And then finally, here I have 2 cups of panko bread crumbs.

These are the Japanese breadcrumbs.

They're super coarse.

-Mm.

-They're gonna get really nice and airy and crispy when they fry on the shrimp.

So, I am going to dredge the shrimp.

And then I'm gonna keep one dry hand, and this is my shrimp hand.

Hello, shrimp hand.

-[ Chuckling ] -And then gently pat the panko directly onto that batter.

You can see how well it sticks on.

-Yeah, definitely.

-Yeah, yeah.

So I'm gonna finish dipping and breading, and then I'm gonna put the shrimp into the refrigerator.

And they can hang out in there for up to two hours.

And it's a super-important step so they don't overcook in the oil.

It's fry time, Bridget.

-Yes.

-Yes!

So I have 1 1/2 quarts of some vegetable oil that I've been heating over medium-high heat until it reaches 350 degrees.

-Okay.

-And we're gonna be cooking the shrimp in three batches, 'cause you want to make sure all the shrimp have enough contact with that hot oil to get brown and crispy.

So I'm gonna go in.

[ Sizzling ] -Alright.

-Yep.

And these will cook for a minute to a minute and a half, until golden-brown and crisp.

Just go in there every once in a while and give them a good stir so that none of them are sticking together or clumping.

Alright.

Let's get a look-see.

-Oh!

Oh, my goodness.

-I know.

That was barely a minute.

-I know.

Barely a minute.

These are golden-brown and crisp.

-[ Gasps ] -They are gorgeous.

I'm gonna bring the oil back up to 350 degrees and finish with the remaining two batches of shrimp.

-Okay.

-Oh, boy.

-This is a tray of beauty.

-Oh, yeah.

Alright.

I'm gonna platter these beauties up.

-Better than I've seen at a seafood shop or restaurant.

-Aw, shucks.

Thanks, Bridget.

-Really, really looking forward to this.

-Oh, good.

I'm really excited.

Do a little sauce action.

-Mmm!

-Yep.

And a lemon squeezy.

-Yes, please.

-There you go.

-Alright.

-Alrighty.

-Going right in.

-Samesies.

-Alright.

Gonna go for some of that sauce.

-Mmm!

-Mmm!

-Mm-hmm.

-Incredibly tender.

-And there's so much flavor.

Like, you can tell, we took the time to do the seasoning at every single stage.

And this sauce -- Yeah.

-The sauce is unstoppable.

-I love it.

It really is a combo of cocktail sauce and tartar sauce.

-Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

-So well-seasoned.

-Mm-hmm.

-You almost don't need the sauce, but definitely make the sauce.

-Mm-hmm.

-Shrimp dreams are made of these.

[ Chuckles ] -They are, as Annie Lennox said.

-There we go.

-[ Laughs ] -Well, fried shrimp does not get any better than this.

Season and spice the shrimp before breading.

Use both a batter and panko crumbs to coat.

And then chill the shrimp before frying.

And don't forget to serve it with that doubly-good mix of cocktail sauce and tartar sauce.

So, from "Cook's Country," the ultimate crispy fried shrimp.

You can get this recipe and all the recipes from this season, along with product reviews and select episodes.

And those are all on our website, CooksCountry.com/TV.

-Visit our website, where you can sign up for the free "Cook's Country" e-mail newsletter for even more of the recipes and stories you love from the magazine and the TV show.

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