Step 1

At medium high heat, warm the olive oil in a medium-size pan until hot. Add the finely chopped onion and cook until transparent, about 2 minutes. Stir in the chopped garlic and cook for one minute.

Step 2

Add the tomato, Mexican oregano, and bay leaf. Stir, then cover the pan with the lid. Cook for three minutes.

Step 3

Remove the lid and place the fish in the tomato sauce. Cover again and keep cooking for about 6 minutes. By this time, the fish will start to break apart. With the help of a spoon, start separating the fish into small pieces.

Step 4

Keep cooking for 4 more minutes with the lid off, until there isn’t any liquid left in the pan. Stir well and season with salt and pepper. It is very important that you allow all the liquids to evaporate, in order to avoid having any liquid spill out of the pescadillas at the point of frying them. After the filling is done, remove the pan from the heat to allow everything to cool.

Step 5

Warm the tortillas on a comal or a griddle over medium heat. Warm them for just enough time on each side to make them soft and pliable. Cold tortillas tend to break, so do not skip this step of warming the tortillas. Cover your warm tortillas with a kitchen napkin.

Step 6

Place the vegetable oil in a medium size frying pan and heat the oil over medium heat.

Step 7

While the oil is heating up, form the pescadillas by spreading about 1½ tablespoons of the fish filling in the center of one half of the tortilla, making sure that the filling doesn’t get to the edge of the tortillas.

Step 8

Fold the tortilla to close it, then insert two toothpicks near the edge of the tortillas. Thread the toothpick to go to the other side of the pescadilla and come back out. Try to cover a wide section of the tortilla with one toothpick. It should not touch the filling, since that should only be in the center of the pescadilla.

Step 9

Place the already assembled pescadilla in the hot oil and fry for about 4-5 minutes per side until golden brown. Once fried, place it on a plate lined with napkins (to absorb any excess oil). Repeat with the rest of the pescadillas.

Step 10

To serve, top the pescadillas with shredded cabbage and a spicy red salsa. If you like red pickled onions, that is optional, but they make a great complement to the pescadillas.

Step 11

Place the tomatoes, arbol peppers, and garlic in a small sauce pan and cover with the four cups of water. Place on the stove over medium-high heat to cook for about 20 minutes, or until tomatoes and peppers are soft and cooked.

Step 12

Place the cooked tomatoes, peppers and garlic, in your blender along with about ¼ cup of the cooking water. Process until you a have smooth sauce.

Step 13

Place the salsa in a bowl, add 2 tablespoons of white vinegar, and season with salt. Set aside until serving time.