TACO-LYMPICS!
Project Time:
~45 Minutes
Get Skills!
- mixing
- chopping
- tasting as you go
- planning ahead
What you need...
- Any taco toppings you want to include in your games
- taco base: tortillas and a protein!
- small strips of paper
- sidewalk chalk OR butcher paper roll and a sharpie
- potholders
- dice
- Grownup Supervision
Safety Thoughts
For the games, make sure your chosen ingredients incorporate special dietary needs, including allergies. Always immediately clean any surface that comes into contact with raw meat. Use caution with sharp or hot objects.
Taco for the Gold!
Here are five different games to play with taco toppings, and also our recipe for Fusion Fish Tacos. Pick some games, snap some pics, and share with us at @TastequestHQ!
Taco Topping Skeeball: Take a long piece of butcher paper and draw 6-inch wide circles at one end, as many as you have taco toppings. Label each of the circles with your taco toppings. Place the butcher paper on the floor. Take a bean bag (Or make one with some rice or dry beans in a sandwich bag) and slide the bag along the butcher paper. Whichever circles you hit, make a taco with those ingredients! See what flavor combinations surprise you.- Taco Cornhole: Follow the instructions for #1, but instead of butcher paper, head outside and draw circles with chalk on the pavement. Stand a good distance away and toss your beanbag toward the circles. For extra fun, turn around, and toss the bags over your head backwards!
- Taco Parlor: Write down taco toppings on small pieces of paper. Fold them up and place in a hat or pot. Take turns and play either Pictionary or Charades with the toppings, then make tacos with the selected toppings.
Mystery Taco! Choose a friend or family member to be the Flavor Sleuth! Prepare tacos with mystery ingredients (without your sleuth watching). When your sleuths are ready to eat, sit them down with a blindfold, and have them sample your mystery tacos. Ask them to identify the mystery ingredients, and get points for every ingredient that fools him!- Guacamole of Destiny! Download our mini-mag, Adventure Guacamole, grab a pair of dice, and let fate decide what you put into your guacamole recipe!
Need topping ideas? Get Wacky!
Who’s to say what belongs on a taco? What if you went a little wild and wacky with your offerings? Borrow some of these ideas for some unexpected toppings, or share your own ideas with us at @TastequestHQ!
Bacon bits
Fried avocado
Mango
Pineapple
Coleslaw
Red cabbage
Sweet chili sauce
Shredded kale
sliced raddish
Flavored rice
Grownup Guides
Make taco night into a party! This is a great opportunity to introduce new vegetables and new nutrients to a kid’s palate. It is also a great opportunity to use play to give kids of all ages ownership in the cooking process.
Enhance the experience by…
- Making a list of all possible flavors you can think of that might go well in a taco, then pick the top 5 to use in the games.
- Reversing roles in the games.
- Practice different kinds of chopping skills under supervision
- Allowing kids to take photos of their completed tacos and games.
Fusion Fish Tacos
Here is our recipe for battered fish tacos with an Asian style slaw. It’s pretty FISHtastic!
Ingredients
FISH
1 lb cod, or other whitefish, cut into strips 1 inch wide
1/4 cup flour
1/4 panko crumbs
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Water (or beer for grownups)
Oil for frying
SLAW
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sour cream or plain yogurt
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 package coleslaw mix, or 1/2 head sliced cabbage
3 scallions, diced
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
Optional toppings: avocado slices, mango slices, green salsa, sweet chili sauce
Instructions
- Prepare the slaw: Mix together the mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, honey, lime juice, and salt. Add the vegetables and toss until evenly covered.
- Prepare the batter: Mix together all the dry ingredients. Add water until the batter looks as thick as yogurt. Add the fish strips and coat evenly.
- Heat 1 inch of oil until it reaches 350 degrees. Fry the fish strips until golden on all sides.
- Serve on warmed corn tortillas with the slaw, and any other toppings you choose.