For Fish Sandwiches With 10X The Flavor, Add One Ingredient To Tartar Sauce

If you looked for the best examples of a match made in heaven, fried fish and tartar sauce would probably rank pretty high on the list. The combination of hot, flaky fish, with its crunchy, well-seasoned crust, and the cold, creamy sauce is a case study in creating a balance between flavors, textures, and even temperatures. Put the fish and tartar sauce between two slices of bread with some fresh lettuce and you've already got one great sandwich on your hands. But if you want to really blow away your taste buds and make a fish sandwich with ten times the flavor, add one simple ingredient to your tartar sauce: wasabi.

A simple tartar sauce is made by combining mayonnaise with lemon juice, diced pickles, dill, and salt. If you want something even more straightforward, then you can also make a two-ingredient tartar sauce by combining mayonnaise and dill pickle mustard. But if you're hoping to make a tartar sauce that'll take your fish sandwich from good to great, reach for some wasabi paste and stir it into the mix. Its fresh heat and herbal quality will instantly (and easily) elevate the sauce.

Just one quick warning: Go easy on the wasabi paste. Wasabi can be overpowering, and our goal here isn't to make a spicy sandwich. We'd start by adding one teaspoon to one cup of tartar sauce and then adjust according to taste. If you feel the wasabi is too strong, add more elements of the basic tartar sauce to the mix. You want to be able to taste the wasabi, without having it dominate over the core elements of the fish sandwich.

So why does wasabi tartar sauce work so well for fish sandwiches? It's simple. With most other sandwiches, from a traditional Philly cheesesteak to a classic Reuben, the filling is often loaded with flavor. In comparison, the flavor profile of a fish sandwich is much milder. Introducing wasabi into the mix brings the right kind of delicate heat that'll increase complexity and provide enough balance to the fresh tartar sauce so it's able to cut through the fried fish and the buttery bread.

There are as many variations on crisp and creamy fish sandwiches as there are fish in the sea. Whether you're making Cajun-inspired catfish sandwiches, pan-fried cod sandwiches, or beer-battered halibut sandwiches, this wasabi tartar sauce will work as a flavor booster for any firm, white fish and beyond. Plus, while customers love the high-quality fish sandwiches at certain chain restaurants (the Flounder Sandwich at Popeyes is a particular favorite), a hit of wasabi is likely to add extra character to these options, as well.

In fact, there are many ways to use tartar sauce beyond fish. It's a smashing condiment for your french fries or mozzarella sticks, a super-interesting base for a chicken salad, and a great replacement for ranch when paired with wings. You can swap in your wasabi-infused tartar sauce to add some Asian-inspired heat to any of these dishes. You can even make a batch and store your wasabi tartar sauce in the fridge for a few days, or even longer if you used store-bought mayo.