Pan-Fried Avocado Tacos With Pickled Onions
[Vegan]

To Prep the Vegetables and Quick-Pickle the Onion:

1. Rinse the cilantro sprigs and remove the leaves from the stems. Peel and julienne the red onion. Halve the avocados, remove the pits, and slice into long, 1/2-inch thick slices.
2. In a small bowl, combine the dressing ingredients. In a clean mixing bowl, toss the slaw mix and dressing together, with salt and pepper to taste. Place in refrigerator to chill before serving.
3. In a medium-sized pot, bring apple cider vinegar, 3/4 cups water, sugar, and 2 tablespoons of salt to a boil. When liquid comes to a boil, add onions and let boil for 1 minute.
4. Remove pot from heat and let cool. A few ice cubes will help cool the pickled onions quickly. This technique is called “flash pickling,” and it’s an easy way to lend slow-pickled flavor in a flash.

To Make the Pan-Fried Avocados:

1. Mix the panko, garlic powder, and a dash of salt together in a shallow bowl. In a separate bowl, place 2 tablespoons olive oil. Have a clean plate handy to put the coated avocado slices.
2. First, dip the avocado slice in the olive oil, lightly coating. Then, place the avocado slice in the panko, covering it and pressing the panko lightly into the avocado, ensuring avocado slices are covered all around with the panko. Repeat for all avocado slices.
3.  Warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. Once warm, add the coated avocado slices. Cook for 5-6 minutes on each side, or until panko becomes browned and crisp.
4. Place on a paper towel-lined plate to soak up any additional oil. We recommend working in 2 batches so avocado slices have enough room to fry.

To Serve:

1. Prepare tortillas by covering with slightly moistened paper towels and placing in microwave for 20-30 seconds. You can also soften tortillas in a dry sauté pan over medium heat, flipping consistently. Or, if you’re especially daring, you can warm tortillas quickly over a gas stove burner flame to get authentic char marks.
2. Place 3 warmed tortillas on the plate. Arrange 3-4 slices of fried avocado in each tortilla. Top with chilled slaw and pickled onions. Garnish with cilantro leaves.