Baja Fish Tacos
Crisp battered fish, crunchy cabbage, lime crema and warm tortillas
- Serves
- 4
- Hands-on
- Total
- Level
- Some skill
The street taco of Mexico's Pacific coast: a strip of hot, crunchy battered fish in a soft corn tortilla, heaped with cabbage and drizzled with tangy lime crema. A light, spiced batter keeps it crisp without heaviness, and everything else can be made while the oil heats.
Ingredients
Lime crema
- 150 gsour cream (⅔ cup)
- 2 tbspmayonnaiseor Mayonnaise
- 1limezest and juice
- 1 pinchfine sea salt
Slaw
- 250 ggreen or red cabbage (3 cups)very finely shredded
- 1 tbsplime juice
- 2 gfine sea salt (⅓ tsp)
Fish
- 600 gfirm white fish fillets, skinless (1⅓ lb)cod, pollock, haddock or mahi-mahi, in strips about 2 cm thick and 10 cm long
- 6 gfine sea salt (1 tsp)
- 1½ lneutral oil for frying (1½ qt)
Batter
- 120 gall-purpose flour (1 cup)
- 30 gcornstarch (¼ cup)
- 1 tspbaking powder
- 1 tspground cumin
- 1 tspdried oreganoMexican if you have it
- ½ tspchili powder
- 3 gfine sea salt (½ tsp)
- 250 mlvery cold lager or sparkling water (1 cup)
To serve
- 12small corn tortillasor Flour Tortillas
- 1 bunchcilantroleaves
- Salsa Fresca (Pico de Gallo) and pickled red onion (Quick Pickles)optional
- 2limesin wedges
- Diet
- Pescatarian
- Allergens
- fish, gluten, milk, egg, mustard, sulphites
- Origin
- Mexico (Baja California)
- Season
- Summer, All
Method
- Mix the crema ingredients. Toss the cabbage with lime juice and salt; set both aside.
- Season the fish strips with the salt. Heat the oil in a deep, heavy pot of at least 5 L — no more than one-third full — to 185°C (365°F).
- Warm the tortillas: toast each in a dry pan over medium-high heat for 20–30 seconds a side until spotted and pliable, then stack in a towel to stay warm.
- Whisk the dry batter ingredients, then whisk in the cold lager until smooth and thick like pancake batter.
- Pat the fish dry, dip in the batter, let the excess drip off and fry in batches of 4–5, turning once, until deep golden and crisp, 3–4 minutes. The thickest strip should read 60°C (140°F) and flake easily. Drain on a rack.
- Build each taco: a tortilla (doubled if thin), a piece of fish, a pile of slaw, a drizzle of crema, cilantro and salsa if using. Serve with lime wedges.
Why it works
A batter thinned with something carbonated and very cold sets into a lacy, airy shell before it can absorb much oil, and cornstarch keeps it brittle even under wet toppings. Salting the cabbage briefly softens it just enough to tuck into a tortilla while keeping crunch. Acid from the crema and lime cuts the richness of the fried fish.
Common mistakes
- Tortillas straight from the bag crack and taste raw. Always toast them.
- Strips cut too thick take longer and the batter over-browns. Keep them 2 cm thick.
- Dressing the slaw an hour ahead makes it limp; 15 minutes is enough.
Variations
- Grilled fish tacos
- Skip the batter. Rub the strips with oil, cumin, chili powder and salt; grill or sear 2 minutes a side to 55°C (131°F).
- Shrimp tacos
- Use 600 g peeled shrimp; fry 2 minutes until pink and curled. Add crustaceans to the allergens.
Make ahead and storage
Crema and slaw keep 1 day chilled (dress the slaw just before serving). Fry the fish at the last minute.
Notes
Corn tortillas are naturally gluten free, but the batter is not. Greek yogurt can replace the sour cream. Sulphites come from the beer; use sparkling water to avoid them.
