Baja Fish Tacos
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Crispy beer-battered cod tucked into corn tortillas and topped with slaw and a smoky chipotle sauce, Baja fish tacos are the perfect summer meal.
Photo by Alexandra Grablewski (Chronicle Books, 2018)
Many years ago, Michael and I rented a convertible and drove up the California coast. One of our favorite stops was La Jolla, where we strolled around town and stumbled upon a Mexican restaurant with great food and breathtaking views of the Pacific ocean. I don’t know if it was the scenery, the margaritas, or the fact that we were on vacation, but the Baja fish tacos were out of this world. To recreate them at home, I came up with this version made with crispy beer-battered cod tucked into corn tortillas with a cabbage slaw and smoky chipotle sauce. I’m happy to say they come pretty darn close. To complete the meal, pair the tacos with chips, salsa, and guacamole.
“I have made these so many times – now my friends a family are all making them as well. The chipotle sauce is the star!”
What You’ll Need To Make Baja Fish Tacos
Most of the ingredients are pretty straightforward, except maybe the canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. If you’ve never had them, get ready to add a new staple to your pantry! They’re small peppers (usually red jalapeños) that have been dried and smoked, and they come in a spicy tomato sauce that has a smoky flavor. You can find them in the Latin section of most supermarkets, and I have many recipes that incorporate them.
How To Make Baja Fish Tacos
Begin by making the slaw, which is a combination of shredded red cabbage, chopped red onions, cilantro, apple cider vinegar, oil and salt.
Next, make the chipotle sauce by combining the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, mayonnaise, lime juice and garlic in a mini food processor or blender. I use three peppers for a spicy sauce; of course, use less if you prefer a milder sauce.
When you’re ready to fry the fish, prepare the beer batter by whisking together the flour, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
Slowly pour in the beer, whisking all the while.
Cut the cod into 1-inch wide x 4-inch long strips.
Then dip the fish into the beer batter.
Pan-fry the fish until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. As you can see, there’s no need to deep fry the fish. I use about a 1/2 inch of oil, which is plenty as long as you flip the fish midway through.
If you’re wondering if you can skip the beer batter and frying altogether and just grill or pan-sear the fish, the answer is yes but the tacos won’t be nearly as good. Fried fish has a wonderfully crispy texture and depth of flavor that really can’t be achieved any other way. It’s worth it! Plus, even with the fried fish, these tacos are still amazingly light and fresh.
When the fish is golden brown, drain on a plate lined with paper towels.
Warm up the corn tortillas (I do it in the microwave), then assemble the tacos with a generous amount of chipotle sauce, a heap of cabbage slaw and a piece of crispy cod. Serve with lime wedges, lots of napkins and enjoy!
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Baja Fish Tacos
Crispy beer-battered cod tucked into corn tortillas and topped with slaw and a smoky chipotle sauce, Baja fish tacos are the perfect summer meal.
Ingredients
For the Cabbage Slaw
- 5 cups (or one 10-ounce bag) shredded red cabbage
- 3 tablespoons minced red onion
- ½ cup fresh chopped cilantro
- 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 1½ teaspoons vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the Chipotle Sauce
- ¾ cup mayonnaise, best quality such as Hellmann's
- 2 tablespoons lime juice, from one lime
- 2-3 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (canned), roughly chopped, plus 1-2 teaspoons sauce (see note below)
- 1 large garlic clove, roughly chopped
For the Beer Batter
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup beer
For the Fish and Tortillas
- 1½ pounds skinless cod, cut into 1-inch wide x 4-inch long strips
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- 12 (6-inch) soft corn tortillas, warmed
- Lime wedges, for serving
Instructions
- Toss the cabbage, red onion, cilantro, vinegar, oil and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Combine the mayonnaise, lime juice, chipotle chiles with sauce and garlic in a blender or mini food processor and blend until smooth. Set aside.
- Mix the flour, salt and pepper together in a medium bowl. Gradually add the beer, whisking until the batter is smooth with no lumps. Set aside.
- In a medium skillet, over medium heat, add enough oil to reach a depth of ½-inch. Heat the oil until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350 degrees F, or when the end of a wooden spoon sizzles when dipped into the oil.
- Working in batches so as not to crowd the pan, dip the fish strips in the beer batter and coat on both sides. Let the excess batter drip off, then fry the fish in the hot oil until golden brown and cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to drain.
- Smear each tortilla with a generous amount of the chipotle sauce, then top with the cabbage slaw. Lay one piece of fish inside each tortilla and serve with lime wedges.
- Note: 3 chipotle peppers and 2 teaspoons sauce will give you a spicy sauce. Use less for a milder sauce. You can freeze any leftover chipotle peppers from the can.
- Note: Nutritional information was calculated assuming that approximately 3 tablespoons of oil are absorbed into the fish when fried.
- Note: Nutritional Information does not include the chipotle sauce.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 577
- Fat: 16 g
- Saturated fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 66 g
- Sugar: 4 g
- Fiber: 7 g
- Protein: 39 g
- Sodium: 1025 mg
- Cholesterol: 73 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Comments
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I made these for my wife and two kids and it was a HUGE hit. It’s simple and the slaw is delicious.
Help me here! I made this, followed every step, except I used a different fish, also firm, white fleshed. Well, the batter was a little too thick so I added a little more beer. Then the batter wouldn’t stick to the fish. When I thoght it had stuck enough that I could fry, the batter stuck all to the bottom of the pan :(. I tried a different pan, this time a dutch oven, and the same thing happenned, the fish came out with no crust. I’m so disappointed, and I just don’t know what I did wrong. Any ideas?
Hi Ana, Sorry to hear you had a problem with the batter sticking. It could be that your oil was not hot enough. Here’s a good link that shows how to tell when the oil is the right temperature. Hope you have more success next time!
I agree with Jenn. I always put a drop of batter in my oil first, it should bubble right away and float to the top! I also LIGHTLY coat my fish with corn starch or flour ? hope this helps
Rosary
Made these tonight and they were awesome! I have Friday’s off and look forward to them so I can make 1or 2 of your recipes on your site every week. I have made at least 20 of your recipes so far and they are ALL awesome! ( my goal is to make them all) My favorite being the Coconut Dream Pie!! That was UNBELIEVABLE!! I also made the strawberry muffins tonight for dessert. So Excellent!! Can you list your favorites?
amazing
Holy COW these are good! Best fish tacos I have ever had, and they were so easy. Only things I tweaked were that I used only one chili (we’re wusses) used a tiny bit more garlic, and juice from maybe 1/4 of a lime instead since I am not crazy about lime in foods. I was also making a lot of fish so I doubled the batter and added an egg. Prior to dipping in the beer batter I dredged the fish in a mixture of flour, salt, pepper, and cumin.
I also added a bit more onion in the slaw (didn’t seem to have a lot of umpf otherwise) and a little sugar to cut the acidity. Seriously though, everyone loved these including the kids.
Best fish taco recipe we’ve tried. The sauce is delicious, but really, all the components together work beautifully. Thanks for a fantastic go-to recipe!
What type of beer did you use?
Hi Jessica, I used Corona beer for this recipe.
Hi Jen,
I am a big fan of your wonderful recipes since I found out about your website last month. Since then I have been searching and trying out your recipes daily.
This is the dish I am craving for so many years since I left the United States in 2007. Luckily we have gourmet supermarkets which sell imported canned products and ingredients in Indonesia so I am thrilled to make the Chipotle sauce from scratch.
Thank you for sharing all your delicious dishes Jen. My family love my cooking way better now.
Sorry for the dumb question, but we don’t drink alcohol, can we substitute it with something else, if not, does the alcohol cook off. I’m making it for 2 toddler. Thank you.
Just adding to the overwhelming chorus of 5-stars. I made this for an impromptu dinner party and it was easy, fun and delicious. This recipe made us realize we could make fish tacos that were just as good as the best restaurants do. EVERYBODY was asking for the chipotle sauce recipe.