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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Hey Jenn!! Awesome recipe! I worked yesterday afternoon, so I did all the prep work for this in the morning, saved it in the fridge, and threw it all together when I came home. What a wonderful treat. That adobo sauce is off the chart! I made it with three chilis and it was perfect.
I made these for my family after they got back from a 3 week road trip around the west coast. They were hands down the best food they’d had, and the best fish tacos I’ve had out of any restaraunt. I was skeptical of the beer batter because it was different from others that we have used, but it worked perfectly. We actually made this 2 nights in a row because it was so yummy. Thanks chef!!
I never take the time to review a recipe usually, but these were just too darn good not to comment on! The flavors were amazing! (that sauce! mmm) Only changes I made was added a little garlic powder to the batter for an extra kick, and added some homemade pickled onions we had from a previous taco recipe. These will definitely be added to the rotation for taco Tuesdays 🙂
the best fish tacos I’ve ever had
This is an AMAZING recipe!! I find it works much better using a deep fryer for the fish, but that’s probably because I don’t have great pans. Made this a couple times now for guests and they all loved it. Can’t wait to make it again.
I made these last night with Tilapia. Delicious – it will definitely become a staple in my house. And the beer batter was brilliant (plus a great way to use that stray bottle of lager in the back of the cupboard).
Hi Jenn, these fish tacos rock! Loved the sauce and cabbage. I just grilled the cod because I was short on time, and it was still delicious. One question- I have a lot of sauce left. How long will it stay fresh in the fridge? Thanks!
Hi Yvonne, Glad you liked them! I would say the sauce would keep well for about a week.
First time making fish tacos and these were good! Recipe was easy to follow, and easy to make.
I made this recipe this evening for my girlfriend and she loved it. Great cabbage with the oil and vinegar. Awesome chipolte sauce!!!
Here’s the down side girl. Your beer batter recipe sucks. It was runny and I should of known better. I’ve made beer batter recipes many times in the past. I kept adding flour to it with only a half bottle of beer. I also added an egg to the flour. Insert a better beer batter recipe for fish. Here’s the trick: Dip the fish in the batter and then roll it into the flour and then dip into the hot oil!!! Yeah!!!!
I know, I know, stupid me..should of known better. Oh well.
I also bought Arctic Cod and it’s great. Tempura batter would be good with this recipe. I also fried my cod fillets in coconut oil.
Another thing I did (I too used to be a chef in my family’s restaurant, Sauté) was to marinade the cod with fresh lime and lemon juice with Himalayan pink crystal sea salt. Put it into a glass bowl and let it set at room temp. for 2 hours and swirl it. The lemon-lime juice actually cooks the raw cod.
Follow this and you can’t go wrong, you will please your guests. Serve with Bock beer or lager. Side tip: black beans or refried with Mont. Jack. cheese over the top as a side dish, serve with lime wedges
I made these last night and they were so good. I did substitute sparkling selzer water for the beer, as I don’t like beer and added some old bay seasoning to the batter, otherwise I made the recipe as listed at it was delicious.
I have tried a bunch of recipes from your Blog and they all turned out well and are delicious.