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Tacos de Pescado (Mexican-Californian Baja Fish Tacos with Curtido and Chipote Crema)

mexcianamerican-tacosdepescadochipotecremaTacos de Pescado are delicious fish tacos from Baja California. The closer you live to the seaside communities in Baja California, the closer you'll be to the original incarnation of Baja Fish Tacos: fried fish, sharp cabbage, and some gooey creamy spiciness. Luckily it's easy to whip up an authentic batch without booking a trip to Baja.

Fish Taco:
1 lb fish
1 cup all-purpose flour, unbleached
1 cup beer
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. sea salt
black pepper, freshly cracked
1 tsp. chile powder
10-12 corn tortillas
2-3 limes
3-4 cups frying oil

Chipotle Crema:
1 cup Mexican crema or mayonnaise
2 chipotles, in adobo sauce
1 Tbsp. adobo sauce
2 cloves garlic
1 pinch sea salt
1 squeeze lime

Curtido:
⅓ head green cabbage
¼ onion
¼ jalapeño
½ cup vinegar
¾ cup water
½ tsp. Mexican oregano
1 tsp. sea salt
black pepper, freshly cracked

To Make the Curtido:
Start by slicing up the cabbage (~ ⅓ head), ¼ onion and ¼ jalapeno. Add them to a mixing bowl along with the remaining ingredients: ½ cup vinegar, ¾ cup water, ½ tsp. Mexican oregano (optional), 1 tsp. of salt and some freshly cracked black pepper. Combine well and add everything to a Mason jar. Give it a shake and let it rest in the fridge until you need it.

For the Chipotle Crema:
Add the following ingredients to a blender or food processor and combine well: 1 cup crema, 2 chipotles in adobo, 2 peeled garlic cloves, pinch of salt and a squeeze of lime. You might need to add a splash of water to get it to combine. If you want more heat you can add more chipotles or some of the adobo sauce. Keep in mind that you can substitute some of the mayonnaise for plain Greek yogurt.

Pat dry and season the fish on both sides with salt. Cut into strips that are approximately 1x3".

To Make the Beer Batter:
Add the following ingredients to a mixing bowl: 1 cup flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. salt, freshly cracked black pepper and 1 tsp. chile powder (optional). Combine well and then add 1 cup of beer. Whisk together until you have batter that is the consistency of thick paint, adding more beer if necessary (I added an additional ¼ cup of beer to this batch.)

Preheat 3-4 cups of oil in a saucepan until it reaches 350-360°F (I used Canola oil). One at a time, dip the fish sticks into the batter and drop them gently into the oil. Let them cook for 3-4 minutes or until the exterior is turning a darker brown. I used a narrow pan and only cooked 3-4 pieces at a time so that the oil temp remained as close to 360°F as possible.

Carefully remove the fish sticks from the oil and drain them in some paper towels, continuing until all the fish sticks are cooked. If making a big batch, place the fish sticks on a wire rack after draining, this will help prevent them from getting soggy. You can optionally keep them in a 250-300°F oven until you need them.

Warm Up the Corn Tortillas:
For smaller batches I prefer to slightly crisp up the tortillas in a dry skillet over medium heat. For larger batches you can warm them up in the oven for a few minutes (400°F), or nuke them in the microwave for 60 seconds.

Load up each tortilla with fried fish, Chipotle Crema, pickled cabbage and definitely a final squeeze of lime.

Makes 4 servings (16 fish sticks).

Cook's Notes:

  • I used a single pound of mahi mahi, but you've got lots of good options for fish, with cod, tilapia and catfish being common picks for deep frying.
  • Try to get the oil to 350-360°F before adding the fish. A kitchen thermometer is a great way to accomplish this. On my electric stove, a setting of 6/10 kept the oil at that temp.
  • One way to help prevent them from turning soggy after cooking is to get them out of the draining pit as soon as possible (or eat them soon). You can also put them on a wire rack in a 250-300°F oven until you need them.
  • I typically scrape out the seeds before adding the chipotles.
  • Kosher or pure sea salt are most commonly used for pickling. The additives in iodized salt will sometimes affect the brine so it isn’t recommended.
  • Curtido typically prefers to rest overnight before it is fully pickled, but you'll still get some twang from it even 15-20 minutes after making it.