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The perfect Baja fish taco, just like you get in San Diego, but without needing to buy a plane ticket.
Our oldest son moved to San Diego in January. The first thing we did was figure out when we could down and visit.
I love San Diego! I think if I had to pick a city other than Portland to live in it would be San Diego. The weather is awesome, I love the feel and pace of the city, beautiful scenery and they have amazing fish tacos!
We spent a long weekend down in San Diego a month or so ago and I think in the four days we were there we ate fish tacos five times! We just couldn’t get enough of them. The other great part – they are pretty inexpensive. You can find taco shops on just about every corner and thanks to Logan we found some good ones. Our youngest daughter was with us and she has spent her whole life so far thinking she doesn’t like fish. After our trip to San Diego she realized she was wrong! She decided she was going to give the fish tacos a try, just to see. Well, she was in love and ate fish tacos five times too!
So now that we’ve been back in Portland for a while we’ve started having fish taco withdrawals and cravings.
How to Make Baja Fish Tacos
Start with whatever kind of fish you like. The tacos we had in San Diego were a light, white fishlike cod, halibut or tilapia. Traditionally they are breaded in a beer batter. Since we don’t drink beer, I used carbonated soda water and it worked great.
Cut the fish into two inch pieces.
Dipped each piece into a batter made from flour, cornstarch, and soda water until they are lightly coated.
Next, fry them in a pan of hot oil. You want the oil to be around 375 degrees. Fry them until they are cooked through. I used my cast iron skillet. If you aren’t a fan for fried fish, you can grill the fish too. The real secret is the white sauce that goes on top. And that will be just as delicious on a grilled fish taco as on my fried Baja fish tacos.
Instead of putting the fried fish on a paper towel to drain and cool I use a cookie cooling rack and put the paper towel on the counter under the rack.
The sauce is a combination of plain Greek yogurt, mayo, lime juice, minced capers, oregano, cumin, dill weed and cayenne pepper.
The sauce is better if it is mixed up ahead and allowed to sit in the refrigerator for at least a few hours or overnight. The flavor improves as it sits.
A San Diego style taco must also have a garnish of chopped cabbage. Love the extra little crunch it gives. Wrap it all up in a corn tortilla and close your eyes and you might just think you are in San Diego!
For other taco recipes try these:
Baked Tacos – Flatbread Tacos – Crock Pot Salsa Chicken Tacos
Fish Taco Recipe
Baja Fish Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 lb. fish cod, halibut or tilapia, cut into 1-2inch chunks
- 1 C flour
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 1 C soda water or beer used soda water
White Sauce
- 1/2 C plain Greek yogurt
- 1/2 C mayo
- juice of one lime
- 1 tsp minced capers don’t leave this out
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp dill weed dried
- 1 tsp ground cayenne pepper
- 1 quart oil for frying
- corn tortillas
- cabbage finely shredded
Instructions
White sauce
- In a bowl combine yogurt and mayo. Add in lime juice and seasonings. Allow to sit in refrigerator a few hours or overnight.
Fish
- Mix together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, egg and soda water to make batter. A few lumps is o.k.
- Heat oil in deep frying pan to 375 degrees. I used my cast iron skillet.
- Dip fish into batter and fry until crisp and golden brown and cooked through.
- Place on a cooling rack to drain and cool.
- To serve place fish in a corn tortilla. Garnish with sauce and shredded cabbage.
Nutrition Facts:
Brenda says
Love SanDiego! Love fish tacos! But I am not a fan of capers. You mention not to leave this ingredient out. Is there something else I could use in the sauce?