Baja Fish Tacos
By Lee Jackson ↣ Published on: December 3, 2019
Mexico’s Baja peninsula offers up some of the country’s finest seafood. None more so than these crunchy tasty fish tacos. They feature crisp battered fish, served simply on corn tortillas with a selection of spicy condiments and they’re pretty amazing.
I love Baja California! The Mexican coastline around that area is magnificent. One small coastal town Ensenada was a stand-out in so many ways, a charming place with the best, and I mean BEST seafood tacos in the whole of Mexico!
The town offers so much variety of seafood tacos but my favourite is the lightly battered fish taco with a little fresh cabbage, white onion and cilantro served with a mild avocado puree and spicy chipotle sour cream. At around 90c a piece they offered superb value, and food in your hand within seconds!
Making these tacos at home is not a difficult affair either, if you can't be in Ensanada, then bring the coast to your kitchen. These tacos are a joyous affair and a great meal for the whole family. Kids adore them and love to build their own. They're wonderfully balanced in flavour and have a splendid crunch to satisfy any hunger!
What is Baja cuisine?
Baja cuisine, originating from the Baja California region in the North-West of Mexico, blends fresh seafood with local ingredients like avocado and citrus fruits. Influenced by its coastal location, it features grilled fish tacos, ceviche, and innovative dishes incorporating elements of Mexican and Mediterranean culinary traditions, celebrated for its vibrant flavours.
Many dishes are popular in the region including Fish Tacos, Ceviche, Tostadas de Mariscos, Aguachile, Ensenada-style Fish and the world famous Caesar Salad, originally created in Tijuana.
Why it works?
It's a great communal feast - If I'm having a lot of people over for dinner or lunch, I love to serve this as it's really a dish that guests can create themselves. All the toppings and sauces are pre-made, and all I need to do is fry up the fish pieces and top up a bowl in the centre of everything. The guests enjoy the theatre of it all too!
Stuff You'll Need
For this version of baja fish tacos there are only a few ingredients to source. Here's what you'll need.
- Fish - use a firm white fish like tilapia, snapper, haddock, cod, barramundi etc. I also often make these tacos using fresh king/jumbo shrimp.
- Oil - for deep frying the fish.
- Tempura batter - I forgo making my own batter as I'm not ashamed to say that I'm terrible at making it. I buy a pre-mixed Japanese batter mix for success every time.
- Toppings - These can change depending on your taste. I'll often change up my offerings, but generally I'll include shredded green or red cabbage, finely diced white onion and cilantro.
- Sauces - I always include these two sauces as this is how enjoyed the tacos in Mexico. You need a small can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, sour cream, avocado, a serrano chilli and fresh lime.
- Corn tortillas - I like the mini tacos for this (around 10cm/4")
- Limes - I always make sure to serve lots of lime wedges on the side to spritz over the finished taco.
Step by Step
Putting together the tacos is up to whoever is eating them, making the components is easy, and most of it can be done in advance.
- Step 1 - Make the toppings. This is easy, it's just a case of shredding and chopping.. Keep in airtight containers in the fridge until you need them.
- Step 2 - Make the sauces. Again, not a lot of prepping, just blending. For the chipotle sauce, blend some chipotle peppers in adobo sauce with a little sour cream until smooth. Decant to a squeezy bottle. For the avocado sauce, blend a ripe avocado with a little sour cream and serrano chilli (if you want it spicy) and a little lime juice until smooth. Decant to another squeezy bottle. You might need to thin down the sauces with a little water to ensure they squeeze from the bottle properly. Keep in the fridge until needed, for up to a week.
- Step 3 - Gently heat the tortillas in a pan or microwave and wrap in foil or a clean tea towel to keep warm.
- Step 4 - Fry the fish. Cut the fish into bitesized pieces and set aside. Make a little bowl of flour and set aside. Make up your batter mix with ice cold water. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over a medium/high heat to between 350°F to 375°F (175°C to 190°C). Coat a few pieces of fish with flour and dust off, then dip into the batter and then drop into the oil. Cook for a few minutes until the batter is golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Be careful to not crowd the pan as it will result in greasy batter.
- Serve - serve the fish hot surrounded by all the other components.
Alternative toppings
Toppings are up to you really, I use what I have generally. This recipe uses the ingredients they serve in Ensenada. Here are some alternative toppings you could mix and match.
- Tomatoes
- Radishes
- Lettuce
- Shredded carrot or pickled carrot
- Pickles
- Jalapeño peppers
- Pico de Gallo
- Pickled Red Onion
- Jicama
- Mango Salsa
Serving & Storage Suggestions
These tacos are best served right away. They don't store well once the fish is cooked. As I said earlier, you can prepare all the toppings and sauces a few days in advance and then cook the fish when you're ready.
- Leftover sauces - The leftover sauces can be used on so many things, use them like ketchup or hot sauce. Both are fantastic over eggs. You can also use them as marinades for meats, poultry and fish.
Ready to get cooking?
Are you ready for Taco Tuesday? on a Monday-Sunday? This is a fantastic meal any day or night of the week, with big or small crowds. It's a deliciously fresh and filling meal - I won't tell you how many of these tacos I generally eat on one sitting, but it's a lot! There's something so moreish and addictive about the crunch! I hope you enjoy!
More delicious Mexican recipes
If you liked this recipe for Baja fish tacos, I'm sure you'll love some more of my favourite Mexican recipes.
Any Questions? (FAQ)
Have a question about Baja fish tacos? Let me know in the comments.
Baja Fish Tacos are a Mexican dish originating from the Baja California region. They feature battered fish (typically tilapia, cod or halibut), served in soft tortillas with cabbage, salsa, crema, and lime wedges for a zesty flavour burst.
For fish tacos, versatile white fish like tilapia, cod, haddock, or pollock work well. You can also use fresh prawns. They hold up to frying or grilling, offering a mild flavour that pairs perfectly with the vibrant toppings and sauces typically used in tacos.
Baja food isn't inherently spicy, but it can incorporate spicy elements like chili peppers or salsa. Many dishes offer a balance of flavours, including tangy, savoury, and fresh, with heat levels varying based on personal preference and recipe.
This recipe uses affiliations and may receive a commission based on your activity (link clicks). Learn more.
Ingredients
- Oil for frying (canola, vegetable or corn)
- 400 g tilapia fillets (skinless) or use other white fish.
- 2 tbsp plain flour generously seasoned with salt & pepper
- 1 packet of Japanese tempura batter mix (do it!)
- 1/4 firm green or purple cabbage (shredded)
- 1 packet of small taco corn tortillas
- 2 limes (cut into wedges)
- 1 medium white onion (thinly sliced)
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro/coriander (finely chopped)
Chipotle Cream Salsa
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2-3 peppers and a little sauce from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- 1 lime (juice of)
- Salt & pepper
Spicy avocado salsa
- 1 ripe avocado (peel and stone removed)
- 1/2 lime (juice of)
- 1-3 serrano chillies (you decide how spicy) - seeded and chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh cilantro
- Salt & pepper
Instructions
For the chipotle cream salsa
- Using a stick blender or food processor, blend all the ingredients together until smooth. Add a few Tablespoons of water to thin in down a little, to a double cream consistency. Decant into a squeeze bottle or bowl.
For the avocado salsa
- Using a stick blender or food processor, puree all the ingredients until smooth. Add a few Tablespoons of water to thin it out to a double cream consistency. Decant to a squeeze bottle or bowl.
For the fish
- Cut this fish into strips large enough to fit in a taco. Toss them into the flour to coat then shake off the excess.
- Prepare the batter mix to the packet instructions and set aside.
- Heat a pan with around 5-6 cm of oil until shimmering but not smoking around 190ºC/370ºF.
- When the oil is hot, dip a strip of fish into the batter to fully coat, give a gentle wiggle to remove the excess and then place gently (away from yourself) into the oil. Do this with about 4 pieces at a time to avoid the oil reducing In temperature (it'll make them greasy) or crowding the pan where they'll stick together.
- Fry for 4-5 minutes until golden brown and crisp. Remove and drain on paper towels. Repeat this process for the rest of the fish and then you're ready to serve!
- Heat your tortillas in the microwave until just hot, then keep warm in a tortilla warmer or wrapped in a clean tea towel.
- Serve the fish tacos in a bowl alongside the tortillas, cabbage, salsas, onion, cilantro/coriander and some fresh limes, plus any hot sauces you like. That's it, your job is done here! it's now the responsibility of your guests or family to create their tacos the way they want them.
Nutrition
It is so nice you got a chance to try the tacos on the street in Ensenada, so you knew your result was close. I like your take on the batter, using tempura mix. Traditional Ensenada batters call for beer, so they would also be close to some pub-style fish batters. Yummy!
I’m from the land of fish and chips (UK) but still can’t make a beer batter!! I miss Ensenada so much – it’s a drive away, but COVID is ruining everything! I must make these tacos soon to remind me of better times. Thanks for your comment :)