Jonathan Zaragoza

Whisk

1/4 Sheet pan(s)

Baking/Cooling rack(s)

1/2 Sheet pan(s)

8-quart Dutch oven

The Control Freak™ Home

Spider strainer

The Control °Freak® induction cooking system

Rice flour

All-purpose flour

Chicken bouillon powder

Kosher salt

Baking powder

Mexican oregano

Vodka

Yellow mustard

Honey

Garlic clove(s)

Beer

Black pepper

Tomatoes

White onion(s)

Cilantro

Lime juice

Serrano chile(s)

Sour cream

Mayonnaise

Milk

Garlic powder

Neutral oil

Corn tortillas

Cabbage

Hot sauce

Lime(s)

Fish: This recipe will work with a variety of <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/selecting-fish-for-purchase">white-fleshed fish</a>. Snapper, mahi-mahi, flounder, and grouper are all excellent substitutes. Look for skinless fillets that are at least 3/4-inch-thick.

Batter: This recipe calls for using a beer batter made with vodka. Vodka limits gluten formation, leading to lighter, crispier crust. If you would like to or need to omit the vodka, we provide an alternate beer batter recipe in the Tip below Step 1. For the more traditional beer batter, we fry at a higher temperature ([f 375]) compared to the batter that includes vodka, which is fried at [f 330].


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Selecting Fish for Purchase

Before we begin

In a large bowl, whisk together rice flour, all-purpose flour, bouillon powder, 12 g salt, baking powder, and oregano until well combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together vodka, mustard, honey, and garlic until well combined. Add vodka mixture to flour mixture and whisk together until well combined. Add beer and continue whisking until a smooth batter forms. Refrigerate batter until ready to use.

Make batter

If you don’t have vodka on-hand, you can still make an excellent beer batter without it.

470 g All-purpose flour

20 g Chicken bouillon powder, Knorr brand

12 g Kosher salt

8 g Baking powder

1 g Mexican oregano, dried

50 g Yellow mustard

50 g Egg(s), (1 large egg)

15 g Garlic, (3 medium cloves) finely grated

712 g Beer, preferably Mexican lager

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, bouillon powder, salt, baking powder, and oregano until well combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together mustard, egg, and garlic until well combined. Add mustard mixture to flour mixture and whisk until well combined. Add beer and continue whisking until a smooth batter forms.

No vodka? No problem!

Place fish on a 1/4 sheet pan and season generously on all sides with salt and pepper. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes.

Season fish

In a small bowl, stir together tomatoes, onion, cilantro, lime juice, serrano, and 3 g salt until well combined. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Make pico de gallo

In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream, mayonnaise, milk, and garlic powder until well combined. Mixture should be the consistency of Kewpie mayonnaise; if it’s too thick, whisk in more milk as needed until it reaches proper consistency. Season with salt to taste.

If you want to get the final presentation spot-on, transfer mayocrema to a squeeze bottle. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Make mayocrema

Set up a frying station with fish, a shallow bowl or tray of flour, batter, and a wire rack set inside a 1/2 sheet pan next to the stovetop.

Before you start frying, make sure you also have all the garnishes and warmed tortillas ready to go. Fried fish waits for no one.

In a Dutch oven, heat 3 inches of oil to [f 330] over medium-high heat.

Working with one piece of fish at a time, dredge fish lightly on all sides in flour, and shake off excess dredge. Dip fish in batter until completely coated. Lift fish out of batter, allowing excess batter to drip back into the bowl. Gently lower fish into oil, swishing it back and forth until it floats. Working quickly, repeat process with 3 more pieces of fish. Cook, moving and turning fish gently with a spider skimmer to ensure pieces cook evenly and don’t stick to each other, until golden brown on all sides, about 4 minutes.

Carefully transfer fish to prepared wire rack and season generously with salt.

Repeat process with remaining fish, frying in batches of 4 pieces at a time.

NOTE: If you are using the vodka-less beer batter, fry the fish at [f 375] instead of [f 330]. The cook time will remain the same, about 4 minutes.

Fry fish

Legend has it that the first fish taco was the product of cross-cultural pollination brought about by Japanese immigrants who arrived in Baja California in the late 19th century to help set up the commercial fishing industry. Along with their knowledge of fishing, they brought deep-frying, tempura style. Like other classics of Mexican cuisine, the fried fish taco was created by immigrants sharing their foodways and Mexican people embracing them.

The first time I had a fish taco in Ensenada was at Tacos Fénix, a stand famous for its fish and shrimp tacos. No frills, no BS, just incredible fresh seafood bought daily from Mercado Negro, just a few blocks away, fried to order—which is the key to success for fried food generally, but also specifically fried fish tacos. (No one likes a soggy taco.)

The best part was the options for toppings. They have the classics, like shredded cabbage, mayocrema (a mixture of mayonnaise and sour cream), and pico de gallo, but they also have several salsas with just the right amount of burn.

This recipe is super easy to make, and the payoff is high. I love making it for get togethers with friends and making a taco bar situation so people can choose their own adventure. Make sure your fish is fresh, your batter is kept cold, your oil is hot, and you’ll be just fine. These tacos are sure to transport you and hopefully inspire you to explore Ensenada’s rich culinary history.

The origins of the Ensenada-style fish taco

Place one piece of fish on each tortilla. Top with shredded cabbage, pico de gallo, a drizzle of mayocrema and hot sauce, and a squeeze of lime juice. Serve.

Assemble tacos and serve

Fish tacos are best enjoyed immediately.

Pico de gallo can be made in advance and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 day.

Mayocrema can be made in advance and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Make-ahead and storage

Take a trip to Ensenada, Mexico, with these super-crispy fried fish tacos. Battered strips of fish, swaddled in corn tortillas, anointed with a simple tomato salsa, shredded cabbage, and mayocrema. These fish tacos are all gas and no brakes.The key is in that batter. We use a beer batter, bolstering the malty notes of a crisp Mexican lager with chicken bouillon powder (MSG, baby!), oregano, honey, and yellow mustard, so the crust is super tasty all on its own. To get it extra crispy without becoming tough, we use a mix of wheat and rice flours, which limits gluten formation, and we use both baking powder and vodka to create a lattice-like network of starches and wheat proteins that fries to a crisp in a just a couple of minutes, ensuring that the fresh fish (as fresh as possible, please!) is perfectly cooked.

Ensenada-Style Fish Tacos

Make every night Taco Night