Baja fish tacos loaded with pickled purple cabbage, freshly made pico de gallo, and homemade salsa taquera. Beer battered cod cooked until golden with a crisp crunchy exterior and a soft flaky interior, piled overtop crunchy pickled red cabbage and sauced with a spicy taco crema. These tacos are dreamy and taste even better than any takeout outside of Mexico!
I mean they really are finger licking good and probably better then most restaurants. WHY? because they were made with love by you, using fresh ingredients that you purchased and you didn’t have to resort to ordering out to satisfy that fish taco craving. Let’s be honest, who doesn’t crave fish tacos??
WHAT IS BAJA?
Baja tacos consist of tacos made of fried white fish, cabbage, and crema. These tacos originated in Baja California, Mexico which boarders the U.S. and the state of California. Situated in the North West, along the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California. Enough about that! Our tacos combine all 3 things that make up a Baja taco of course with our own spin hence the name.
Making things from scratch does eat up some time, but to us its always worth it. If you plan for it by making some of the things ahead of time its not so bad. Check out our notes in the recipe card for what you can do ahead of time!
FRYING FISH
Fish is extremely delicate, especially when it comes to cod or halibut. They are slow-moving, bottom-dwelling fish that slowly graze along the ocean floor, as such their muscle don’t get used as much. Just like steak and chicken, fish will toughen and dry out if cooked at too high of a temperature.
The batter help protect the delicateness of the fish and acts as a preventative layer between the hot oil and the fish so that it gently steams on the inside and crisps on the outside. When making the batter, it’s important to stick to the ratios. Too much flour and over mixing can create too much gluten which leads to retaining more liquid, weighing down your batter and making it greasy. The use of baking powder, baking soda, and cornstarch give the batter a lighter structure and puffs up around the fish. Using beer adds carbonation which introduces little tiny bubbles which helps leaven the batter and expand when heated. If you don’t want to use beer soda works just as great.
We hope you enjoy this recipe! If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and take a picture and tag it on Instagram! We love to see what you come up with. #thecommunalfeast Follow along our social media account on instagram for quick videos on how our recipes come together!
These fried fish tacos are made up of crispy beer battered cod, pickled purple cabbage, fresh pico de gallo, and topped with a creamy salsa taquera
To make ahead: To cut back on some of the prep work and time, The pickled cabbage, pico de gallo, and sauce can all be made ahead. Simply make as per directed and keep refrigerated in an air tight container or glass jar with a lid. Both cabbage and sauce will keep up to 1 week. Pico is best kept same day or will keep fresh for 1 day.
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