Traditional

Baja Fish Tacos

Name: Baja Fish Tacos
Prep time: 12 min
Cook time: 23 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 8 tacos
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 1 cup All-purpose flour; 2 tbsp Cornstarch; 1 tsp Baking powder; 1 tsp Fine sea salt; 1 cup Cold Mexican lager (Pacífico or similar); 1/2 cup Mexican crema; 1/4 cup Mayonnaise; 2 tbsp Lime juice; to taste Salt; 1 lb Firm white fish (cod, mahi-mahi, or halibut), cut into 8 strips; 4 cups Neutral oil, for frying; 2 cups Green cabbage, finely shredded; 1 cup Pico de gallo; 2 limes Lime wedges; 8 Flour tortillas

Ensenada's street-cart classic — strips of flaky white fish in a light, crackling beer batter, fried golden and tucked into warm flour tortillas with shredded cabbage and lime crema. Cold lager keeps the batter airy so the fish steams gently inside its crisp shell.

Time: 35 min
Heat
Yield: 8 tacos
Region: Baja California

Ingredients

Beer batter

Lime crema

To build

Per-100g nutrition (11 ingredients verified)

Ingredient	kcal	Protein	Fat	Carbs
All-purpose flour	333	10 g	0 g	76.7 g
Cornstarch	381	0.3 g	0.1 g	91.3 g
Baking powder	0	0 g	0 g	0 g
Fine sea salt	0	0 g	0 g	0 g
Mexican crema	200	3.3 g	16.7 g	6.7 g
Mayonnaise	786	0 g	78.6 g	0 g
Lime juice	—	0 g	0 g	6.7 g
Salt	0	0 g	0 g	1330 g
Neutral oil, for frying	884	0 g	100 g	0 g
Pico de gallo	151	6.7 g	2.2 g	28.8 g
Flour tortillas	294	5.9 g	5.9 g	52.9 g

Values are per 100 g of the listed ingredient. Nutrition data: USDA FoodData Central (snapshot 2026-09-11). Ingredients without a verified match are omitted.

Method

Whisk the crema, mayonnaise, lime juice, and a pinch of salt until pourable, then refrigerate.
Whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt, then stir in the cold lager just until smooth. Rest the batter in the refrigerator while the oil heats.
Heat the oil in a deep pot to 375°F. Pat the fish strips very dry and season lightly with salt.
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Drag each strip through the batter and lower into the oil, frying in batches of 3 or 4 until deep golden and crisp, about 3 minutes. Drain on a wire rack.
Warm the flour tortillas on a comal or directly over a low flame until soft and puffed.
Lay a bed of cabbage in each tortilla, top with a fish strip, drizzle generously with lime crema, and finish with pico de gallo and a squeeze of lime.