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My girls (ages 5, 3, 1) love these! Their plates are clear in minutes. Thanks for this awesome recipe!
danielle
Hey summer! and hey hey heyyy beautifully delicious summer food eaten on a patio in the sunny sun.
Welcome. Stay in our lives forever. We ❤ u.
Especially us lonely winterers here in Minnesota who have not seen the out of doors for billions of days. Yesterday it was blisteringly hot out there (meaning 80 degrees here in M-N) and I was in summer sun patio heaven. I positioned my chair to face directly into the sun, right next to my newly purchased basil plant from the farmer’s market, and together we soaked up the hottness while I ate a little snack and it felt guuud. Then I panicked about all that sun on my basil and dumped my water bottle all over it to cool it down. Does basil love water bottle showers? Or does it need sun? The leaves are starting to look weird and my black thumb is feeling guilty. Halp.
I’m sorry not sorry to say that my favorite summertime foods = things like beer-battered fried fish tacos (hey! that’s today), corn dogs, mini donuts, French fries, onion rings, and the like. I know. I’m a horrible person and why can’t I just grill something? True story – I tried to grill something last week so I could be a Fresh Healthy Summer Blog Person and guess what? It was not delicious. I couldn’t blog about it in a million years and it made a mess, like, all over our yard. I’ll try again next year.
When I think of summer food, I think of eating outside and that makes me think of things like the State Fair and outdoor concerts and festivals and amusement parks. And as long as we’re on that topic, I am declaring today that I have officially reached the age of never going on any roller coasters ever again. No more. It’s time to just embrace the fact that my ride spirit is either non-existent or prefers rides meant for 3-5 year olds.
My food spirit, however, embraces the so-bad-but-so-good food at said amusement parks and so no worries – we’ll go, you’ll ride, I’ll eat, and we can all still get along. Today’s recipe is some kind of mashup between that yummy fried food of summer outdoor events and the good feeling of making a fun summer meal yourself, at home, with a freshy umbrella drink if you’re cutesy and have a perfect life.
The fish in these tacos is crispy and delicious >> CRISPY FISH TACOS. It’s crispy because it’s beer-battered with a few unique ingredients that give it extra crunch, like cornmeal. Crispity-crunch, that shooore tastes goooood. It turns a nice golden brown, and I know I just said this in a post recently but it’s worth repeating: truly that golden brown is the best food color. I love it.
I kept the toppings pretty simple for these tacos because I embrace minimalism and simplicity and zen-ness all the time. And/or/also, I didn’t want to go to the grocery store for any more ingredients when my fridge is overflowing with stuffs. That’s zen, right?
It ended up being perfect. The zingy spiciness of the sauce, along with its cool creaminess, had the perfect well-rounded balancing effect to the spicy, golden brown, crispy cornmeal beer-battered fish. A little Cotija cheese crumbled on top gave a little texture and saltiness, and those few little cilantro leaves added a fresh-green-pop look that tied it all together.
So this weekend was this –> I ate a few yummy tacos at home, sat in the sun with the basil plant, and then went out with friends where I sat on a rooftop deck and watched the sunset and felt very happy. These good feelings brought to you by summa summa summmmaaah.
Crispy Fish Tacos with Jalapeño Sauce
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 tacos 1x
Description
These Crispy Fish Tacos with Jalapeño Sauce are fried to golden brown perfection with a crispy cornmeal crust and served with a fresh, spicy homemade sauce!
Ingredients
Jalapeño Sauce
- 1 large jalapeño (if you like spicy, leave the ribs and seeds in there)
- 1 cup cilantro leaves
- 1/4 cup green onions
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 avocado
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Fish Tacos
- 2 lbs. firm white fish like cod
- 1 cup flour (see notes)
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons cornmeal
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon chili powder or spicy seasoning
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup light beer, such as Corona (NA beer works too!)
- 1 egg, beaten
- vegetable oil for frying
- 12 flour or corn tortillas
- cilantro for topping
- Cotija cheese for topping
Instructions
- Puree all the jalapeño sauce ingredients in a food processor until your desired consistency is reached. I sometimes add a little more oil or water at the end to make the sauce less gloppy and more drizzle-able.
- Pat the fish dry with paper towels and cut into 2-3 inch pieces. Put 1/2 cup flour in a shallow bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk 1/2 cup flour, cornmeal, cornstarch, chili powder, baking powder, and salt. Add the beer and the beaten egg; stir until combined to form the batter.
- Pour enough oil in a frying pan so that the fish will be partially submerged while frying. Heat the oil until a drip of water sizzles across the top. Dip each piece of fish in the plain flour, then the batter, then transfer to the hot oil. Fry on each side for 3-5 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Remove from the frying pan and transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to drain excess oil. Sprinkle with salt while still hot; let cool slightly.
- Arrange your tacos with a few pieces of fish, cilantro, Cotija cheese, and jalapeño sauce. Yummy!
Notes
About the flour: I’ve used both whole wheat flour and white flour. White flour is more traditional but whole wheat works, and that’s what’s pictured here. The cornmeal adds a unique texture but you could use flour in its place for a more traditional beer-battered fish texture.
About the batter: If the batter sits for a while, the cornmeal will sink to the bottom. Stir it up again to get everything mixed before dipping the fish in it.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Mexican
Keywords: crispy fish tacos, fish tacos, jalapeño sauce
These were delicious! I’m always hesitant about the mess of deep fat frying but it was 100% worth it. I used bacon grease for the oil and Stella Artois for the beer. Definitely a repeat!!
Hey! For the spicy crunchy fish tacos, could they be cooked in the air fryer? How would you change the recipe to do this and what would you suggest for cooking instructions? Thanks!!
Hi, Alyssa! Unfortunately we don’t have a lot of experience using an air fryer, so though we’d guess it could work, it’s hard for us to say the temps and time. If you try it out though, we’d love to hear!
Love this
I was going to leave 4 stars because it took FOOOOOREVER to make this and it was messy. That being said there were leftovers that crisped up in the air fryer/toaster oven just fine. Worth every minute.
So exited to make these! Is there anything I can use instead of beer?
You could try seltzer water or broth!
Out of all of these comments, I would really like to know how many people made this recipe.
Thanks, great post about fish recipe in complement I would recommend this page too if you don’t mind http://chefclub.stream/category/fish-recipe can be very helpful with its search engine for handmade video reviews I guess, cheers!
I only made the jalapeño sauce and put it on chicken tacos. And then on quinoa. And then on a sandwich. And then on tortilla chips. And then sweet potato fries. Seriously, this is the best sauce ever. It is such a perfect combination of spicy and creamy. As suggested, I added a bit more water to thin out the sauce.
So glad you enjoyed the sauce, Megan!
Incredible! I make this all of the time!
Thanks!
What can we sub the beer with?
-thanks!
Hello,
I don’t know if anyone has asked but can you make this with shrimp? My boyfriend can be picky when it comes to seafood but he’ll eat shrimp without an issue.
We haven’t done it, but I’m sure it would work just fine!
Can the fish be baked?
Unfortunately it really needs to be fried because of the batter. Another option would be to cover the fish in breadcrumbs and bake them that way.
This recipe is delicious! I made it last night for the first time and lets just say… I’m making it next weekend too!
However, I did make some adjustments to the jalapeno sauce- I used organic whole milk Greek yogurt (Wallaby) , 1 tsp of Himalayan pink salt, and juice from 1/2 lime.
Like your notes said, the cornmeal did sink to the bottom of the batter. I’m wondering if I added the flour-coated cod and batter to a gallon bag if it’d distribute more evenly.
I’ll let you know if the changes make a difference the second time around! Other than that, I’d recommend this dish for anytime of the year!
This was very good. I made the recipe exact, no substitutions.
Glad you enjoyed it, Alle!
Do you think the battered fish could be baked? t looks and sounds so good, but I don’t like to fry, both because of the fat and because it tends to upset my stomach.
If you can’t drink beer (I’m gluten free) what would you suggest to substitute for that? Thanks!! I can’t wait to try this, it looks delicious!
You could use chicken broth. 🙂
I made these last night with my dad – we LOVED them! I was a little apprehensive as I don’t usually fry food at home. The beer battered fish was incredibly flaky and held together perfectly in the oil. The sauce was incredibly flavorful and complimented the fish wonderfully. I will definitely be making these again sometime this summer 🙂
Thanks for the comment – I’m so glad to hear that you liked it Hannah!
My girls (ages 5, 3, 1) love these! Their plates are clear in minutes. Thanks for this awesome recipe!
Thanks for the comment – I’m so glad to hear that you and your girls liked it Danielle!
I’m amazed, I must say. Rarely do I encounter a blog that’s both equally educative and entertaining, and let me tell you, you’ve hit the nail on the head. The issue is an issue that too few people are speaking intelligently about. I’m very happy that I stumbled across this in my hunt for something concerning this.
Hi Lindsay, these really do look “lekker”, (South African for Yum! Love your Jalapeño sauce recipe, it looks good too. Now that Basil, I wonder if you literally gave it a “shower” ? If so then I think you need to rather tip the water into the pot, not getting the leaves wet. Water on leaves in the hot sun could be fatal to said leaves. The droplets can burn them, as with a magnifying glass! Hope this helps, I concur with the other posts that say keep the soil damp not soggy.
Delicious! I had my in-laws for dinner tonight and they loved the fish tacos, thanks Lindsay
I love hearing that! Thanks for the comment Raquel!
Mmm, this is totally my kind of summer meal! Love the sound of the sauce and the beer batter. I hate frying stuff in my house but I may have to suck it up and get over it so I can try this out! Great recipe, Lindsay!
Probably will not attempt to make this again. I found the batter to be a little heavy and with cod I usually prefer it blackened. The jalapeño sauce was very delicious, but next time I would use a little less cilantro and add some siriacha. Also the cotija was very difficult to find and had to substitute with feta. All in all really was not worth all the effort
Awesome recipe! I found this on pinterest on friday night and tried it for dinner the next night! Every one in my family gave it 2 thumbs up! The beer batter was perfectly crispy and the sauce was yummy! We also garnished with shredded cabbage and a little squeeze of lime. Delicious and we’ll definitely be making these again!
Makes me so happy! Thanks for the comment!
I plan on making the jalapeno sauce tonight to serve with another meal. If I make a big batch of it and jar it, how long do you think it will keep in the refrigerator?
I think it would keep for a few days! Maybe as long as a week? I guess it depends on your tolerance for leftovers. 🙂